Religious Education
Religious Education at Trinity
The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and worldviews, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.
The Herefordshire Agreed Syllabus 2025 asserts the importance and value of religious education (RE) for all pupils, with on-going benefits for an open, articulate and understanding society. The following purpose statements underpin the syllabus,2 which is constructed to support pupils and teachers in fulfilling them: • Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. • In RE pupils learn about religious and non-religious worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions. • Pupils learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response and to agree or disagree respectfully. • Teaching therefore should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. • RE should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and beliefs. • Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They should learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal worldviews – the way in which they encounter, interpret, understand and engage with the world – while respecting the right of others to be different.
At Trinity, we are a school that believes in the importance of learning about and from different religions. In today’s world it is vital to teach children about the different traditions, festivals and values that other people hold and giving them a balanced view of all the different religions that make up the world. This should enable them to develop a clear understanding of their own values and beliefs while respecting those of others in line with the Herefordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.
Our aim to break down any stereotypes about religion and share with the children what a religion teaches and how this impacts the way in which their followers should live. We want our children to be able to question their choices and the choices of others and use justified reasons to explain why some people may see the world differently to others. Our School vision is that every child at Trinity has ‘Heart’ (to be healthy, engaged, ambitious, respectful and to feel included at Trinity). We promote these values through Religious Education by:
- Health – In R.E. we help to nurture children’s spiritual and moral development.
- Engagement – During R.E. lessons, we aim to inspire wonder and spark children’s interest by planning and delivery creative and exciting lessons about other religions.
- Ambition – We want every child to achieve the key knowledge and skills underpinned in the R.E. syllabus.
- Respect – A core aim of the R.E. curriculum is to teach children about tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs. We encourage children of all or no faith to show mutual respect and kindness and to treat all fairly.
- Team Trinity – We teach the children that each religion is different and special. The followers of that religion are to all have equal opportunities to learn, succeed and believe.