Religious Education – Mrs H. Howlett

At Cotteridge we believe that the teaching of Religious Education helps to develop a child’s character and to understand the world in which they live. At our school we follow the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus which is decided by representatives from different faiths across our multicultural city. This means that our curriculum is reflective of the diverse and dynamic religions here. The teaching of Religious Education is fun and engaging in order to deepen the children’s understanding of faith and belief and to give them opportunities to discuss and explore different aspects of the faiths around them.

Across the school the children are taught to explore their own ideas of faith and belief and then make connections between these and the many religions they learn about. The learning is based around 24 moral and spiritual dispositions, which have been agreed unanimously. The dispositions promote a developing character and lead to gradual exposure to a growing number of Religious Traditions and Non-Religious Worldviews. The syllabus includes the nine religious traditions which are significantly represented within the city (Bah’a’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Rastafari and Sikhism, and established non-religious world views such as Atheism, Humanism and Secularism).

Lessons focus on discussion and involve role-play, hot-seating and exploring different sources and religious artefacts. We use the Internet, visit places of worship and invite people to speak about their faith. The children are also given an in-depth understanding of religious traditions which prepares them for their future encounters as they live in a diverse world.

As a UNICEF Rights Respecting school, we encourage our children to talk about their own beliefs and to be respectful of the beliefs and practices of others.