At The Cottesloe School, our Religious Education curriculum is designed to support our core values of Prepare, Aspire, and Achieve. We provide a safe space for students to explore diverse worldviews, develop empathy, and engage with the complex ethical issues of the modern world.

In accordance with Section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, parents and carers have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of Religious Education (RE) and Collective Worship.

If you are considering withdrawing your child, please follow these steps:

1. Informal Discussion: We encourage you to contact our Subject Leader for Society and Religion (RE) or the Head of School in the first instance. They will be happy to meet with you and explore your queries and/or share with you topics and schemes of learning. However, this is not compulsory and you can request to withdraw your child without a prior discussion. 

2. Formal Request: If you wish to proceed, please submit a formal request in writing to the Headteacher.

Students withdrawn from RE will be supervised safely in school. As per Department for Education guidelines, the school is not required to provide alternative subject teaching or an alternative RE curriculum during this time.

Please be aware that the right to withdraw applies strictly to RE. It does not extend to other National Curriculum subjects where religious topics may be discussed as part of the wider academic study.

Further Information and Policy Links

For more detail on how we manage the curriculum, student wellbeing, and statutory rights, please refer to our formal policy documents:

• Curriculum Policy: See Section 3.2 for details on how we manage curriculum withdrawal requests.

• PSHCE and RSE Policy: For information regarding the right to withdraw from Sex Education (note: this is a separate legal right from RE withdrawal).

• Equality and Diversity Policy: Outlines our commitment to respecting the religious and non-religious beliefs of all members of our school community.