Are you keeping to your resolutions?

Read these resolution thoughts from Neil Duncalf. Are you one of the 20%? Or perhaps now is the ideal time to make a resolution.

I recently observed a school assembly, delivered by our head, which focused on New Year Resolutions. Following the assembly I began to think about my own intentions for 2025. I came across a statistic which stated that in the UK 80% of New Year resolutions fail and most of the failures happen during the first month. So, with that low success rate, do New Year Resolutions serve a purpose or are they an old fashioned and out-of-date tradition?

The Ancient Babylonians around 2,000 BC began to hold a twelve-day festival which marked the start of a new year. For them, it was the start of the farming year when crops could be planted, and they promised to return borrowed farm equipment and pay any debts they had. The Roman Empire adopted the Babylonian festival and eventually moved it to the beginning of January. The Roman month of January was dedicated to the god Janus. Janus was said to have two faces and could look backwards as well as forwards. The Romans began to make promises to the god Janus throughout January.

I suspect that one of the reasons people break their resolutions is because they have been made as part of a yearly tradition. If we have good intents for religion and worldviews education in our schools and beyond then why make those intentions and resolutions at the start of the school year or term? Why not resolve to make the changes whenever they are relevant?

Too many subject development plans get written and then filed away unseen and unreviewed until someone from the school leadership team reminds us that a deadline is fast approaching or even worse told that your plan is out of date. A much better approach is the idea that a religion and worldviews subject development plan becomes a working document, which is reviewed and amended regularly. An uncomplicated way to review it could be to rag rate each outcome red, amber, or green. I am not suggesting that it needs to be done weekly but reading the development plan and updating it half termly will surely help to ensure that our intentions for the development of our subject come to fruition.

If you are still wondering what intent to adopt, how about an intention to freshen up your pedagogy. There are lots of opportunities to develop your religion and worldviews education skills and teaching practice. Some of the best CPD I have recently done has been through Culham St Gabriels Trust. There are lots of opportunities available through their websites from short elearning courses to 2-year programmes. Why not commit to applying for a place on the Leadership Scholarship Programme and take on board the opportunities for development and outstanding support the programme offers.