Religious Education and Worship

Intent

Our curriculum is designed to help children learn about and explore a range of religious beliefs. Through this, they will consider a variety of important questions that help them to develop their own thoughts and ideas about the world they are growing up into and formulate their own world views.

Implementation

The delivery of this curriculum will ensure that we use the 2022 Shropshire Agreed Syllabus to develop our RE learning journey. Children have opportunities to explore different religious and non-religious world views through a range of approaches and experiences. RE lessons and Worship will deepen their knowledge and understanding. The children can then build on that knowledge through thematic units aimed to compare religious concepts, ask questions and form ideas to help them understand others world views.

Impact

By delivering the curriculum in this way through our RE curriculum and Worship, we aim to build religious tolerance through the mutual understanding of other religions. This compliments and enhances the values-based education provided at the schools. The religious beliefs and our values run through everything we do and opens the opportunity for deep discussion and experiences of others world views. We strive to continue to develop teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the ever-evolving subject.

Religious Education

At Haughmond Schools, our aim for RE is simple yet powerful:

“To build religious tolerance through the mutual understanding of other religions.”

We believe that Religious Education (RE) plays a vital role in helping children grow into respectful, thoughtful, and informed members of a diverse society. Through RE, our pupils explore a wide range of beliefs, values, and traditions, encouraging them to reflect on their own ideas and the world around them.

Our RE Curriculum

Across Sundorne Infant School and Nursery and Harlescott Junior School, we follow the New Shropshire Agreed Syllabus. This provides a rich and progressive learning journey where children:

• Learn about Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism
• Explore key beliefs, practices, and celebrations
• Engage in thematic units that compare and contrast religions
• Develop critical thinking through big questions about life, meaning, and morality

Our curriculum is brought to life through:

• Discussion forums and class debates
• Artefact handling and interactive resources
• Visits to places of worship
• Creative responses in writing, art, and drama

RE is closely linked to our Values-Based Education, helping children connect religious teachings with the values we promote every day—such as respect, empathy, tolerance and selflessness.

Community Links & Collective Worship

We are proud to foster strong connections with our local and wider community. These experiences help children see the relevance of RE in real life and develop a sense of belonging and contribution.

We are especially grateful for the support of The Church of the Holy Spirit in Harlescott, where we are supported with Worships sessions which mark key events in the Christian calendar, including:

• Harvest
• Remembrance
• Easter
• Christmas

Each term, Reverend Knight visits our schools to lead worship assemblies, enriching our collective worship and deepening pupils’ understanding of Christian values.

Harvest Celebrations

Each year, both schools celebrate Harvest by collecting food donations.

• In previous years, we have supported the Barnabas Community Projects Food Bank.
• We currently donate to the Food Hub and local food banks.

The generosity of our families is heartwarming and reflects our shared commitment to supporting others in our community.

Enhancing RE Through Worship & Experiences

We enrich our RE and Collective Worship through special events and visitors:

• Sue Michaels delivered a worship assembly exploring the theme of light in Judaism, beautifully linking it to our school values and encouraging children to reflect on the meaning of light in their own lives.
• As part of the Diocese of Lichfield’s ‘Light of Hope’ celebration, our schools marked All Souls Day and All Saints Day with a creative art project.
• We took part in The Buttons Project – a collaborative art installation inspired by the work of Peter Walker and local activist Kate Collins hosted at the Church of the Holy Spirit, the project encouraged themes of gratitude, hope and kindness inviting us all to contribute our buttons and button art for a special ceremony and exhibition the entire community could enjoy.

Withdraw from RE

The right of parents to withdraw their children from Religious Education (RE) lessons is set out in section 71(1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

A parent of a student at an academy can request that their child is wholly or partly excused from:

• Receiving RE given in the school in accordance with the school’s basic curriculum

Parents who withdraw their child from all or part of the school’s RE curriculum do not have to provide a reason. The school must comply with their request, although a school should ensure parents or carers are informed of this right and are aware of the educational objectives and content of the RE syllabus.

If students are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching or to incur extra cost. Students will usually remain on school premises. Parents are not permitted to supervise their child during these lessons.

The rules that apply to withdrawing students from RE lessons do not apply to other lessons that look at religion. Therefore, a student cannot be withdrawn from any National Curriculum subject, even if they teach about religion, other than RE or some aspects of sex and relationship education (RSE).

If you think you would like to discuss withdrawing your child from RE lessons, please contact the school office.

Harvest

Each year at Harvest time both Sundorne Infant School and Harlescott Junior School come together to collect food. In previous years we have donated this food to the Barnabas Community Projects Food Bank. This year we donated food to the Food Hub and food banks. The generosity of the families in our local community is overwhelming and shows how we support others.

Enhancements to support learning in RE and worship

Sue Michaels delivered worship assemblies to our children as part of a worship assembly. She talked about light within Judaism and made links to our school values of Tolerance and Responsibility.

Lichfield Cathedral – Light of Hope

To celebrate All Souls Day and All Saints Day, the federation took part in a Diocese celebration ‘Light of Hope’. This allowed schools to come together through the pandemic to share in the hope for the future and a chance to reflect. Whilst creating pieces of artwork that was shared through social media in a time of social distancing.