Other Faiths
Learning about the religion and cultures of those who do not share the Catholic faith is one of the ways in which we embody the call ‘to love one’s neighbour’. Some of the children in our school are practicing members of other faiths and our school is a place of love and respect for all our children. It is an act of respect and courtesy that our curriculum helps them to reflect on the nature of their own religious identity.
It prepares the pupils in our Catholic school for life in a modern Britain, giving them an understanding of the beliefs of others. This in turn will improve social cohesion and contribute to the common good by increasing mutual respect between those of different religions.
Before implementing the new 'To Know You More Clearly' programme, we followed Come and See. Through the delivery of this programme, the children explicitly learnt about other faiths such as Judaism and Islam. Moving forward, this will be taught throughout Branch 6 of the new curriculum. But we will also explore and make comparisons between faiths through the delivery of our other branches.
How else will we do this?
- Catholic Social Teaching
- Gospel Values
- British Values
- Protected Characteristics
- Curriculum and enrichment activities
Judaism
Year 5 have been learning about the Shema and have created mezuzahs to show their understanding. Ann Angel also came into school and spoke to all year groups about her faith, Judaism, including the Torah, Passover and the Sabbath.
Islam
Year 6 had a very special visitor today. Taibah came to explain what the Five Pillars of Islam are and answered lots of interesting, relevant questions posed by our curious and respectful pupils.
Diwali
Foundation Stage investigated Diwali by creating Rangoli patterns and using their Home Corner to role-play celebrating Diwali.
In Culture Club, we learnt about the Sikh and Hindu festival, Diwali, which is also known as the festival of light. We read the story of Rama and Sita to learn about the origin of Diwali, tried Indian snack food and created our own Diwali door hanging decoration or paper plate Rangoli pattern.
