Religious & Moral Education
What is RME?
Religious and Moral Education (RME) is designed to promote understanding of different religious and moral beliefs, values, and practice; fostering religious and cultural literacy, as well as ethical awareness.
Within Early Years, RME can foster children’s curiosity, respect, and appreciation for diverse perspectives; creating a foundation for children to develop their own sense of identity and understanding of others. RME emphasises exploration, discussion, activities, and resources that introduce children to different religious and cultural traditions and celebrations.
Why does RME matter?
RME can support children to develop skills of reflection and critical thinking. Through developing awareness of the values of others in a diverse society children can reflect on their own values and morals.
This can assist in supporting children to establish values of justice, compassion, and integrity, as well as development of respect for others, which can result in the prevention of developing prejudice.
Such a foundation can support children to identify, respect, and value similarities and differences between family members, friends, and their local community, enhancing their ability to understand diversity.
How can I support learning surrounding RME?
Children learn through the behaviours that they see modelled by others; therefore, it is important to demonstrate appropriate and positive attitudes towards diversity and model morally and ethically sound behaviours during everyday interactions.
Learning around RME can be supported through consideration of cultural diversity within the child’s community that may be familiar to them.
Moral consideration can be supported through walks within the local area that provide children with opportunity to make links between positive behaviours and their values.
Similarly, through activities like storytelling, it is possible for children to consider and discuss the decision and behaviours of characters. Generally, young children can be more receptive to fun materials and visually engaging resources that promote learning surrounding RME.
