At Chorlton Park, we believe that faith and religion play a prominent part in today’s life in Britain. Religious Education contributes to pupils’ personal development and well-being and to community cohesion. Religious Education offers opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development, deepening the understanding of the significance of religion in the lives of others (Art. 14 UNCEF Charter). Religious Education therefore forms an integral part of our curriculum. We follow the renewed Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2022 – 2027), which allows all pupils to explore their own beliefs, values and traditions, and those of others. We give all children opportunities to develop the knowledge they need to prepaare them for life in modern Britain.
The Manchester Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education is used for Reception, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 based on a spiral curriculum where the children revisit each faith at a greater depth each year. Children are given the opportunity to build on prior knowledge to develop an understanding of the main world faiths and belief systems.
At Chorlton Park we believe that all children have a right to a good quality education (Art. 28 UNICEF Charter) and should have an opportunity to access the curriculum of their year group. We adapt our curriculum and pedagogy to meet the needs of all of our children, particularly those of children with SEND.
We recognise our local area as vibrant and unique, with much diversity of religion and belief. Our Religious Education curriculum aims to reflect this, helping children develop positive, respectful attitudes towards people from all religions and world views. A rich, question based approach to learning means we make space for children to explore their own beliefs and the beliefs of others. We ensure we teach RE through creative, fun activities such as dynamic storytelling, games, discussions, art and role play. We hope this will prepare children for active citizenship in a diverse and rapidly changing world.
At Chorlton Park children are given the opportunity to visit a variety of places of worship such as a mosque, a church, a synagogue and a Hindu temple to further support their understanding of different faiths. In addition, we celebrate festivals of the main world faiths through assemblies and whole school activities.
Our aim for RE at Chorlton Park is to:
· Be challenging, inspiring and fun.
· Actively promote values, including British Values
· Develop children’s levels of religious literacy and conceptual understanding.
· Enable children to articulate, with confidence, their ideas about religion, beliefs and spirituality
· Enable children to understand religious and belief systems’ commitment to morality and social justice.
· Promote social and ethnic harmony and awareness of British values as a moral imperative for schools