Religious Education

The Curriculum:

Religious education in a Church of England school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10). It will help educate for dignity and respect, encouraging all to live well together. Such an approach is offered through a commitment to generous hospitality, being true to our underpinning faith, but with a deep respect for the integrity of other religious traditions (and worldviews) and for the religious freedom of each person.

RE  at Gilmorton Chandler gives opportunities for our children to understand what it means to be a religious believer in the world today and help them to understand how Christian beliefs inspire and underpin the values of the school community that they are a part of. RE supports our children to recognise and act on the insights, principles, beliefs, attitudes and values that could influence, inspire or guide them in life.

We offer opportunities to -

● Develop knowledge and understanding of the Christian beliefs and practices so that they understand the importance of the Bible, the role of the church and recognise that for Christians their faith provides a way of interpreting life and its meaning.

● Develop knowledge and understanding of the beliefs and practices of some of the other principal religions and non-religious world views in Britain. ● Understand how belief impacts on culture, relationships, values and lifestyle.

● Understand how belief can be expressed in a variety of ways including art, dance, music, ritual celebration and in different cultural settings.

● Develop spiritually, morally, culturally and socially by helping them to reflect upon personal feelings, responses and relationships.

● Cross-curricular links are made when relevant, particularly to give a connected curriculum.

● Explore ways in which religious values and teaching have an impact on actions and decisions for people of faith.

● Be supported in their own search for meaning and purpose in life.

● Develop a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.

● Explore concepts of love, forgiveness and sacrifice.

● Develop skills of reflection, empathy, communication, analysis, investigation, interpretation, evaluation and synthesis.

● Develop attitudes of respect, sensitivity, open mindedness and self-esteem.

Collective worship: 

All children participate in invitational collective worship each day.

Our worship is Anglican in line with our Trust deed. We work closely with Sharon March, our local Pioneer Minister, who fortnightly leads our Collective Worship in school. Together, we use the schools values as themes and supplement these with key dates in the Christian calendar.

End of term and some Special Days in the Christian Calendar are celebrated at All Saints Church, Gilmorton.

RE Days / Events:

We have immersive events for the school and local community in order to give participants a fuller appreciation of major events in the Christian calendar, as well as those in other religions.

To date we have taken part in a Christmas Journey, which has involved children, staff parents and community members travelling around the local area on foot. They visit sites of significance in the Christmas story such as the house where Mary and Joseph lived prior to journeying to Bethlehem, the field of sheep where the Angel Gabriel spoke to the shepherds and finally to the our church where the travellers see Mary and the baby Jesus. We have been very fortunate over the years to have had a mother and her new born baby play the role of Mary for us.

We have had an Easter Journey which recreated significant parts of this major Christian event. Like the Christmas journey, we travel on foot around the village stopping at various places to witness and hear from the figures in the story. The journey starts with a reenactment of the Last Supper, we visit the Garden of Gethsemane to see Judas betray Jesus and Jesus taken by the Roman soldiers, we hear from mother Mary, distraught at the sight of the empty cross where Jesus had died. The journey ends up at the empty tomb with a soldier sharing what he knows about Jesus’ resurrection.

Each year we look at Diwali, as well as celebrations from a range of religions. To help the children to understand Diwali we have brought to life the story of Rama and Sita and created a journey to explore its many elements. This year we were lucky to have a visitor who explored Diwali from a Sikh perspective rather than just from the Hindu, which we have covered previously.

Gilmorton Chandler CofE Primary School hosts a NATRE Affiliated Local Group which is run by our Religious Education Coordinator, Mrs Spadaccini. Mrs Spadaccini has been recognised for her commitment to the teaching of this subject by being made a RE Lead Teacher for Leicestershire Diocese Board of Education.

‘There are over 200 local network groups across the country, connecting over 2000 teachers and RE professionals. These groups are formed to support all teachers of RE, providing networking opportunities and engagement…’

To find out more about NATRE Affiliated Local Groups please visit their website by following this link: NATRE Affiliated Local Groups

(Disclaimer: we cannot be held responsible for content of external websites.)

RE Links in the Local Community:

The school caters for children from the parishes of Gilmorton, Kimcote Cum Walton, Ashby Magna, Bruntingthorpe, Peatling Parva, Upper Bruntingthorpe and Willoughby Waterleys. The school takes part in activities in these villages when the opportunities arise.

We have been fortunate to have created links with Arnesby Baptist Church. A member of the church team regularly comes into school to deliver collective worship for us.

Parents, carers and other family members, together with other members of our community, are invited to a range of collective worship and religious events.