The Power of Networking

Working with a mentor on the Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme was the springboard I needed to try something I had always been interested in. As a Secondary teacher I have often created curriculum materials for local Primary colleagues, as if I am the ‘expert’. However, this always bothered me. Not only is it disempowering for Primary colleagues, it completely overlooks their incredible expertise in pedagogy. An exchange of Secondary subject knowledge and Primary pedagogical expertise was the focus of my leadership year.

With the publication of Ofsted’s ‘Deep and Meaningful’ report, subject- specific CPD seemed even more urgent. I benefitted hugely from RE Hubs training on how to run a local group (full details below), and rekindled the Cambridgeshire group that had declined somewhat during the pandemic.

It was a steep learning curve. A well-attended launch of our Agreed Syllabus the year before meant my contact book was healthy, but I still had to work out by trial and error the best way to contact schools that elicited a response. A dedicated RE adviser for the country has been invaluable, both in connecting me to schools and the SACRE.

A mix of Primary and Secondary colleagues attended the first meeting of the Cambridgeshire RE local group network in December 2023. We had decided on face- to – face in order to build lasting relationships and a sustainable community. As Cambridgeshire is a large country, we agreed to move around, hosted by schools, to maximise attendance. It was immediately apparent that our Primary colleagues in our group were keen to hear about and develop accessible, good quality resources. Moreover, many were using ready-made curricula some of which did not lend themselves easily to adaptation and development.

Thus, we decided to embark on a shared curriculum audit. We found our new Agreed Syllabus allowed us to map progression of skills and knowledge across phases. We agreed it is important that secondary colleagues to not assume that pupils are coming to them as a blank canvas having not learned anything previously. Instead, I think we should be building on prior learning to make connections and links as we would within our own phase.

From this collaborative starting point we worked in smaller groups in our second meeting; sharing resources, identifying curriculum materials to collaborate on, and learning from each other. So much was achieved in one hour together!

Our final meeting of the term will be a keynote speech and workshop from a local Head of Department on using art in RE lessons. All those attending have been asked to bring an example of how they currently do this so that again we can continue to collaborate and learn from each other. Future meeting ideas include inviting in faith speakers, visiting places of worship together and continuing our shared commitment to curriculum.

The buzz of passionate people working together and the delight at leaving with takeaways they can immediately implement in their setting cannot be put into words. I am so pleased that the Leadership Programme has enabled me the time and focus to be able to revive this group and bring people together. I am hugely grateful that my work in this area also gave me the confidence to apply for a Trust Lead for RE position for September, in which I was successful. The power of cooperation, and particularly cross phase networking, cannot be underestimated and so I urge you, if you are not a member already, to reach out to your local group or even set up one of your own!

References:

Ofsted (2024) ‘Deep and Meaningful? The Religious Education Subject Report’.
RE Hubs training on how to run a local group.
Find a local group near you
NATRE RE in your region