Religious Education &Collective Worship

Religious Education & Collective Worship
As a Church of England school we comply fully with the statutory requirement to include RE in the curriculum and provide a daily act of collective worship of a broadly Christian nature for children in Key Stages 1 & 2. We follow the North Yorkshire agreed syllabus for RE and place an emphasis on the practical application of Christian values to daily life and decision making. We recognise that many of our pupils may be of other faiths or no faith; however we believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to learn about the Christian faith and other major faiths which they will encounter in their lives, and have the opportunity to explore and reflect on values, spirituality, awe and wonder.

As a voluntary controlled (VC) Church of England School, we are required to follow the North Yorkshire locally-agreed RE syllabus, which was revised in 2019. We also use units from the National Society's Understanding Christianity and we have organised teaching into a two-year rolling programme. We adopt a enquiry-based approach to RE which encourages children to ask questions, collect information and reflect. Thirsk Parish team support us in enriching our RE programme with regular use of the church and contributing to some lessons. Click on the link below to see the RE long term plan.

RE long term plan Sept 2019

Our daily act of Collective Worship follows an ongoing theme developed over each half term as well as marking the key celebrations in the Anglican tradition. It includes a hymn or spiritual song; time for personal prayer and/or reflection; and stories drawn from the Bible, other faiths and those written especially to illustrate aspects of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

On Thursdays, Collective Worship is held separately for each age range. Classes 3 & 4 consider a current issue introduced through the Picture News resource, which they are encouraged to reflect upon. Classes 1 & 2 share a Bible story.

We welcome local clergy, lay workers and members of other churches to lead Collective Worship. Our programme each term also includes special services in church linked to Christian festivals and a drama presentation of a Bible story led by the local Open the Book team.

Every Friday is a whole-school celebration assembly in which staff and children share achievements.

Parents have the right to withdraw their child from RE and Collective Worship. This should be expressed in writing to the headteacher.