Religious Education

Religious Education

• RE is an academic subject: This means that RE is taught in a way that is rigorous and intellectually stimulating. It requires pupils to think critically about religious beliefs and practices, and to develop their own understanding of the world.
• It provides pupils with the opportunity to understand what it means to be a religious believer in the world today: This means that RE helps children to understand the different ways in which people around the world express their religious beliefs. It also helps them to understand the challenges and opportunities that religious believers face in the modern world.
• Encourages pupils to encounter the values of the Christian community of the school that they are a part of: This means that RE helps children to understand the values that are important to the Christian community of their school.
• It supports pupils in recognising and acting on the insights, principles, beliefs, attitudes, and values that should influence, inspire, or guide them in life.

General Information

• Religious education (RE) is part of the basic curriculum entitlement for all registered pupils in all schools.
• In Church schools, which are open to pupils of all religious traditions and those of no religious background, RE has a central place within a distinctive curriculum and is seen as a core subject. 
• RE is not the same as religious instruction – it does not seek to impose any one set of beliefs or doctrine.
• RE is about developing a religious and theological literacy so that pupils will be able to engage with some of the big questions of meaning and purpose in life and develop an understanding of what followers of a religion believe and how those beliefs shape the lives of individuals, communities and wider society.
• All schools are required to teach about Christianity, and in Church schools this will be at least 50% of the RE curriculum.

Parental right of withdrawal 

• Parents (or pupils themselves if they are aged 18 or over) have the right to request that the pupil be withdrawn from all or part of the RE provided.
• There is no requirement to provide reasons for the request but schools will appreciate the opportunity to discuss the RE curriculum and arrangements for the withdrawal with parents.
• The school may also wish to review such a request each year, in discussion with the parents.
• The right of withdrawal does not extend to other areas of the curriculum when, as may happen on occasion, spontaneous questions on religious matters are raised by pupils or there are issues related to religion that arise in other subjects such as history or citizenship