Within my school there are a number of pupils who, across the past year, have had their entire lives uprooted in order to seek out what many may take for granted; safety and stability. As a result of the war in Ukraine, pupils fleeing from all areas of the country have found themselves within the British education system.
As a Year 2 Early Career Teacher, I had a plethora of concerns when I found out that I would be teaching these pupils. A completely new experience for me. My concerns included, but were not limited to, ‘will I be able to communicate in a way the students can understand’, ‘have they ever studied Religious Education before’ and ‘in a class of 30 students already, where will they sit?’.
Pupils were introduced to RE immediately, along with all core subjects, in their first week. Slowly I realised that this demanded no more of me as a practitioner than what I currently aim to do; to teach in a way that allows every child to experience success. The sense of collaboration between Ukrainian and British pupils has inspired me. I have witnessed countless pupils translating for each other, scribing work when the person next to them couldn’t keep up, volunteering to read in front of the class despite limited English and even helping at school mass for the first time. It has also highlighted the crucial role that technology has to play within education. Within a few seconds information from the board can be quickly translated into any language, with the ‘Say Hi’ app allowing for verbal feedback to be given almost instantly. This is something which would not have been possible previously without a multitude of translation errors or significantly more teaching time.
There was also a lot that I had to pick up quickly, for instance, getting to understand the prior knowledge of pupils. I was unaware that religious education was not a commonplace subject in Ukraine and many pupils had never been taught this before. However, I believe that there is a unique advantage when teaching RE to any student, as it is a subject which values and encourages the thoughts and experiences of all to be shared. The curriculum lends itself to accessibility as it is shaped by an individual’s own worldview.
As such, I have watched as pupils’ eyes light up when given the opportunity to express themselves on new topics, confidently sharing that they love RE as they ‘have never had to think about these questions before’. The subject has given students a new way to express themselves without fear of judgement – something they can be confident to do in any language.
In short, this new dimension to my job has reminded me of why I originally fell in love with teaching RE; helping young people to develop their character and in turn, having the pupils shape mine.
About
Amber Ainsley, Secondary Teacher of RE studying a Masters in Education