Inspired by Iceland…

I decided before I went to Iceland that I’d write a blog about its interesting religious and spiritual history rich in Norse tradition of Asatru (which is notably on the rise again) as well as over 1000 years of Christian traditions and heritage. As we travelled around for 10 days there was no doubt that the number of church buildings per head is very high. The countryside is dotted with small largely Protestant Lutheran churches often serving one small farming community. There were also some stunningly unusual structures some of which had rainbow roads as a sign of acceptance leading up to them.

However, top of the list of things we wanted to do as a family was whales watching. On land/online there are numerous companies to choose from, all wanting you to take a tour with them, all offering something unique or special. We had pre-booked online. However, when out at sea they all work together. They are on radios to each other, they let each other know of sightings, they all want their customers to have the best experience. The competitive drive disappears once out at sea. Alongside this the companies have collaborated in the town of Husavik to advocate for a ban on whaling.

This reminded me of how the religion and worldviews community, which sometimes seems diverse and divergent, and perhaps even a little competitive at times, has come together on numerous occasions over the last year to provide the best professional development possible for teachers and promote the importance of the subject. I’m sure I’ll forget some things, but the following particularly come to mind:

• The Open Letter to the previous secretary of state calling for return of a bursary for beginner teachers of RE in England as well as other recruitment and retention intiatives throughout the year
• The National Content Standard for RE in England being recommended by multiple organisations and school providers
• The highly successful joint AREIAC-AULRE Conference last month, and plans for another in 2025
• Various steering groups drawing on many of the RE organisations which support RE Hubs, RExChange, Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme
• Using joint social media assets across the RE community prior to the election to set out our asks from the new government

This collaboration and fostering of partnerships is a huge strength of the religion and worldviews community. We should celebrate it!

Oh… and yes… we did get to see some whales!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Kathryn Wright, CEO Culham St Gabriel’s