everyfaithmatters
Good Practice - Religious Education
How effective is the Religious Education?
| We've done a lot through RE and it's had a big place in the curriculum. Because of our local context and pupils, we've done more on Islam than in the locally agreed syllabus. We've tried to make it as practical as possible. So we visit a synagogue. We visit a Hindu temple, a mosque, we go to church. And we meet people who are part of those congregations so we can talk together about their faith. We use a lot of artefacts so the children can play with them and touch them. When we did visual literacy we'd do journeys all done with cones and cardboard round the hall. So we did pilgrimage around the hall with children from all communities dressed up in bed sheets and whatever. The practice generated quite a lot of conversation along the lines of 'why are we going round here seven times then?' A Muslim was able to answer the questions for the children. | If you take these values and these things about being fully human and spirituality we can have an impact into those using stories or poems from other faith communities so we actually tap into all the faith communities that are represented in our school. Picking something that's of human worth and value and allowing children to say, 'yes, I identify with that'. It should be a secure place to engage with one another's faith. |
| The Christian child can find his faith affirmed in the multi-faith context. One child moved from such a school to one that was largely mono-cultural. "What do you mean", he asked, "you don't have a faith?" | In one class, two Muslim boys actually demonstrated before the other children how they perform prayer. It was something they'd never done in school before and the other children had never seen. It was such a boost to their sense of self-worth. |
| Throughout PHSE and RE was building values - understanding, tolerance, kindness, modelled with parents and children. | We've used buddy opportunities during Lent and Ramadan so that children can learn from each other across faiths. |
| We organised a visit to the mosque for all our staff. | Local pilgrims returning from Mecca (Muslim) and the Holy Land (Christian) have visited the school to share their experiences. |
If you have encountered examples of good practice please email the Revd Andrew Wickens, Dudley Education Chaplain, on
