I am Ms. Pickard and I am the RE Lead at Gorringe Park Primary School!

Due to our very rich and diverse community, our students have the opportunity to express their views while being mindful and respectful with which to investigate the world of religion and beliefs. Our goal is to support children in their inquisitive learning of RE as fuel a desire to find out more about themselves and their own feelings and beliefs. 

Religion and beliefs inform our values and are reflected in what we say and how we behave at Gorringe Park. RE is an important subject in itself, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society.

Religious education provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It can develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, of other principal religions, other religious traditions and world views that offer answers to questions such as these.

RE also contributes to pupils’ personal development and well-being and to community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. RE can also make important contributions to other parts of the school curriculum such as citizenship, personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE education), the humanities, education for sustainable development and others. It offers opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development, deepening the understanding of the significance of religion in the lives of others – individually, communally and cross-culturally. 

At Gorringe Park we teach the agreed syllabus from the Merton Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE). We supplement the syllabus through a scheme of learning called Discovery RE. This scheme of learning has an enquiry approach which makes RE exciting and engaging for the children. RE is taught across the school by a dedicated RE teacher and is often sited by pupils as one of their favourite lessons in school due to their high level of enjoyment. 

The Aims of Religious Education at Gorringe Park are to:

• acquire and develop a knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principle religions represented in Great Britain;
• develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on the way people live;
• enhance their spiritual, moral and social and cultural development;
• develop the ability to come to reasoned and informed opinions about religious and moral issues, making specific but not necessarily exclusive reference to the principle religions represented in great Britain;
• develop positive attitudes towards other people, respecting their right to hold different beliefs from their own, and towards living in a religiously diverse society.