Religious Education is not a National Curriculum subject but must be taught to all pupils registered at our school. As RE is not nationally determined, the Local Authority must provide an agreed syllabus for us to follow. For us, this is the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus of Religious Education 2019-2024 and it is on this that we base our planning and delivery of RE.
RE is concerned with “learning about religion” and “learning from religion” and it is not the practice of this school to preach to or convert the children. The faith background of staff and pupils is respected at all times.
We believe at Romanby School that RE both supports and strengthens what we aim to do in every aspect of school life.
Specifically, RE at our school aims to enable pupils of whatever ability and level of development to:
- Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of principal world faiths practised in Great Britain.
- Develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures, including the local community.
- Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues with reference to the teachings of the principal religions.
- Enhance their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
- Recognise the right of people to hold different beliefs within an ethnically and socially diverse society.
Right to withdraw
Parents of pupils at Romanby School have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of the RE programme. If parents have concerns about their children taking part in RE, they would be asked to first discuss these with the Head Teacher who will discuss the RE programme and teaching methods in greater detail and allow parents to see the materials and resources used. Agreement on alternative provision for the teaching of RE would need to be reached for children withdrawn from the RE programme. Teachers also have the right to withdraw from teaching RE.
Collective Worship
Each day the children take part in a Collective Act of Worship which, in accordance with the Education Reform Act 1988, reflects the broad traditions of the Christian faith, incorporating, amongst other things, song, story and time for prayer/meditation/reflective thought. Themes are drawn from the Christian and other religious traditions supported by themes linked to the Secrets of Success and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Collective Worship at our school is led by the Head Teacher, other school staff and visiting representatives from local churches or other organisations.
We believe that it is very important to learn to respect each other’s views and values and our daily collective worship establishes a firm basis for how we live together in our school and in the wider community.
Parents may exercise their right to withdraw their child/children from these activities in respect of their own beliefs and should contact the Headteacher if they wish to do so.