At Green Hammerton Church of England Primary School, Religious Education has a unique position in the curriculum. We perceive it as a means for helping children to explore the spiritual dimensions of life and to lay the foundations for understanding of the Christian Faith. It is an integral part of school life and is generic to the ethos of the school.

Our RE curriculum is planned, delivered and assessed in accordance with the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and is further enriched with other support materials. It is designed to enable children to develop their knowledge, understanding and respect for the traditions and culture of Christianity and the other major world faiths.

The teaching of Religious Education in a Primary School must take into account the age and understanding of the child and whenever possible be closely related to their first hand experiences.

To that end, we particularly welcome and encourage both visits to different religious buildings and visitors from different faiths into the classroom. We also maintain strong links with St Thomas’ Church and the local community and welcome the contribution that visitors who lead Daily Worship make, towards enriching Religious Education in our school.

RE at our school is concerned with “learning about religions and beliefs” and “learning from religions and beliefs” and it is not our practice to preach to or convert the children. The faith background of both the staff and child’s family is respected at all times. Parents of pupils have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of the RE programme and any concerns about this should be discussed with the Headteacher.