RE
Religious Education (RE) is not part of the National Curriculum but is compulsory. The curriculum for RE is set by Local Authorities and as such, the school follows the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus where children learn about a range of religions. The syllabus was updated in 2024 and will now run until 2029. This curriculum teaches children about the six major world faiths (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism) and Humanism as well as exploring themes common to all religions such as celebrations, places of worship and spirituality. Parents do have the right to withdraw their children from RE lessons and from collective worship assemblies if they wish. If you are considering this, we would encourage you to talk to your child's class teacher first so you can learn more about the curriculum. If you do decide to withdraw your child please put this in an email to the school office.
RE lessons help children explore their own (if they have one) and others' faith, beliefs and values and promotes respect, understanding and empathy and helps them appreciate the rights of others which prepares them for life in the diverse modern world. It also plays a vital role in children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. A learning unit covers key topics such as: which stories, places of worship and festivals are important to followers of different religions, why religious texts are important to religious people, and in upper KS2, important wider topics such as how to reduce racism and what religious and non-religious views teach us about caring for the earth.
You can see our long term plan for RE here
At Aspin, we are focusing on implementing 'Task Design' into our learning. In RE, this includes teaching and learning in a variety of ways such as: Creating mind maps in books, illustrating writing with religious items and artefacts, completing single or double page spreads about a religion or religious figure with illustrations or acting out/dramatising parables from the bible. The short list of examples above outlines how 'Task Design' can be used to bring creativity and engagement to RE whilst supporting understanding through creative approaches to teaching and learning.
Parents / carers can choose to withdraw their child from the RE curriculum or any religious visits if requested. Parents / carers must contact the school head teacher Mrs Meadus if they wish to do this and appropriate discussion and arrangements can be organised.