RE
Most people who live in the local community were born in the UK and migration and immigration into the area are low. Therefore, the community does not have a high level of diversity and children are not typically exposed to diversity including different religions and cultures, within their daily lives. In recent years, since Covid, the school has seen more children join the school from abroad. However, most are white middle class with parents who were working abroad and children attending British Schools. A small number of families new to the school are from Ukraine and are refugees.
Religious Education at our school:
At Itchen Abbas Primary School, we recognise Religious Education as an engaging, inviting and personally enriching academic subject that plays a vital role in preparing our pupils for life in Modern Britain. We value the significant role RE plays in helping children to understand themselves and other people; how different people live; and the differences between them. Our curriculum encourages children to explore different religious and non-religious traditions, allowing them to develop their ability to become respectful individuals of their own and other’s religious or non-religious beliefs. In line with the agreed syllabus for RE in Hampshire Schools, ‘Living Difference IV’, the teaching of RE at Itchen Abbas intends to play an integral educational part of the lives of our pupils as they come to think, speak and act in the world. We therefore recognise RE as a crucial subject not only for our children now, but also for the future.
Through our Religious Education curriculum, we aim to:
- equip children with the knowledge and understanding of Christianity and a range of other religions and world views
- enable children to develop an appreciation of how faith, values and world views shape different people’s lives
- enable children to flourish as citizens in a pluralistic and global society, showing respect for others
- enable children to understand their own world view and how that affects their view of the world
- promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils
- allow opportunities for children to ask questions and respond freely and openly to questions and experiences in a variety of ways
- foster in our pupils a reflective approach to living
RE is a statutory subject in schools:
- Every local authority produces, through its SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education), a locally agreed syllabus for RE.
- All schools within Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton (other than voluntary aided schools and academies with a religious foundation) follow the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus, Living Difference IV. A copy of this can be found below.
- Parents have the right to withdraw their children from parts of or all the RE curriculum in the school.
- Parents are not legally required to provide any reason for their request to withdraw their child from RE, neither are they legally required to inform the school in writing. However, if you would like to discuss this further, please come in and speak to us.
