“Do you not think that religious unity is to be had not by a mechanical subscription to a common creed but by all respecting the creed of each?” - Mahatma Gandhi

At Shrivenham Church of England Primary School, we believe that children, whatever their background, ability or religious persuasion, will find themselves able to benefit from the experiences of Religious Education. RE must be relevant to the needs of our pupils as members of a multicultural, multi-faith society. This means providing opportunities for pupils to understand themselves and others. We believe that RE encourages a reflective approach to living; a knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs and practices and a development of personal skills in forming reasoned opinions based on evidence and argument. RE makes a strong contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils. 

Shrivenham Church of England Primary School actively promotes Christian values. Our Christian values-based approach encourages commitment, effort and high standards in all that we do and enables children to discuss, explore and reflect upon those values we live by, which make us thoughtful, caring and responsible citizens.

The RE curriculum at Shrivenham is based on the agreed syllabus provided by Oxfordshire Diocesan Board of Education . This syllabus aims to embed RE with the key purpose of supporting pupils in developing their own thinking and their understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it. Through the study of other religions, and by developing links to other schools in England and across the world, we aim to promote an attitude of understanding and tolerance through increasing children’s knowledge about other people’s beliefs, values and religious practices. Reaching out into the community and making links with charities play an important part of our curriculum. 

The ethos of our school has a profound effect on the pupils and influences each aspect of the educational process. We provide an atmosphere where religion and a spiritual life is a genuine and important dimension of being human. We develop a tolerant understanding of the religious beliefs of others and provide opportunities for pupils to reflect upon and grow in understanding of their own faith.  

We have close links with the parish church of St Andrew’s, Shrivenham and we also have links with the local Methodist church and the Defence Academy Padre. Shrivenham Church of England Primary School holds Easter, Harvest, Advent, Christmas and other services in the parish church, in addition to our minister taking school assemblies each week. We have also developed class worship sessions, Open the Book assemblies and child-led assemblies linked with our school values.