Most schools follow the agreed syllabus from the local authority in which they are situated.
N Yorks agreed syllabusOrbs, thanks for posting this. ( my question was actually rhetorical really....what I meant...who decides what is taught.....an unruly angered myopic mob or....shoild it be based on an agreed syllabus.
It is very interesting reading, and refers to SACRE, which I referred to earlier. I think it states much about values and attitudes of which, I believe most of us could get behind...eg it gives credence to Humanism and atheism as belief systems to be studied.
I think that there is plenty of scope to discuss " cartoon images of Muhammad "
BELOW are some really lengthy ( apologies) extracts....but I think they are relevant
A1 The purpose of RE
• Religious Education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by
provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality,
issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.
• In RE pupils learn about and from religions and worldviewsin local, national and global contexts, to
discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions.
• Pupils learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their
insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.
• Teaching therefore should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of
religions and worldviews, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities.
• It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue, so that they can participate positively in society,
with its diverse religions and worldviews.
• Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of
wisdom and authority and other evidence. They should learn to articulate clearly and coherently their
personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.
The purpose of RE is captured in the principal aim, which is intended to be a short-hand version for day-today use. Teachers should use it for short-term and long-term planning, to remind them of the purposes
articulated above.
Principal aim
The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant
human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop
the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to
these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.
Schools might wish to devise a pupil-friendly version of this for themselves. Discussing this, using the full
purpose and the principal aim, would be helpful for teachers in clarifying what RE is for in their school and
classroom.
For example: ‘RE explores big questions about life, in order to find out what people believe and what
difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can make sense of religion and worldviews, reflecting
on their own ideas and ways of living.’
A2 The aim(s) of RE
The threefold aim of RE elaborates the principal aim.
The curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all pupils:
1. Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews1
, so that they can:
• describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and
between communities and amongst individuals
• identify, investigate and respond to questions posed, and responses, offered by some of the
sources of wisdom2
found in religions and worldviews
• appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of
expressing meaning.
2. Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, so
that they can:
• explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence
individuals and communities
• express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions
and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues
• appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion.
3
3. Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they
can:
• find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and
truth, responding creatively
• enquire into what enables different individuals and communities to live together respectfully for
the wellbeing of all
• articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain why they may be important in
their own and other people’s lives.
Teachers should consider how their teaching contributes towards the principal aim of RE (p. 6) and how
they help pupils to achieve the threefold aim above.
Note: These aims incorporate the former attainment targets of ‘learning about religion’ and ‘learning from
religion’.
RE is determined locally, not nationally:
• A locally agreed syllabus is a statutory syllabus for RE recommended by an Agreed Syllabus Conference
for adoption by a local authority.
6
• Local authority maintained schools without a religious character must follow the locally agreed
syllabus.
• Voluntary aided schools with a religious character should provide RE in accordance with the trust deed
or religious designation of the school, unless parents request the locally agreed syllabus.
• Foundation schools and voluntary controlled schools with a religious character should follow the locally
agreed syllabus, unless parents request RE in accordance with the trust deed or religious designation of
the school.
• Religious Education is also compulsory in faith and non-faith academies and free schools, as set out in
their funding agreements. Academies may use their locally agreed syllabus, or a different locally agreed
syllabus (with permission of the SACRE concerned), or devise their own curriculum.
RE is plural:
• The RE curriculum drawn up by a SACRE, or by an academy or free school, ‘shall reflect the fact that the
religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teaching and
practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’.
7
• The agreed syllabus has a duty ‘to take care that information or knowledge included in the curriculum is
conveyed in a pluralistic manner’ and ‘must accord equal respect to different religious convictions, and
to non-religious belief’.8 Note that the term ‘religion’ encompasses both religious and non-religious
beliefs.
A2. Explain and interpret a range
of beliefs, teachings and sources of
wisdom and authority including
experience in order to understand
religions and worldviews as
coherent systems or ways of
seeing the world.
B2. Observe and interpret a wide
range of ways in which
commitment and identity are
expressed. They develop insightful
analysis and evaluation of
controversies about commitment
to religions and worldviews,
accounting for the impact of
diversity within and between
communities.
C2. Examine and evaluate issues
about community relations and
respect for all in the light of
different perspectives from varied
religions and worldviews
Mutual tolerance
Schools do not accept intolerant attitudes to members of the community: attitudes which reject other
people on the basis of race, faith, gender, sexual orientation or age are rightly challenged. A baseline for a
fair community is that each person’s right to ‘be themselves’ is to be accepted by all. Tolerance may not be
enough: RE can challenge children and young people to be increasingly respectful and to celebrate
diversity, but tolerance is a starting point. It is much better than intolerance.
Respectful attitudes
In the RE curriculum attention focuses on developing mutual respect between those of different faiths and
beliefs, promoting an understanding of what a society gains from diversity. Pupils will learn about diversity
in religions and worldviews, and will be challenged to respect other persons who see the world differently
to themselves. Recognition and celebration of human diversity in many forms can flourish where pupils
understand different faiths and beliefs, and are challenged to be broad-minded and open-hearted.
Democracy
In RE pupils learn the significance of each person’s ideas and experiences through methods of discussion. In
debating the fundamental questions of life, pupils learn to respect a range of perspectives. This contributes
to learning about democracy, examining the idea that we all share a responsibility to use our voice and
influence for the wellbeing of others.
The rule of law
In RE pupils examine different examples of codes for human life, including commandments, rules or
precepts offered by different religious communities. They learn to appreciate how individuals choose
between good and evil, right and wrong, and they learn to apply these ideas to their own communities.
They learn that fairness requires that the law apply equally to all, irrespective – for example – of a person’s
status or wealth. They have the opportunity to examine the idea that the ‘rule of law’ focuses specifically
on the relationship between citizens (or subjects) and the state, and to how far this reflects or runs counter
to wider moral codes and precepts.
Individual liberty
In RE, pupils consider questions about identity, belonging and diversity, learning what it means to live a life
free from constraints. They study examples of pioneers of human freedom, including those from within
different religions, so that they can examine tensions between the value of a stable society and the value of
change for human development.