Religious Education 

Within the curriculum R.E provides a reminder that education concerns the whole person – body, mind and spirit, and enables pupils to explore meaning and purpose in their lives.

R.E aims to help pupils develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about the religions and moral issues which arise from reflection on human experience and a study of religious belief and practice.

Our specific aims are to:

1. Provide a broad and balanced R.E curriculum within the framework of statutory requirements and those of the locally agreed syllabus.
2. Promote opportunities for the cultivation of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
3. Develop pupils’ knowledge and appreciation of Christianity and other principal religions in Great Britain.
4. Support pupils in reflecting and thinking about fundamental human beliefs and values so that they can develop a personal framework by which to live.

Lindens Academy bases its R.E teaching on the Walsall Agreed Syllabus in accordance with the law.  R.E is a foundation subject with the status of a core subject in the National Curriculum. In the UK, all maintained schools are required by law to teach RE. All pupils in each year group aged 4-16 are entitled to Religious Education. This entitlement applies to Academies and Free Schools as well as to community schools and schools with a religious character. RE is a statutory subject in the curriculum and all schools are legally obliged to teach it. However, any teacher has a right not to teach R.E if they so choose.  All parents have the right to withdraw pupils from R.E lessons if they wish to.

The fundamental skills, knowledge and concepts of the subject are set out in ‘R.E in the National Curriculum’ where they are categorised into two attainment targets:

• AT1 To enable pupils to acquire knowledge and develop conceptual understanding of and insight into religious belief, values traditions and practices.
• AT2 To encourage a reflective approach to the study of religious faith and experience so that pupils might use their learning to make sense and meaning of their own beliefs, values and life experience.

R.E makes a major contribution to pupils’ awareness, appreciation and exploration of the British Values, as required by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate. This syllabus shows teachers how to connect R.E in appropriate and suitable ways to the promotion of British Values and of opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
 
R.E is not coercive: none of the aims of R.E encourage pupils to adopt or reject particular religious beliefs and practices. Instead, R.E encourages all learners to be thoughtful about their own beliefs and worldviews in the light of the religions and beliefs they study. R.E is not about making pupils into believers but tries to help them become literate and articulate about religions and beliefs, and to be thoughtful members of a plural society, so that in learning from religion they are able to make informed choices about how they want to live their lives whilst also understanding more about the faith of other people they meet.  As such, it is relevant to every pupil and every citizen of Walsall.

There is no specialist teaching in R.E. It is taught using a variety of teaching and learning strategies. To find out more about R.E at Lindens Academy. Please see the documents below:-