‘Where do I Stand?’ - the Suffolk Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2023-2028), Suffolk Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) wishes to:
- Acknowledge the breadth and diversity of worldviews, religious and non-religious, that pupils will encounter, and the ways these are lived out.
- Establish an entitlement to excellent religious education for all pupils, irrespective of type of school attended, social background, ability, gender, culture, religion or personal worldview.
- Promote continuity and coherence in RE in different phases of education by setting out a curriculum linked throughout by three disciplines: theology, human and social science, and philosophy.
- Increase professional, parental and public understanding of RE as a subject that underpins British values, enables informed debate on issues of belief in a diverse society, and promotes the possibility of amicable disagreement. Suffolk SACRE chose the title ‘Where do I stand?’ for its new Agreed Syllabus
Suffolk SACRE chose the title ‘Where do I stand?’ for its new Agreed Syllabus to encapsulate the notion that all humans have viewpoints, lenses through which they see the world. In the RE classroom, pupils should be encouraged to understand that ‘everybody stands somewhere’ i.e. has a personal worldview which affects how they see life, the world around them and other people.
This worldview may be related to a particular religion or secular organisation; it may grow, develop and change over time. ‘Where do I stand?’ requires all pupils to think deeply about different religions and worldviews, and the complexity and diversity of belief and practice which surround them. It also requires discussion of ‘big’ questions, which provide space for all to draw on new learning, to explain their own ideas, and to form, strengthen or refine these.
Where do I stand?’ aims to develop religiously literate citizens who:
- Possess rich knowledge of the beliefs of different religions and worldviews, including how these may be differently interpreted or change over time.
- Recognise that the ‘lived reality’ of different religions and worldviews is complex and diverse, and that generalities and assumptions must be treated with care.
- contribute constructively to debate about religious questions and shared human concerns, using their understanding of religion and belief. These educational aims for RE reflect the underlying disciplines of RE: theology, human and social science, and philosophy