Thornton In Craven C.P. School

Religious Education Policy

Aims:

Thornton-In-Craven C.P. School understands Religious Education to be an essential part of a School’s curriculum, in that it contributes to a pupil’s overall development.

The 1988 Education Reform Act requires schools to ‘promote spiritual, moral social and cultural development of pupils.’ (Paragraph 1:2) The Religious Education syllabus will provide for this requirement.

· Spiritual development - through helping pupils to consider and respond to questions of meaning and purpose in life, and questions about the nature of values in human society.

· Moral development - through helping pupils to consider and respond to questions of morality using their knowledge and understanding of religious and ethical teaching. This enables them to make reasoned and informed judgements on religious and moral issues.

· Social development - through helping pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging, preparing them for life as citizens in a plural society.

· Cultural development - through fostering pupil’s awareness and understanding of a range of beliefs, practices and values in their own society and wider world. Pupils explore issues within and between faiths, developing their understanding of the cultural contexts within which they live.

Objectives:

o To foster spiritual development with a sensitive and informed understanding of Christianity and the other world faiths as coherent and distinct traditions.

o To foster cultural development through the ability to relate to religious beliefs, values and practices of their own faith and to those of others.

o To foster social development through exploration of his/her experience of his/her relationship with others and the natural world.

o To foster moral development of the children’s sense of identity and belonging in a plural society by helping children to promote their own beliefs and values.

The Agreed Syllabus:

The North Yorkshire Syllabus conforms to the requirements that all Agrees Syllabuses produced after the 1988 Education Act should:

‘Reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are

in the main Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and

practice of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.’

(D.E.S Circular 3/89, section 8/3)

Planning and Assessment:

The planning and assessment of Religious Education in the school is an integral process. The Long Term plans are taken from the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus. Teachers will then produce Medium Term plans and weekly plans in accordance with the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus.

Assessment will be an ongoing process with termly updates of children’s progress assessed against the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus’s levels of attainment. A written report illustrating children’s progress and capability will be reported annually to parents in the Report to parents.

Time Allocation:

In accordance with North Yorkshire guidelines Key Stage 1 children will be taught 45 minutes of Religious Education per week and Key Stage 2 children will be taught 1 hour of Religious Education per week. (These timings can include Collective Worship time.)

Collective Worship:

Please see separate Collective Worship Policy .