Religious Education should provoke challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human, through knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religions.
Religious Education should provoke challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human, through knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religions.
Shiplake CE Primary is a Voluntary Aided Church school in the Diocese of Oxford. We maintain very close links with the Shiplake Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Diocese and the local community. The Christian ethos of the school encourages co-operation and caring throughout the school community. The Christian and moral culture fostered by the school values mutual respect, self-discipline and good behaviour in all our pupils. The school is a happy, friendly community and each child is encouraged to fulfil his or her own potential both academically and spiritually.
Legal Requirements
Religious Education must be provided for all registered pupils in full time education from Foundation Stage to Year 6, except those withdrawn at their parents’ request. The governors at this school have decided that the R.E. taught at Shiplake must adhere to the Oxfordshire Agreed Syllabus 2023-2028. The Syllabus reflects the requirements of the Education Acts of 1996, 1998 and 2002, in 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.
The Importance of Religious Education
Religious Education should provoke challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human, through knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religions. Religious Education should challenge pupils to reflect, analyse and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses. It should offer opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development and encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging enabling them to flourish as individuals within the school as well as the wider community. RE should play an important role in preparing pupils for adult life enabling them to develop respect and sensitivity to others particularly those who hold beliefs different from their own.
Right to Withdrawal from RE and Collective Worship
Pupils may be withdrawn from RE or part of RE by a parent or guardian (or withdrawing themselves if they are aged 18 or over) in accordance with Schedule 19 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; teachers can also exercise their right to withdraw from teaching the subject.
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from RE on the grounds that they wish to provide their own RE. This provision will be the parents’ responsibility. This right of withdrawal exists for all pupils in all types of school, including schools with and without a religious designation. Students aged 18 or over have the right to withdraw themselves from RE. Parents also have the right to withdraw their child from part of RE and can do so without giving any explanation.
Teachers also have the right to withdraw from the teaching of RE. However, this does not apply to teachers who have been specifically employed to teach or lead RE. If a teacher wishes to withdraw from the teaching of RE, a letter requesting this must be submitted to the head of the school and its chair of governors. If a teacher withdraws from the teaching of RE, the school must still make provisions for the pupils to receive their entitlement to RE.
When a request to withdraw is received by a school, the request should be granted without delay. The school may offer to speak with the parent to try to understand the basis for the withdrawal but only after the request has been granted. The school must make clear that the parent’s right to withdraw their child has been granted and that parents are not required to give reasons for their request.
