Religious Education is taught each week for 1 hour. Our curriculum follows Understanding Christianity for our Christianity Units and Questful for our other world religions. The 2-main non-Chrostian units we explore are Islam and Buddhism, although we do learn about other world religions in lesser detail. Feedback from our students continues to be very positive with children enjoying about learning about other views and opinions and developing key qualities such as empathy, understanding and respect. 

Our currciulum is entiched with two main visitor experiences. Our lower school enjoy a visit to Ulverston to visit the Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre and learn about Buddhist meditation. We also welcomed Imran Kotwal from the Muslim Learner Service to speak and work with our upper school to enhance their understanding of Islam. We meet fortnightly with Rev Alison at St James' Church for collective worship with further daily acts of collective worship held in our school hall. 

Our Church

St James' Junior School is a Church of England primary school with voluntary controlled status. It is an important part of school life to have good links with St James' Church. With this in mind the children regularly come into church, fortnightly I lead Collective Worship in church, we explore Christian feast days and bible stories, always keeping in mind the six Christian Values of the school, which underpin school life.

The children also come into church for special occasions including Harvest Festival, the Christmas nativity play and end of term Carol Service and leavers service, always well attended by parents and other family members. The church also offers various workshops for the children to participate in such as one based on the Christian Values, the Lord's Prayer and Christmas and Easter Experiences.

Building on the school vision of: "Your word is a lamp to our feet, a light on my path", all children when they start in Year 3 are given their own bibles, a gift from the church community. These bibles are well used in school and when the children move on to secondary school they take the bibles with them, recognising that their Christian journey continues.

For those children who want to further their faith, there are opportunities for them to become servers at church, join the church choir and be prepared to receive Communion before Confirmation. And there is also a monthly Family Service for young families.

The links with school and church are important to both groups, the church members through their assisting in workshops, or going into school to hear readers and financially contributing to the provision of bibles are playing their part in encouraging the children in their faith journey, which we hope will give them a good foundation for the rest of their lives.

As well as being a school governor, I am always available to answer parents' or children's questions about the Christian faith and opportunities in church.

The school "St James' Way" and the Christian values are lived out and evident in the life of the school, from children to teachers and support staff.

Rev Alison

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