Schools and key faiths in Scotland
School ethos
It is crucial that children feel that their own religious and belief background is recognised and respected on an equal level to that of their peers. For this to happen the school ethos must genuinely embrace diversity and communicate that effectively to the whole school community. It is not enough for pupils to feel their religious or belief background is valued in the RME curriculum. Diversity should be celebrated and valued in every aspect of school life.
Faiths and Festivals - linked but distinct
A festival study approach can lead to a partial view of a faith community, which can make that faith seem exotic and splendid. If we portray a faith as having different, even obscure, practices in their festivals, we may exaggerate difference rather than allow pupils to become aware of the shared experiences that lie at the root of the celebrations, e.g. focusing on the ritual of circumcision rather than the sense of belonging to an established strong group of believers.
Pollockshields Primary School has successfully adopted a festival study approach as a way in to a balanced and progressive whole school curricular study of four world religions.
Faith equity issues in Primary RME
The material in this section was initially written by Sheila Laing, Headteacher of Forthview Primary, Edinburgh for the CERES website and Anti-racist Staff Development Toolkit. Its focus is more multicultural and multifaith than directly anti-sectarian. However, these issues connect and it is hoped that this will be a useful resource for this site.
Balance of Outcomes in 5-14 RME
The 5-14 RME Guidelines state that no RME programme is satisfactory unless it contains elements of all three attainment outcomes:
- Christianity
- Other World Religions
- Personal Search
In determining the balance among the outcomes, the 5-14 Guidelines advise us to 'take into account the circumstances of the school, its religious background and the general educational principle of tolerance and respect for others'.
Teaching and learning styles
Given teachers' new responsibilities under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, to promote good race relations and the increasing diversity in our classes, it is crucial that RME is taught in a way that engages children in their learning. Only then will we make an impact on their knowledge, understanding and tolerance.
The RME 5-14 Guidelines agree '... an active learning approach to RME ...' challenges learners in an engaging way. It is common for teachers to plan RME teaching as a series of discussions with activities. However, it has been said that we remember 5% of what we hear, 20% of what we see and 75% of what we practise by doing. Therefore, engaging the children in learning about faith communities by using artefacts, visits and engaging with suitable members of faith groups is most likely to lead to high-impact, quality learning experiences.
Personal Search
Some components of the Personal Search outcome in primary schools are addressed through the study of discrete topics, e.g. 'People who help us' or 'How do people believe the world came to be' etc. However, it is very important that study of the Christianity and Other World Religion outcomes is embedded in a personal search approach. This will ensure that children will develop more than just a knowledge base about faith communities. They will gain understanding of the meaning and importance of religious customs and rituals in a follower's experience. The general aim should be to ensure each study links to followers' and children's life experience / personal search.
How can we seek to give children an understanding of a faith unknown to them? We do this by linking their own experience to similar faith experiences. It is not enough to know about a religion, it is important to have a sense of the need that is satisfied, e.g. prayer. Have you ever felt you really needed help? When? At that point in their lives some people are helped by prayer.
A Personal Search approach
This forward plan is a comparative study of Rites of Passage, called Journeys - an Interfaith exploration, that starts from a child-centred, Personal Search viewpoint and leads into an exploration of how different faith communities bring meaning to these events we all share in life. It is aimed at Level B / C but could be adapted for other levels by the teacher.
Exemplar Whole School Programme
Pollockshields Primary School has developed a whole school programme that takes 'into account the circumstances of the school, its religious background and the general educational principle of tolerance and respect for others' (5-14 RME Guidelines).
PDF file: Pollockshields Primary School RME Policy
Pollockshields has chosen to study four faiths, which are represented in their local community: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.
They have selected a major festival from each of these faiths - Christmas, Divali, Eid-ul-Fitr and Vaisakhi.
At the time of the Festival, a week of RME study is undertaken by each class in the school. Progression in knowledge and understanding of each faith is ensured through the provision of a whole school programme from Level A-D, which is broken down into programmes of study for each stage.
Sample Programmes of Study
| Christianity | 5-14 RME Guidelines | |
| Hinduism | 5-14 RME Guidelines | |
| Islam | 5-14 RME Guidelines | |
| Sikhism | 5-14 RME Guidelines |