Intent

Bethersden Primary School promotes, supports and encourages excellent practice in the teaching of Religious Education (RE). The agreed syllabus aims to ensure that all children:

• Develop understanding of concepts and mastery of skills to make sense of religion and belief, at an appropriate level of challenge for their age. From EYFS to KS2.
• Develop positive and respectful attitudes and values and to reflect and relate their learning in RE to their own beliefs and experiences both presently and in the future.
• Have the opportunity to learn that there are those who do not hold religious beliefs and have their own philosophical perspectives, and subject matter should facilitate integration and promotion of shared values whether they are religious or not.

At Bethersden Primary School, we are committed to providing our children with an exciting, positive and safe learning environment, in which they have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of religions, to share their beliefs and experiences without fear of judgment or negativity, while contributing to their spiritual, moral social and cultural development.

Implementation

Religious Education taught in our school:

• Is open and objective, it does not seek to urge religious beliefs on young people, nor compromise the integrity of their own religious position by promoting one tradition over another.
• Endeavours to promote a positive attitude toward people, respecting their right to hold different beliefs from their own.
• Promotes the values and attitudes necessary for citizenship in a multi-faith and multi-racial society through developing understanding of, respect for, and dialogue with people of different beliefs, practices, races and cultures.
• Celebrates the similarities and differences of a breadth of religions and cultures; respecting and valuing these for the common good.
• Is not the same as collective worship, which has its own place in the educational life of the school – together with RE it can contribute to an informed, reflective, compassionate and caring school and community.
• Promotes community cohesion through linking with partner schools, faith schools, religious groups in our community and the wider community and places of worship.
• Recognises and celebrates the range of cultures and diversity of the school through workshops, assemblies and shared experiences of staff, children, families and people from the local community.
• RE will be taught weekly, planned by the teacher to link with key dates, religious festivals, faith in our immediate and wider community and the children and families within the school, providing opportunities to celebrate festivals and religions with greater relevance and consistency and enhances a cross-curricular approach.

Impact

At Bethersden Primary School, we seek to ensure that all children in our school are educated to develop spiritually, academically, emotionally and morally to enable them to better understand, appreciate and celebrate themselves and others and to cope with the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities of living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world.

Regular assemblies will help to celebrate the diversity of the school and promote positive images of people in the wider community and internationally, including their beliefs, traditions, culture, language and history.