Curriculum Intent for RE

We follow the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (SACRE) produced by The Educational Framework for Religious Education in Lincolnshire.

Religious Education (RE) is taught to all children unless their parents choose for them to be excluded. Our teaching encompasses several religions and worldviews and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils.  

Our teaching enables pupils to acquire knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, attitudes, practices and rituals of a variety of faiths while developing their own beliefs and values. 

Children are also taught that some people have no attachment to religious beliefs and follow secular philosophies. 

We follow the  Religious Education DfE Guidance and the Lincolnshire Locally Agreed Syllabus. 

 

Principal aim of the Lincolnshire locally agreed RE syllabus.  

The principal aim of RE in Lincolnshire is to help pupils develop knowledge, insight, skills and understanding about a wide range of religions and worldviews, enabling them to play a full part in a diverse society. Pupils will: 

• develop thinking skills which enable them, over time, to navigate an increasingly complex world 

• understand how as well as what to learn, through disciplinary and substantive knowledge 

• understand that diversity exists between and within religions and worldviews 

• know and understand about non-religious and secular perspectives 

• reflect upon, and respond to, the ways in which local, national and world events are linked to beliefs, communities, identities, expressions of faith and conflicting interpretations 

• understand the impact RWs have on peoples’ lived experiences 

The new agreed syllabus is the result of close collaboration with members of Lincolnshire SACRE, primary and secondary school teachers and headteachers, a range of faith communities as well as local and national experts in the field. 

Legal Requirements 

All maintained schools in England must provide Religious Education (RE) for all registered pupils, including those in the sixth form and reception classes, unless withdrawn by their parents [School Standards and Framework Act, 1998, Schedule 19; Education Act 2002, Section 80]18. This requirement does not apply to children below compulsory school age in nursery schools or classes. Each Local Authority (LA) is required to review its locally Agreed Syllabus (LAS) every five years. The teaching of RE is set out in the AS, determined by the LA. The LAS must be consistent with Section 375(3) of the Education Act 1996, School Standards and Framework Act, 1998, Schedule 1919 which states that it must ‘reflect that the religious traditions of Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.’ 20 The law does not define what these principal religions are. RE should be provided for all registered pupils except for those withdrawn at the request of parents/carers [School Standards and framework Act, 1998, Section 71]21 

Right of withdrawal

Parents/carers may withdraw their children from all or part of the RE curriculum [Education Reform Act 1988, S2 (1)(a)]. They do not have to provide a reason for this, and the school must comply with the request. It has a responsibility to supervise any pupils who are withdrawn from RE but is not required to provide additional teaching or incur extra costs. If parents/carers wish their child to receive an alternative programme of RE it is their responsibility to arrange this. This could be provided at the school in question or another local school. The pupil may receive external RE teaching if this does not significantly impact on his/her attendance.