Religious Education at the Willows School

At the Willows School, we believe that our pupils should have a good understanding of different faiths and cultures in order to be a better member of a multicultural society. We aim to develop a respect for, and understanding of different religions and cultures as part of everything we do, not just within R.E lessons.

We strive to develop the pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths and predominantly the shared key values by following the Rotherham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. This syllabus enables us to offer to pupils the key values that have been treasured by all religious traditions and these values are shared by many who have no religious convictions. Our R.E curriculum is based on the asking and answering of questions, sharing experiences, developing pupils’ own experiences, as well as gaining knowledge and understanding of different religions, beliefs, practices, language, culture and traditions, of our local community. We also understand that parents have the right of withdrawal from all or part of our RE lessons according to the Education Act 1996 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1988. Please notify school if you wish to withdraw your child from R.E. lessons.

In our school, we focus on celebrations and festivals which are happening within the year based on the demographic of Rotherham to make learning more relevant to our pupils. Our R.E curriculum is bespoke to meet the needs of pupils, is engaging and real for our pupils. We plan for pupils to visit places of worship, invite members of the community into the school and hold whole school Multicultural days, and making celebrations and festivals come alive within the school. Multicultural days allow pupils to take part in a range of cross-curricular subjects for example dance, art, music and cooking workshops. These events gives the whole school has an opportunity to learn as a community and learn tolerance, respect for others thus gaining skills, knowledge and the understanding they need to be able to function in society as responsible citizens in modern Britain.

Date: 1st September 2021
Mrs Angela Duncan
Religious Education subject lead