Junior SchoolSenior SchoolSixth Form

Religious Education

Religious education enables children to investigate and reflect on some of the most fundamental questions asked by people.  At Sidcot Junior School we develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths, and we address fundamental questions concerning, for example, the meaning of life and the existence of a divine spirit.  We enable children to develop a sound knowledge not only of Christianity but also of other world religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children within our school.  Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding.  We help the children learn from religions as well as about religions.

The objectives of teaching religious education in our school are to help children: 

  • develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues arising in their lives;
  • develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions and value systems found in Britain;
  • develop an understanding of the Quaker ethos, principles and values.
  • develop an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition;
  • be able to reflect on their own experiences and to develop a personal response to the fundamental questions of life;
  • develop an understanding of religious traditions and to appreciate the cultural differences in Britain today;
  • develop investigative and research skills, and make reasoned judgements about religious issues;
  • have respect for other people’s views, and celebrate the diversity in society.

Our school curriculum for religious education meets the requirements of the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA).  The ERA stipulates that religious education is compulsory for all children, including those in the reception class who are less than five years old.  The ERA allows parents to withdraw their child from religious education classes if they so wish, although only after they have given written notice to the school.  The religious education curriculum forms an important part of our school’s spiritual, moral and social teaching.  It also promotes education for citizenship.  As we are an International school, we do look at religious festivals and celebrations of other cultures- Divali, Chinese New Year, St Lucia etc.

Teaching and learning style

We base our teaching and learning style in RE on the key principle that good teaching in RE allows children both to learn about religious traditions and to reflect on what the religious ideas and concepts mean to them. Our teaching enables children to extend their own sense of values, and promotes their spiritual growth and development. We encourage children to think about their own views and values in relation to the themes and topics studied in the RE curriculum. 

Our teaching and learning styles in RE enable children to build on their own experiences and to extend their knowledge and understanding of religious traditions. We use their experiences at religious festivals such as Easter, Diwali, Passover etc. to develop their religious thinking. We organise visits to local places of worship, and invite representatives of local religious groups to come into school and talk to the children. 

Children carry out research into religious topics. They study particular religious faiths and also compare the religious views of different faith groups on topics such as rites of passage or festivals. Children investigate religious and moral issues either individually or in groups. Sometimes they prepare presentations on a computer and share these in assemblies. 

We recognise the fact that all classes in our school have children of widely differing abilities, so we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this in a variety of ways, for example, by: 

  • setting tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses;
  • setting tasks of increasing difficulty (we do not expect all children to complete all tasks);
  • grouping the children by ability in the room, and setting different tasks for each ability group;
  • providing resources of different complexity, adapted to the ability of the child;
  • using classroom assistants to support the work of individuals or groups of children.