Multi Faith Week 

During Multi Faith Week this year, we deepened our understanding of our own faith whilst increasing our awareness and understanding of people of different faiths and their beliefs.

At the end of the week, two of our Faith Leaders from Key Stage 2 spent some time in each classroom to learn about all the exciting things that had been happening in School.

 “It’s really nice to be able to learn about other people’s learning this week and seeing what they have been doing.” – Vanessa, Year 4 Faith Leader

In Key Stage 1 this week, children learnt about different aspects of Christianity, focussing on key figures within the Catholic Church.

 Reception

"The Pope wears special red shoes. We also learnt about getting married and we made Rosary Beads" – Elisabeta

“Father Noel came to visit us and told us about his job. He talks to people about God.” - Yakshara

In Year 1, children learnt more about Pope Francis and life in the Vatican City, as demonstrated beautifully by Felix in the video below.

Children in Year 2 extended their understanding about Pope Francis’ by researching and writing about eight important events in his life.

“The Pope likes giving to the poor and he doesn’t care about what people have and don’t have. For his birthday he likes to give things to other people.” - Akshay

“I really liked finding out about the Pope and did you know he had to have a lung removed? He started to love reading because he ran out of breath and after that he went to Church. When he went to Church, he saw what the Bishop was doing, and he wanted to do the same. He wanted to be like St. Francis which is why his name is Francis.” - Caitlin

In Key Stage 2, each year group learnt about a different faith and the beliefs of those who belong to each. Each class was also fortunate enough to visit places of worship for the faith they were studying, giving them an invaluable experience of that faith.

In Year 3, children learnt about Judaism, beginning with the history and founding of the faith, before learning about celebrations, festivals and traditions.

“My favourite bit this week was d esigning the Hamsa. Hamsa’s are worn by Jewish people for good luck. At the Synagogue, we also learnt that when the Torah scrolls are being written, if someone makes a mistake, they have to start the whole thing again!” - Sylvie

“My favourite part was seeing the Torah scrolls at the Synagogue and seeing the crowns they put on them because they are so special. The scrolls are handwritten and are made from animal skin and they cost £7000 for a small one and £70,000 for a big one.” - Kayden

Children in Year 4 learnt about Hinduism, considering what it means to be a Hindu, including equality of all living beings.

“I will remember lots of what I learnt this week, especially things I didn’t know before. I liked learning about how everyone is treated equally as a part of God’s family no matter of their colour or religion.” - Ira

“I liked learning about the holy animals like cows, I didn’t know they were special to Hindu’s before.” - Aarush

“We learnt all about the temple. I really liked when the curtains opened, and we saw all the gods.” – Avika

In Year 5, children studied Sikhism, learning about the important role that Guru’s play in guiding Sikh’s in their faith, before discovering the significant signs and symbols which represent Sikh’s devotion to their faith.

“I liked learning about the 5K’s because it was interesting learning about how these items represent their faith.” - Olivia

“I liked learning about the rules of the Gurdwara, we made posters, so we know what to do and how to behave when we visited.” - Pearl

“At the Gurdwara, we learnt all about Diwali and why Sikh’s celebrate this. We also learnt that their reasons for celebrating Diwali are different to the Hindu reasons.” - Uday

Children in Year 6 learnt all about Islam, beginning with the five pillars which structure the Muslim faith. Children were then lucky enough to see and hear about these core beliefs during their visit to the Mosque.

“My favourite thing to learn about was the five pillars of Islam and how they scaffold Islam.” - Anthony

“I liked our visit to the Mosque. It really showed how devoted they are to their faith and I think we could learn a lot from this, even as simple as going to Church every week.” - Joshua