3 things Christian parents can do when engaging with RE in schools

When you hear the words ‘RE lesson’ what springs to mind? It may trigger memories of copying notes from a board or a book about things we didn’t really understand. It may be remembering particularly quirky teachers, or maybe you don’t remember RE lessons even happening!

RE provision in schools – both primary and secondary – has changed considerably since I was at school, but there are some things that remain the same. Whoever is teaching the subject may be a person of any faith, or none, but whoever it is should be teaching the subject without bias or leaning, and often without declaring whether or not they believe what they are teaching. That might seem strange when we know how much we might want to be honest about our beliefs with people, but it does frequently lead to more open discussion between children and teachers in lessons (sidenote… Let’s ensure we pray for Christian teachers teaching RE in this way, it can be hard for them, and they will know that they are being watched).

1. Find out what is actually being taught

When we think about what it is our children are being taught about religion the first place to look is ……