Religious education enables children to investigate and reflect on some of the most fundamental questions asked by people. At Worsthorne Primary School we develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths, and we address the fundamental questions in life, for example, the meaning of life and the existence of a divine spirit. We enable children to develop a sound knowledge not only of Christianity but also of other world religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children within our school. Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding. We help the children learn from religions as well as about religions.

RE National Curriculum
RE Overview
RE Policy

Visit to Ghausia Mosque

The children in Year 2 and Year 6 enjoyed their visit to Ghausia Mosque in Burnley to consolidate their learning about Islam. The children had an informative and interesting morning! They were able to look around the mosque and ask questions. Mr Anwar (visit host) spoke to the children about the minaret and the importance of prayer to Muslims. He also shared lots of interesting stories about Isa and Musa explaining the many similarities between Christianity and Islam. They learnt that the mosque faces a certain direction so people can pray facing Mecca and the importance of the religious scriptures around the walls on the inside. The children were very sensible and respectful- they asked well thought out questions. They even learnt some of the Arabic alphabet and at the end took part in a quiz.

Christianity Visit 

Children at our school had an exciting visit from Christine who works alongside Building Bridges based in Burnley. Their aim is to celebrate diversity, to promote dialogue and activities to develop understanding, to achieve equality and justice. Christine spoke to the children about the life of Jesus and the importance of Advent in the Christian calendar. Christine was very impressed with how much our children already knew about the faith. The children asked thought provoking questions as always and were very respectful. The day ended with a fantastic assembly, where the whole school performed the Lords prayer with actions.

Hindu (Dharma) Visit

Worsthorne enjoyed a visit from Neetal a faith visitor from Building Bridges in Burnley. She talked about the Hindu religion and taught us dancing that is commonly done at time of celebrations, such as Diwali. All the children and staff loved learning about the different forms of God, celebrations and how it is the oldest religion in the world founded in India. Neetal commented on how much she loved visiting Worsthorne and working with all the classes. She even said she was impressed how respectful all the children were. We learnt so much and had a great day- the dancing was our favourite part!

Islam Visit

Our final faith friend – Mrs Ali- visited us in April.  Mrs Ali shared lots of information about the religion of Islam and how Muslims live their lives. Children learnt about the call to prayer, heard her read in Arabic and some children even got to act out praying. In KS2, children found out more information about the 5 pillars of Islam- they discussed how this links with every day life such as giving to charity and being a good person. We even had a chance to explore lots of different artefacts such as a prayer mat, a zakat (charity) box and scriptures in a frame. 

Our Learning Log

Which stories and books are special for different people and why?

We have looked at the Christian holy book – The Bible. We have shared some of the stories from this special book, including David and Goliath. We have talked about why it is special to Christians and how we should respect and look after a special book, such as a Bible.

We have then looked at the special book for Muslims, the Qur’an. To help us to know more, we had a visit from Miss Ilyas. The children asked some great questions and listened very carefully.

Overall, the main message that our children have gained this term, is that of RESPECT. We must be respectful towards people, religions and special books.

The Christmas Nativity story 

Diwali in EYFS

Lot’s of different activities this week based on Diwali. We celebrated with Diwali Day today (Thursday).

Year 1 have been exploring God as the Father and who God is to Christians.
We have been investigating and retelling the story of the prodigal son and understanding why Christians might compare God to a loving parent.

Last Friday, we had a visit from Mrs Ali – another faith friend from Building Bridges. Children have loved having the different visitors throughout the year, as they have had a chance to learn more about different religions. Mrs Ali shared lots of information about the religion of Islam and how Muslims live their lives. Children learnt about the call to prayer, heard her read in Arabic and some children even got to act out praying. In KS2, children found out more information about the 5 pillars of Islam- they discussed how this links with every day life such as giving to charity and being a good person. We even had a chance to explore lots of different artefacts such as a prayer mat, a zakat (charity) box and scriptures in a frame.

Year 6 had three visitors from the Burnley Kadampa Buddhist Centre. The children learnt about how Buddhism was founded 2500 years ago, in Nepal, by the Prince Suddartha Guatama, who became known as The Buddha. They took part in a guided meditation where they learnt how to breath out all the busyness and worries from their bodies. Children were also told about the importance of shrines in the religion and how each of the 7 bowls are a different offering to Buddha such as light and water for bathing. Year 6 really enjoyed the session and loved having their thoughtful questions answered.