SIAMs, Religious Education and Worship
SIAMS
St Matthew’s had a SIAMs Inspection in October 2023. We were delighted with the outcome which states:
‘The inspection findings indicate that St Matthew’s High Brooms Church of England Primary School is living up to its foundation as a Church school.’
The strengths of the school are:
- The well embedded Christian vision is clearly lived out by leaders at all levels. This shapes both day to day and strategic decision making.
- There is a tangible culture of kindness and focus on wellbeing, treating everyone a unique individual. This ensures all are nurtured within the school.
- Collective worship is the heartbeat of the school and community. It provides all with moments of joy, stillness and an impactful opportunity for reflection.
- The school is driven by the words of the vision that all are God’s children and truly loved. Carefully planned support for pupils, especially those considered to be vulnerable, ensures all have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
- Leaders have implemented a thoughtfully planned religious education (RE) curriculum. It effectively challenges and broadens pupils’ understanding of a range of world religions.
The full report can be read here:
SIAMS report St Matthew’s High Brooms Church of England Primary School
RE
All schools have a statutory duty to teach Religious Education, which is equal in importance to other National Curriculum subjects. We devote 5% of curriculum time to this subject, which is about an hour a week over the year. This is in addition to the time allocated to Collective Worship.
Religious Education is taught using the Kent Agreed Syllabus (2017). Children learn about other religions and world views, fostering respect for them. The Understanding Christianity scheme provides the units for children to learn about Christianity and Rochester diocese provides units which cover Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. Children cover areas such as belief, holy books, pilgrimage, prayer and festivals. We promote the belief that all children are equal whatever their religious background and children who have a particular faith or none have the opportunity to share this as part of their RE lessons. Religious Education is compulsory for all children, including those in the reception class who are less than five years old. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from religious education classes if they so wish, however, in view of the Christian ethos and distinctive Christian character of our school, we would hope that all children admitted will participate fully in RE. Anyone wishing to withdraw their child from RE lessons should discuss this with the headteacher before making a final decision.
Here is a link to the Rochester Diocese Board of Education should you wish to view any further information.
http://www.rdbe.org.uk/schools
Worship
Acts of Worship which are Christian in content take place each day and are an important part of school life.
Children focus on topics which are relevant to them such as being a good friend and showing responsibility. These concepts are linked to familiar situations and to Bible stories and Christian festivals.
Acts of Worship start by sharing the peace and also include singing, prayer and reflection. Children have the opportunity to participate in leading aspects of worship. Representatives from St Matthew’s church come into school regularly to lead our worship and we visit St Matthew’s church to celebrate festivals such as Christmas and Easter.
The school follows the Diocese of Rochester’s Worship materials
Patchwork altar cloth made by sewing club.
Parents do have the right to withdraw their child/ren from participating in Worship after consultation with the Headteacher and an alternative activity will then be agreed.
Please click below to the Revised RE Overview: