Professor Trevor Cooling, Project Director for the REC’s Curriculum Project, reflects on the aims and processes of the Handbook, which was published on 2nd May 2024.

The aim of the Curriculum Handbook is to support curriculum developers and syllabus writers in their work of translating the vision of the ‘Religion and Worldviews (RW) Approach to RE’ into the reality of a curriculum/syllabus that fulfils the needs of their context.

The REC’s role in this process, as well as to raise the finance, has been to set the aims and objectives for the project. I was appointed Project Director, and then following a highly competitive recruitment process, RE Today Services were selected to undertake the project. Stephen Pett, as Project Leader, took responsibility for delivering the outcomes including writing the Handbook.

Three team leaders were selected by a panel of judges after a competitive process. Their role was to work with the Project Leader in exemplifying what an RW curriculum would look like in their particular context. Each team leader recruited teachers to bring their curriculum projects to fruition. The aim was to demonstrate that the vision for an RW approach to RE can be manifested in a range of context appropriate ways.

Managing and supporting the teams was an exciting, inspiring and humbling experience. Our three team leaders were amazing, creative people who have fulfilled the role of first adopters in very impressive ways. They didn’t need much management, but the professional conversations we had were a joy.

The biggest hurdle for our team leaders were personal circumstances and time constraints. For the Project Director and Leader, the negative attitudes of a minority of commentators who misrepresented the project represented a hurdle.

However, there were unexpected delights. Finding so many people who were keen to get involved in the project, who gave time, energy and ideas in support and who were overwhelmingly enthusiastic for the vision of the project was top of the list.

When I look at the three curriculum frameworks emerging at the end of this process, they demonstrate how a shared vision as articulated in the revised National Statement of Entitlement (NSE) in the Handbook can be manifested in very different, contextually appropriate ways. They have put flesh on the bones! We created the NSE as a pedagogical tool to support RE leaders in enacting the RW approach in a curriculum. It is probably one of the most significant outcomes from the project. It focuses the attention of curriculum writers on the principles of good RE and in particular its outcomes for pupils in terms of their ability to navigate skilfully the disputed territory of religion and worldviews. It focuses attention on our pupils developing the attributes of a scholar in the field of RE.

The next step is, firstly, for Agreed Syllabus Conferences, Diocesan leads and subject leads in MATs and Heads of RE to use the Handbook in their work, having been inspired by our three teams’ example.  Secondly, is for all the resource providers out there to develop materials for the classroom. Watch this space!