Character and Culture - Religious Studies

‘We need to prepare students for a world we can’t envisage so when they are stuck with something they have never seen before they choose to think instead of remember’
- S and P Kenning (2019)

Character and Culture education at Acle Academy gives pupils the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe and to prepare them for life and work in modern Britain. Character and Culture is a subject through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to manage their lives, now and in the future in an ever-changing society, to think critically and to reflect on their own morals and ethical viewpoints. These transferable skills and attributes help pupils to stay healthy, safe and prepare them for life and work beyond the classroom in modern Britain. From making responsible decisions about alcohol to succeeding in their first job, CC expose students to dilemmas and situations and aim to help pupils to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up. Pupils will be challenged to put this knowledge into practice as they develop the capacity to make sound decisions when facing risks, challenges and complex contexts. High quality, sequenced, and age-appropriate teaching of these subjects will help prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.

The CC curriculum is accessible to all and that will challenge each student personally, to reflect on their own standpoint and being able to voice their opinion through reasoned justifications. As a result of this they will become healthy, independent and responsible members of a society who understand how they are developing personally and socially and give them confidence to tackle many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our pupils with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our pupils are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. The curriculum is planned in line with new statutory requirements for SRE and Health Education, as well as taking into account our local setting and the needs of our students, using real life examples from their surrounding to show relevance and context which the students can relate to. The PSHE elements of the CC curriculum is taught alongside the national curriculum for citizenship which aim to foster pupils’ awareness and understanding of democracy, government and how laws are made and upheld, how to manage their money well and make sound financial decisions.. As well as providing religious education in line with the Norfolk Locally Agreed Syllabus, which aims to promote and ‘understanding religion and worldviews for a life in a changing world’. Teaching will equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh evidence, debate and make reasoned arguments, in order to prepare pupils to take their place in society as responsible citizens.