Religious Education
As a Church of England school, CCNM aims to reflect and implement the ‘Church of England Statement of Entitlement’ to ensure that students are receiving high quality RE teaching. At our school, students and their families can expect a religious education curriculum that is rich and varied, enabling learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith and other major religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children in 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. Through our curriculum, we aim to enable all children to become religiously literate. You can read our RE Policy below.
What is Religious Education?
Religious Education is a subject that aims to develop children's understanding of the world's religions. Through religious education, children will learn about different religions and their traditions, practices and beliefs. Religious education also promotes children's tolerance and mutual respect in a diverse society.
Why is Religious Education important?
Religious education in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness (Statement of Entitlement.) In RE, pupils enter into discussion about the religious and non-religious traditions that have shaped Great Britain and the world. RE enables pupils to take their place within a diverse multi-religious and multi-secular society. It is intellectually challenging and personally enriching. It affords pupils both the opportunity to see the religion and non-religion in the world, and the opportunity to make sense of their own place in that world. A high-quality religious education programme is essential to meet the statutory requirement for all state funded schools to teach a full curriculum that prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in modern Britain.
Curriculum Intent
It is our intent for the Religious Education element of our school curriculum to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions. Religious Education contributes significantly to the Christian ethos of the school and enables pupils to ask deep and often searching questions about both their own faiths and beliefs, and the beliefs, faiths and opinions of others regarding social, cultural and moral issues. Our RE curriculum allows children to discover and gain an insight into religions within the world that we live. We see the teaching of RE as vital for children to understand the beliefs of others and make connections between their own values. This will help them to develop responsibility and respect for all aspects of diversity, whether it be social, cultural or religious, and be prepared well for life in modern Britain. You can read our curriculum map for RE here.
The objectives of teaching religious education in our school are to help children:
- develop an awareness of spiritual, philosophical and moral issues arising in their lives;
- develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity as a living world faith that influences the lives of people both in Britain and around the world;
- to know and understand about other major world religions and value systems found in Britain and worldwide;
- 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.