Religious education and collective worship

All East Sussex maintained schools must provide religious education (RE) and a daily act of collective worship for all pupils. Parents can choose to withdraw their children from both of these activities.

What does my child learn?

Children are taught about the stories, festivals and events in Christianity and other religions. They learn to think about the different religions and put forward their own ideas about them. The aim is to help children to develop their knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other main religions represented in Britain.

For most schools, RE teaching is based on the East Sussex Authority’s Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. Some schools (for example, church schools) may follow a different programme. You can find out in detail what is taught in East Sussex schools by reading the East Sussex syllabus for RE on czone.

The syllabus is monitored and reviewed by the East Sussex Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education.

Can I withdraw my child?

You can withdraw your child from RE lessons. This does not often happen as there is an understanding that RE is not taught in order to force religious beliefs on children or promote one religion as 'better' than another. RE encourages children to think about, develop and discuss their own beliefs and values and understand and respect those of other people.

We encourage you to talk to the headteacher of the school if you are thinking about withdrawing your child.

Collective worship

Collective worship is a separate activity from religious education. The law says that it should be 'wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character'. The school can ask for this requirement to be removed or changed if they think it is not suitable for the whole school or some of its pupils.

You can ask that your child does not take part in collective worship.