Religious Education and World Views
At Birstwith Church of England Primary School our Christian vision and values underpin every aspect of daily life of our school community, providing a climate for personal and academic growth. Our caring ethos, and the value we place on the holistic development of every child is reflected in the way that we teach Religious Education and World Views, and our rich and varied curriculum ensures this has a high profile, instilling respect for different beliefs through a program covering the major faiths. We want our children to engage with religious texts and make links with other curriculum areas, whilst learning about diversity in belief and practice – both within religions, as well as between.
Our principle aim in the teaching of Religion and World Views is to develop the knowledge and skills to enable pupils to hold balanced and infomed conversations about religions and world views, both those of others and their own.
Our school is a Voluntary Controlled Church of England School and we welcome pupils and staff from all faiths and none. We highly value our RE and World Views teaching and it enables us to develop greater understanding of how religion and beliefs affect our lives, and it is part of our broad and balanced curriculum. At the heart of this teaching in our church school is the teaching of Christianity and World Views.
The content of our RE curriculum is determined by the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus of Religious Education 2024-2029, and all children have a weekly RE lesson, - we use resources drawn from NATRE (National Association of Teachers of Relegious Education) - as well as opportunities to learn about, and celebrate, other significant religious events throughout the year. Children learn about Christianity and at least three other major world faiths: Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. In addition to this, our curriculum includes ‘thematic units’ which bring together and compare multiple different religious and non-religious worldviews around a single overarching concept or big question, rather than studying just one faith in isolation. This is outlined in our long-term, rolling program for RE.
RE Policy
Click here to read the RE Policy
RE Curriculum
Multi-Cultural Opportunities
As well as our planned curriculum for RE, we also welcome visitors, go on trips, and provide other opportunities for the children to learn about other faiths and cultures.
Links
Rev Scott Gardiner is our Birstwith vicar, and is a regular visitor to our school. He leads Collective Worship, joins us for special events, and supports the staff and children.
Canon Matthew from RIpon Cathedral is a good friend to our school, and we try to make a whole-school (jointly with Markington School) visit to Ripon Cathdral, once a year.