We aspire to put spiritual development at the heart of our curriculum, within a framework of Christian Values

• Members of Local Clergy support and enhance learning opportunities
• All teachers are trained specialists. 
• All students within school receive 1 hour a week Religious Education Curriculum.
• Entry to Full GCSE is for all (where inclusively possible) using the WJEC Specification B ‘Believing & Living’ & ‘Believing & Experiencing’ Specification B Option B syllabus.
• Students sit Formal externally marked GCSE exams at the end of Year 10 and Year 11.
• All students attend Collective Worship once a week delivered by Heads of House, students and Clergy/ Chaplaincy Team.
• This worship is, in the main, predominantly of a Christian nature.  Students take part in local community and School Acts of Worship and activities and events, both on and off site.

No students are withdrawn from RE. Parents who might wish to remove or withdraw students from RE lessons and/or Collective Worship and may seek meetings with the Headteacher & Head of Department. However, this is an unusual scenario and at present, no-one is withdrawn.

Accommodation & Resources:

The dedicated classrooms are housed in a well-resourced and stimulating environment.  Rooms are equipped with Multi Media facilities. We have an extensive artefact collection and a wide variety of texts to draw upon.

We follow, and take as our starting point and guidance, The Dorset Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education ‘RESearch: Asking the Big Questions’

This syllabus is one of the first in England to make extensive use of the Non Statutory framework for Religious Education.  This was produced after extensive consultation with Faith communities and professional organisations giving us a clear rationale for RE and high expectations and standards of the subject.

The new Locally Agreed Syllabus (April 2005) allows us here at Shaftesbury School to;

• Have a strong commitment to promote student’s spiritual, moral, social & cultural development
• Deliver RE inclusively and develop progress, attainment and success in RE for all where appropriate
• Challenge students in their Learning through the added dimension of the key skills of Reflection, Empathy, Communication and Evaluation
• Highlight for students the Tolerance and Respect Agenda, promoting enquiry into and respecting the beliefs & values of others and combating prejudice and discrimination; Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
• Encourage students to develop their spirituality and own personal growth ,as well as to appreciate what it means to have a religious faith, and to respect and understand those who have a different faith, other than their own, or no faith at all. We positively teach Humanism and Atheist perspectives.

Educational Visits; Workshops and Events:

The Department offers a wide range of further study opportunities and enrichment activities.
Visits out are tailored to curriculum modules eg. Year 9 Hinduism is supported with a visit to Neasden BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London and a Workshop with Hindu Musician and Storyteller Rahi Bains. 

Year 8 visit the Southall Sikh Gurwara to join its community for lunch following observing worship, and a trip to Marwell Zoo enhances understanding of Animal Rights and Stewardship.  Students regularly take part in local community Lent Lunches and Women’s World Day of Prayer Service.

There is a programme for the Most Able students to work in Salisbury Cathedral alongside the Diocese Education Officer and her team on a variety of engaging topics, for example ‘Cracking the Sarum Code’ -  a cross-curricular RE and Maths look at the Divine Geometry and architecture of the Cathedral – an investigation of the Golden Ratio.

In the RE Department we aspire to create an open and questioning environment, giving pupils the opportunity to learn and reflect about the religious experiences of people around the world and throughout time. We allow time and space to ask and consider Ultimate Questions;

• Does God exist?
• Why is there suffering in the world?
•  Is there life after death?
• What is the meaning of life?
• How do various religions respond to a person's search for answers to these questions?

Exploring topical and relevant issues such as Medical Ethics, War and Pacifism and Sex and Relationships means that our students proactively participate in RE which is relevant, having impact on their lives and on that of their community locally, nationally and globally.

We embrace The Rights Respecting Schools ethos and values in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of planning, policies, practice in our teaching and learning.  

A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships:  between teachers / adults and students, between adults and between students.
See below:

Curriculum and Exam Board Links:

Useful Revision Links