Rationale

Religion is a universal occurrence of all peoples, resulting from their instinctive search for an explanation of the meaning and purpose of life. Religious Education must therefore be concerned with helping pupils understand spiritual experience; thus enabling them to make reasoned judgements about spiritual and moral issues.

Purposes

1. Help pupils interpret their own experiences of life and contribute towards their personal development.
2. Provide pupils with information about different religions, Christianity in particular, and develop the skills needed to recognise and consider religious phenomena.
3. Encourage attitudes of sensitivity and openness towards religious and moral ideas, beliefs and practices.
4. Help pupils appreciate the cultural dimensions of religion and explore the relationship between religion and other aspects of human experience and expression.
5. Provide daily collective worship in school, allow pupils to experience a variety of forms of worship and offer opportunities to share faith with others.

Parents have a right to withdraw their children from the daily act of collective worship. Arrangements can be made with the Headteacher.