Experience Easter - Heathfield Church
Mrs. R. Flatman
On Tuesday 28th March, Year 3 and Year 4 have been invited to join volunteers at Heathfield Church to Experience Easter and learn more about what Easter means to Christians and reflect on the meaning of Easter.
During this experience the class will walk to Heathfield Church, Millright Street, Newton Heath, and they will then join in 6 small workshops as well as having a snack and drink before returning back to school after about an hour and a half.
Year 3 will attend in the morning and Year 4 will attend after lunch. There is no cost for the trip and the children will need to wear their full school uniform.
If your child is new to our school and hasn't already filled in our local trip permission form then please make sure that you have completed below for your child to attend.
This trip is always a very popular one and one where children will build on their RE unit this term and it will include all children from Year 3 and 4. If you would like to discuss this trip further, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mr Sharp or Mrs Flatman at school.
As this trip is predominantly aimed at developing and enhancing part of the R.E. Curriculum, parents do have the right to withdraw their child (see below).
Religious Education
As a Voluntary Aided school, the Governing Body are ultimately responsible for the agreement of both the Religious Education curriculum and also the arrangements for Collective Worship, taking into account the foundation of the current school within the 1821 (and subsequently amended) Trust Deed. Therefore, at least half of all Religious Education is focused upon learning about, and learning from Christianity, with the rest of the curriculum focused on learning about, and learning from other religions and beliefs.
Parental right of withdrawal from R.E.
Parents have the right to choose whether or not to withdraw their child from RE without influence from the school, although a school should ensure parents or carers are informed of this right and are aware of the educational objectives and content of the RE syllabus
Where parents have requested that their child is withdrawn, their right must be respected, and where RE is integrated in the curriculum, the school will need to discuss the arrangements with the parents or carers to explore how the child’s withdrawal can be best accommodated
The right of withdrawal does not extend to other areas of the curriculum when, as may happen on occasion, spontaneous questions on religious matters are raised by pupils or there are issues related to religion that arise in other subjects such as history or citizenship
If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching or to incur extra cost.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/31/section/71
As a school, we have complete respect for the legal frameworks we operate within, and for parents to exercise their right to withdraw their child from Collective Worship and/or Religious Education. What I want to do is to explain why we feel this visit (and other planned visits to a variety of religious museums and places of worship) is a vital part of not only our Religious Education provision, but also within:
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education - pupils should:
Use a range of social skills in different contexts, for example working and socialising with other pupils, including those from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
Accept and engage with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; they develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.
Understand and appreciate the range of different cultures within school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain.
Show an interest in exploring, improving understanding of and showing respect for different faiths and cultural diversity and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity, as shown by their tolerance and attitudes towards different religious, ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national and global communities.
Citizenship - pupils should be taught:
that differences and similarities between people arise from a number of factors, including cultural, ethnic, racial and religious diversity, gender and disability;
to appreciate the range of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom;
Personal, Social, Health and Economic education - pupils should be taught:
to appreciate the range of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom
to consider the lives of people living in other places, and people with different values and customs
Our work on complying with the Equality Act 2010 in which religion/belief is a protected characteristic:
the duty placed on Governing Bodies of maintained schools to promote community cohesion, the duty to promote British values, the duty under the Human Rights Act 1998 not to act incompatibly with rights under the European Convention for the protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedom, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.As you can see, ensuring that our children gain a good understanding and confidence with as many different religions and beliefs as possible is a very important part of our whole school curriculum, not just for Religious Education. We believe that the more children know about all religions and beliefs, the better they will understand and develop their own beliefs, as well as developing empathy, understanding and compassion for those who have different views and backgrounds.
We are passionate about being an inclusive school and serving all children in Newton Heath, whatever their beliefs, nationality, ethnicity, religion etc. I know that this view is also shared by Father Andrew and the Governing Body.
We hope that the children enjoy building on their RE learning about Easter outside of school.
Mrs Flatman