| Birmingham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2007
2. The Contribution of Religious Education to the School Curriculum
| Religious Education supports the overarching aims of the whole school curriculum which are set out in statute. This includes:
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(Extract from the Education Reform Act 1988 section 2)
The curriculum for a maintained school satisfies the requirements of this section if it is a balanced and broadly based curriculum which –
- Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society; and
- Prepares such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of adult life.
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The educational philosophy permeating this legal conception of teaching and learning has,
historically,
close affinities with the interests of religious life. The governing principle is that formal education in school is directed at:
- purposeful development
- holistic development [e.g. not merely academic]
- the development of both pupils and society.
And employs a basic curriculum which is:
- balanced
- broadly based
- future oriented
- focussed on the acquisition of responsibility
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In Birmingham, religious education in the curriculum contributes to these overarching purposes of education and fits in with the city strategy of encouraging and supporting ‘voluntary, community and faith organisations in Birmingham’.
The City Council recognises that ‘faith communities are sources of values and commitment, and have substantial constituencies, and therefore … |
... could make a valuable contribution, alongside other organisations and individuals, in building a sense of local community and renewing civil society, in addition to developing community cohesion.’
In brief, the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus, whilst giving Religious Education local relevance, is designed to reinforce and complement the subjects of the National Curriculum in meeting the same collective purposes of education. |
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