RE at Sparkenhoe Primary School.
At Sparkenhoe Primary School we believe RE is an integral part of the curriculum, enabling children to gain valuable insights into diverse opinions and beliefs of people and communities across Leicester, Britain and the wider world. Teaching of RE prepares children to be positive and respectful members of our community and wider society. It helps children to develop an understanding of themselves and others by learning about religion and from religion.
Our RE curriculum ensures that all pupils are given opportunities to learn about religion and non-religious worldviews in a variety of ways. Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence. We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. We include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens.
RE is taught according to the Leicester City Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2019-24. This is in line with government strategies promoting access, inclusion and individual learning. The Agreed Syllabus reflects, promotes and enables children to explore their own beliefs, values and traditions and to learn a deeper respect for the beliefs and values of others.
Legislation requires that Religious Education must be included in the curriculum for all registered pupils, therefore it is part of the entitlement curriculum for all pupils. RE is taught through 3 units per year that cover all the major religions before moving through to more existential and comparative topics later in Key Stage 2.
Assemblies and Collective Worship.
Due to the range of religions represented within of our community, the school is exempt from daily broadly Christian Acts of Worship.
The requirements for a daily act of collective worship are met through class and year group assemblies. Each day, we share stories/information with a moral component, and the children spend time reflecting on what a range of different themes may mean to them. They also explore a variety of different art, music, historic events as well as a variety of moral debates. These provide opportunities to:
• develop awareness of the universal moral principles of right and wrong, justice and fairness and concern for the fate of others and the world
• add to the pupils’ development of an awareness of, and a sense of belonging to, the many different dimensions of the schools' community
• share an experience which promotes thought and reflection
• further promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• consider and reflect upon a variety of situations and issues and make a personal response
• reflect quietly and make an internal response in the light of personal beliefs and background
Festival Days
Throughout the school, children learn about RE through discrete units and a series of Festival Days. The latter are based upon Diwali, Eid, Christmas, Spring Festivals and Vaisakhi and take place as a special day in school where children reflect on a focused question appropriate to their age.
Right of Withdrawal
Parents/carers may withdraw their children from all or part of the RE curriculum. They do not have to provide a reason for this and the school must comply with the request. The school has a duty to supervise any pupils who are withdrawn from RE but is not required to provide additional teaching or incur extra costs.
If parents/carers wish their child to receive an alternative programme of RE it is their responsibility to arrange this. This could be provided at the school in question or another local school. The pupil may receive external RE teaching provided that this does not significantly impact on his/her attendance.