At Warton, we see it as part of our core responsibility as a church school to educate and engage our pupils about a range of religions and beliefs. It is within our core vision that children are courageous and strong and this passage from Corinthians begins with the words ‘Stand firm in your faith’. Whether our children have a Christian faith, a different faith or none we want them to be supported through knowledge, be strong in their beliefs and be inclusive of everyone else around them. We believe that engaging with the Faith and Belief forum will help us in our work towards realising our vision. This is our second year of being a part of this forum.
About The Faith and Belief Forum
The Three Faiths Forum was founded in 1997 and became the Faith and Belief Forum in 2018. Their school linking programme matches pupils and classes from different cultural or faith backgrounds to encourage them to explore their own and each other’s identity, community and beliefs. The programme is part of a national linking network.
During this academic year a virtual linking programme is proposed in place of the school visits. Virtual linking addresses some of the difficulties that have arisen due to the global pandemic for example:
- -We have been more isolated and encountered less diversity than ever.
- -Indirect contact has been found to still increase pupil confidence and openness to new people.
- -It will support pupils spiritual, moral, social & cultural (SMSC) development (as there have been few opportunities for connections during the global pandemic).
The virtual linking programme is led by teachers with a view to linking virtually during the Summer term for this academic year.