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Loreto Participation in Religious Education Policy

This policy has been formulated in order to clarify the position of those students who do not wish to participate in Religion Education as taught in the school curriculum.

Religious Education plays a pivotal role in the holistic development of the student and is a core subject in Loreto Secondary School.  The Principal outlines to Parent(s)/Guardian(s) of incoming students the importance of attending R.E. class and of the role and status of R.E. in the school. We encourage all students to participate in R.E. and that the school R.E. curriculum is a subject for ‘all religious faiths and none.’

There may be occasions where the Parent(s)/Guardian(s) wish to withdraw a student from the class.  This request must be directed to the Principal and an effort will be made to address the particular difficulty.  If the difficulty cannot be resolved through dialogue and recognising the constitutional rights of the student, the non-participation must be allowed  [1] and stated in writing to the Principal. The reason for the students’ non participation is recorded so that all stakeholders in this process (management, parents, teachers and students) are kept informed.

In such circumstances, it may not be possible for the school to provide for supervision of the student outside of the classroom.  Students may be required to remain in the classroom.  The spiritual and moral development of the student must still be met. As this is the allocated time for attendance at Religious Education, students of other faiths or of no faith are required to use this time to engage in assignments that will contribute to their spiritual/moral development. Parents / Guardians are requested to state which religion the student is practicing, if any, and to specify which books they are happy for their daughter to study. A list of relevant, agreed books will be sourced and be available in the school library.

This time may not be used for the study of any other subject matter or for the completion of homework.

[1] See Article 42(1) of the Constitution.

 

Date of Board of Management Ratification: 29th May 2014

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