Religious Education
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa
At Ash Croft Primary Academy, we aim to help children build an understanding of different faiths and values, to promote tolerance and develop an appreciation of different ways of life. We use the Derbyshire and Derby City Agreed Syllabus for our planning and assessment. The document is reviewed and developed on a five-yearly cycle. We are currently following the new syllabus for 2020-2025.
As part of our academy’s focus on the importance of cultural capital, all children visit a place of worship, which supports their learning and offers the opportunity to experience different practices first-hand. Current covid restrictions have made this difficult over the past academic year, but typically, children visit a Gurdwara, Synagogue, a Hindu Temple and a Mosque. Once a year all children also visit the local church, who in turn deliver assemblies and work across classes in school.
Recent events and religious news all over the world has meant that RE is now more relevant and challenging than ever. It supports children to answer the spiritual, social, moral and cultural “big” questions, helping them to make sense of diverse beliefs and challenge the stereotypes within our communities. In their year groups, children have the chance to experience activities linked to their learning (eg: Children may take part in a mini fasting challenged followed by a mini feast, linked to Sawm). We acknowledge key religious festivals in our whole school assemblies; each year group presents an assembly based on a key festival or event in the year.
At Ash Croft, RE helps children to develop key skills and competencies to live in the wider world. Classroom lessons and discussions are safe spaces which allow children to reflect, communicate and exchange conversation in a mutually respectful way. Through engaging debate, children can learn how religion impacts people’s lives and choices and helps them to develop a sense of personal identity. RE at primary level can prepare children for adult life and help them to foster the idea that difference of opinion shouldn’t divide us in society.
Through all of these, our children can become ACE in RE!
