Religious & Moral Education (RME)

As a very multi-cultural school, we celebrate the diversity of our Wallacewell school community.

As part of our Rights Respecting Schools work pupils learn about their rights highlighted within the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

  • Article 14 (freedom of thought, belief and religion)  of the UNCRC says that every child has the right to think and believe what they choose and also to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. It highlights that governments must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents to guide their child as they grow up.
  • Article 29 of the UNCRC says that a child or young person’s education should help their mind, body and talents be the best they can. It should also build their respect for other people and the world around them. In particular, they should learn to respect: their rights and the rights of others.

Religious and Moral Education Religious and Moral Education (RME) includes learning about Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other world religions, and supports the development of beliefs and values. Our RME programme also reinforces the importance of children’s rights including those highlighted above. The focus our our RME programme is on education, exploring similarities and celebrating difference. Our RME programme and is never a form of instruction.

RME includes opportunities for cross cultural learning. We support our pupils to appreciate the common values of honesty, liberty, justice, fairness and respect for and tolerance of others, regardless of creed, colour or religion. Our school benefits from links with the local church and other places of worship. We welcome opportunities to widen our school links.

Parents from religions other than Christianity may request that their children be absent from school in order to celebrate recognised religious events. Requests should be made to the headteacher. Appropriate requests will be granted on up to 3 occasions in any one school session.

Time for Reflection (referred in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 Act as Religious Observation) is where children across the school come together during planned assemblies or events, at pertinent points throughout the year, to reflect on the school community’s vision, values and aims, and notable celebrations, festivals and cultural events. Our Time for Reflection programme includes:

  • Our School Values
  • Remembrance
  • Halloween
  • Diwali
  • St Andrews Day
  • Hanukkah
  • Christmas
  • World Religion Day
  • Burns Night
  • World Interfaith Harmony Week
  • Chinese New Year
  • Diversity Day
  • Ramadan & Eid al-Fitr
  • Easter
  • Vesak (Buddha Day)
  • Eid al-Adha

We welcome opportunities to work with Partners as part of Time for Reflection. Our school may also include opportunities for Time for Reflection in class or across stages in response to community circumstances, including supporting loss and bereavement or managing critical incidents.

All of these school experiences complement other aspects of our pupils learning and make an important contribution to the development of skills, knowledge, understanding and personal beliefs. Time for Reflection also has an important role in promoting the ethos of our school by bringing pupils together and creating a sense of community.

For more information on RME education in Scottish schools please click on the link below to access the Education Scotland RME webpage.

https://education.gov.scot/curriculum-for-excellence/curriculum-areas/religious-and-moral-education/