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I have been an REQM Assessor since 2014, with the privilege of an REQM visit on average once a term.  I was on the REQM Review Group in 2018-19 and am currently on the REQM Advisory Group. I was asked several times if I would apply to be an REQM Assessor- and so on the third time of asking- I did! I haven’t looked back since! It is a very enjoyable role.

I have seen the award change over time. I have greatly enjoyed being part of the journey since REQM’s conception with Mary Myatt and Jane Brooke, and now under Linda’s guidance, we have made great leaps forward. Currently we are making online visits to schools, so no travel is involved! We also meet online every term for valuable CPD and to share good practice.

When I look back over 10 years of the REQM I remember when I first started assessing, one of my colleagues saying to me that you will recognise a Gold school when you meet it, as it will shine out! How true that is! I am very excited about the way forward with REQM, which has always been about raising the profile and celebrating good practice in RE. During lockdown I think RE subject leaders were so creative, filming short cameo videos to showcase their school RE. The current REQM evidence form is crisp, focussed and helps to engage schools.

I am absolutely clear that the REQM still has value. Gold award schools can share their expertise and best practice with others and help to firmly put RE on the map. The maturity of pupil comments and their obvious enjoyment of RE is always delightful to encounter. RE clearly drives the curriculum in many schools, and for some pupils this extends to composing music in RE lessons as well as being fully integrated in their learning. So too, are hard-working, committed staff, passionate about RE. Many of the RE subject leaders are leading by example, and some have had articles published in national journals or have taken part in NATRE videos. Parent voice has praised the championing of RE in schools.

I enjoy working with teachers in schools. It is so wonderful to meet such extremely enthusiastic staff, enabling high quality learning and excellent achievement. It has been lovely to talk with staff and see the wealth of evidence they bring to the table, demonstrating the richness of RE.  It has been especially good to meet pupils in person as we gather the all- important pupil voice.

For any readers considering applying for an REQM, I would encourage you. For church schools, the perfect time to apply is in between SIAMS inspections. For all schools, an REQM award is a great accolade. You won’t regret applying and putting your case together so the RE world can celebrate with you all the good and great things you do, and will continue to do.  The REQM questionnaires can provide a valuable part of your monitoring and evaluation in RE, even if you not apply for an REQM award.

In 20 years I am sure we will be moving onwards and upwards! Hopefully, we will see the RE map has grown. Above all, I am sure we will remain clear that RE remains the Queen of the school curriculum, helping to drive forward school improvement.

In November 2021 my team at South Bromsgrove High School were delighted to achieve a Gold RE Quality Mark award.

We decided to go for it after using the REQM Evidence form to complete a 360-degree assessment of the department. We realised we met much of the criteria. We found the form invaluable to guide us, particularly focussing on the 4 main strands of learning, teaching, curriculum, and leadership.

A pleasant surprise was discovering we could apply for a Westhill grant that made the process financially possible. There are actually lots of trusts and organisations that offer funding, see link to article at the end of this blog.

For me personally the award has given me the confidence to assure other RE teachers that they are not alone, as well as increase the presence of RE in my school. As an RE team the process helped to identify leadership strengths and areas to develop from a more objective perspective, particularly in preparation for a forthcoming OFSTED.

The experience of being assessed wasn’t too painful! The professionalism of the assessor was noteworthy, causing us to really think more objectively about how we can be more creative in our learning, develop more opportunities for project work, trips, and visitors in lessons. My Senior Leadership Team were supportive of the process and I was thankful to the assessor who really made the SLT stand to account on the provision of core RE at KS5. Since receiving the award we feel proud of the department. Seeing the students being interviewed and celebrating high quality teaching and learning in the department are my highlights.

We wanted our pupils to be at the heart of the process, from being interviewed to sharing their reflections through student questionnaires. A choice comment from a Year 9 student:  “We have studied worldviews I never knew about before Confucianism, Daoism and Jainism” A Year 10 student noted “I love the struggle part in RS, the teachers really challenge your thinking.”

I would encourage others to give it a go. An REQM can raise the profile and presence of RE across the school and wider community. Celebrate your hard work! If you want to ‘sell’ the idea to your leadership team, talk about how the REQM develops links within the community, with visitors to school, charities, and projects. It helped us to produce new schemes of work for our GCSE course, and of course allowed our students to share their views.

Our curriculum design plans are continuing, we feel that we are on the right path. We are also focusing on RE-related careers. Receiving the award has helped develop staff confidence and help identify further CPD aims of leadership across different Key Stages.

I will finish this piece with the words of a Year 12 student ambassador for RS: “RS at South Bromsgrove has really opened my mind to leadership opportunities, attending meetings with staff and completing the VITA coaching programme so I can support other students in the lower school. The teachers are committed to helping everyone do their best, this has helped not only in developing my knowledge, but my approach to writing, and opened up new career options for me personally.”

Follow this link to find out about other organisations that offer funding and support:

How to develop partnerships and obtain funding: https://teachers-talk.natre.org.uk/how-to-develop-partnerships-and-obtain-funding/

Want to find out more about enhancing the status of RE? Check out this blog:

How to increase the presence of RE in your school: https://teachers-talk.natre.org.uk/how-to-increase-the-presence-of-re-in-your-school/

I am often in conversations and discussions in which the idea of religious literacy is raised. Whether in educational settings, in the workplace, or even in foreign policy settings and institutions, the idea that outcomes could be improved through the embedding of religious literacy is a tantalising prospect.

One of the first pieces of advice I always give is to encourage people to get hold of and use a really thorough calendar of Religious Festivals. For instance, in the UK the Interfaith Network produces an excellent annual calendar, as does RE:ONLINE. For me, this is important because being aware of when particular Festivals take place, and being able to wish people appropriate greetings, is such a simple way in which we can acknowledge and celebrate the faith and belief diversity in the communities in which we live.

I could also add, that for those individuals and organisations who regularly host events, being aware of when Festivals and observances are happening is important too. Full disclosure, I have made these mistakes in the past, it happens to everyone, but scheduling an event for say the second day of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) when you know you will be inviting Jewish people with the expectation that they attend, risks putting someone in an incredibly uncomfortable position. That is not to say that all Jewish people will find the choice difficult, but if when the event is scheduled there is a choice of dates available, selecting a date which enables the most people to attend without requiring them to be faced with a dilemma or made to feel different, to me seems to be the right thing to do.

I was thinking about all of this recently because I noticed that here in the UK Pesach and Easter fell over the same weekend, and then I realized that that very weekend was midway through Ramadan. Then, to add to it all, as I was walking home my neighbour stopped to wish me a happy Pesach and also to tell me that she was celebrating the Tamil new year, Puthandu, which is observed elsewhere and by others as Vaisakhi. At the time I thought that with such a conjunction of festivals that there would be plenty of material for an interfaith blog.

However, when I did sit down to write, I kept coming back to something which I had seen, or rather hadn’t seen, on social media. There had been plenty of content from religious leaders, politicians and activists expressing good wishes to those celebrating each particular festival, including religious leaders expressing good wishes to those of different faiths. It is completely correct that that should be the case. However, what was less visible was content which acknowledged that all these celebrations were happening at the same time, much less any content which actively sought to explore the ideas raised by this unusual occurrence.

When people talk about “Religious Literacy” they often suggest that it hinges on two things: firstly, the need for greater knowledge of religious identities, practices and experiences; and, secondly, the need for individuals and institutions to have a degree of confidence and skill when navigating that diversity.

Those few days on “interfaith social media” for me exemplified this duality and the challenge presented by the idea of religious literacy. Celebrating the faith and belief diversity of those living around us is certainly a critical first step towards religious literacy (requiring as it does an awareness of those different traditions and key dates in the calendars of those traditions and not forgetting that Calendar either!). However, it seems to me that the critical next step, and one which seems to require a greater confidence, is to celebrate those differences alongside one another. This is not about trying to determine which is “right” or “better”, rather it’s about being able to talk about the differences productively so that all those taking part in the conversation have opportunities to learn. In some respects, this is the opportunity that a Religion and Worldviews approach to education seeks to build on.

To me the opportunity of all those wonderful festivals coinciding, and indeed the opportunity presented by the Religions and Worldviews approach to Religious Education in schools, is that it creates authentic moments when we can learn how different faith traditions understand issues – freedom, oppression, agency, responsibility – through the lenses of how they live their faiths. For me, being aware of these moments, and authentically building on them, is the route towards a more embedded religious literacy.

I would love to hear what you think!

Over a decade ago I enjoyed discussions with two influential advisers in the RE world; Mary Myatt and Jane Brooke about their ideas for an accredited award scheme for RE. Here we are in 2022, with an award designed to develop great RE in all settings and contexts. It is a wonderful achievement by all concerned.

I became project director in 2016, appointed by the REC (Religious Education Council). I remember the day clearly – a phone call came through to a garden in Winchester where I was sitting thinking about the interview experience in London, and what leading REQM with the existing team would mean….So pleased I said yes!

Of course I have seen changes over time, not least the move online during the last two years, but one of the great things about REQM is its continuity. It has been one of the longer lasting RE projects and that’s because it was so well thought out in 2011. No major changes were needed until 2017-2018 when the REC agreed that the criteria needed to be updated to take account of changing education contexts, and the CoRE report of the same year. Criteria that made closer reference to the new language of RE, the and the new foci of inspections, were published for schools to use in January 2020.

When I look back over 10 years of the REQM I reflect on the dedication, resilience and flexibility of teachers, and REQM assessors, the gems of great RE emerging from pupil voice evidence, and the impact of the award on wider school development. Senior leaders in schools, universities and local authorities have helped develop the scheme over the years, and it shows. National RE associations promote the REQM, and inspectors are aware of the contributions this Quality Mark makes to education as a whole.

I also reflect on the way that we have not always been able to engage as many schools as we would like, and how we increase participation. To any school thinking of applying for the REQM, my advice is that there is no need to rush. Use the REQM materials on the website as a development toolkit. Only apply when you are all ready for the conversations with your assessor.

If you are not sure how to ensure support (and funding) from the school’s leadership team, ask yourself: where is our school at the moment, what are its wider priorities? REQM materials contribute not only to great RE across the school, but also to curriculum and professional development. The award is an investment in celebrating success, which is not such a hard thing to ask for if the RE is appreciated by your school’s community – sometimes that takes time.  Everything to help your school’s progress is freely available on the site until you apply for the award visit.

In another 10 years, REQM should still be thriving. The REQM community continues to offer a great deal within the RE (or Religion and Worldviews) networks in England, Wales and beyond, and schools still want to celebrate their great RE.

In this tenth anniversary year, I feel privileged to have been part of REQM’s story and look forward to the next chapter.

Please send any questions to: linda@reqm.org

Last term we ran a pupil competition to find out what difference an education in religion and worldviews makes to children and young people. From next week you will be able to read and listen to some of them talk about this, but here I want to give a few reflections of my own based on some of the fantastic entries we received. You can also find a list of all the winners and those highly commended at the end of this blog.

An education in religion and worldviews changes attitudes and promotes positive values

Children and young people who entered our competition spoke of the ways in which it increased their sense of empathy towards others, as well as respect and openness towards differing perspectives. Some stressed an even stronger notion that their lessons can promote social justice, dispelling stereotypes and showing that freedom of religion or belief is vital to uphold in our society. Bea and Laurie used a lovely phrase ‘treasuring people’, going beyond a sense of tolerance to deep appreciation of others.

An education in religion and worldviews increases our knowledge and understanding of the world

We live in a complex world, one which is hard to navigate. Children and young people see the value of an education in religion and worldviews in terms of understanding human beings and the world in which we live. They talk about history and meaning, understanding symbolism, learning from great minds, and exploring the nature of wisdom itself. Chloe talks about the way in which her increased knowledge and understanding led to a more enriched experience on a holiday trip where she could apply her learning practically and reflect upon it.

An education in religion and worldviews inspires young people to think critically and make a difference

A common thread through many of our entries was the idea that lessons enabled pupils to think and act in new ways. Zara says her ‘brain was about to explode’; whilst Amelie says her lesson was ’eye opening’ and ’boggled her mind’! There was a sense of emotional engagement by many pupils, particularly when lessons had an element of mystery or surprise. Some talked about the way they had been inspired by people who had made a difference to the lives of others; this had led them to consider how they might make a difference in their local community, society or the world.

I will end with a quote from Zara (Key Stage 3), who sums up for me why an education in religion and worldviews can make a real difference:

This lesson taught me the importance of asking important questions to not only have a better understanding of yourself and the nature of the world around, but to be able to use that knowledge to build a better world.

Winners

Alexander, Felton CE Primary School

Bea and Laurie, Broomwood Hall Upper School

Harriet, Felton CE Primary School

Ramya, Warren Road Primary School

Zara, Felton CE Primary School

Chloe, St James Senior Girls’ School

Joseph, Hethersett Academy

Lili, Woodford County High School

Amelie, Kings Norton Girls’ School

Zara, St James Senior Girls’ School

Highly Commended

Finley and Cole, Hethersett Academy

Shreya, Plashet School

Thank you to everyone who entered our 2022 competition. The judging teams had difficult decisions to make. Congratulations to all the winners.

The blogs will all be published on RE:ONLINE starting on Tuesday 3rd May

‘Apocalyptic thinking’ is a term that usually refers to thinking about the end of the world or a great catastrophe that completely changes the way humans live. Historically this has tended to be seen in religious terms related to the end-point of a divine plan for creation. ‘Millenarian thinking’ is linked to apocalyptic thinking but refers to a period of time when humans live in a hoped-for peaceful “Golden Age”, sometimes before a divine judgement and cataclysm takes place.

These two ways of thinking can help teachers of religion and worldviews to make sense of religion and belief. They are a fundamental but often overlooked aspect of many traditional religions, and are evident in secular and political thought. They can be helpful cross-cultural reference points for teaching about religion and belief.

To gain a better sense of apocalyptic and millenarian thinking it is helpful to look at examples. In Christianity an example would be teachings about the expectation for divine rule and perfect loving relationships between all people. In Judaism and Islam examples are the expectation of a future saviour. In more recent times, the “Y2K” bug and worries about environmental degradation can also be thought of apocalyptic ways of thinking.

In an explicit form this way of thinking seems to be more common in the Abrahamic religions, but is also identifiable in, for example, the cosmic cycles of flourishing and destruction in Hinduism and Buddhism. It is also evident in ideas about cataclysmic disasters caused by natural forces (like a devastating asteroid impact on the earth) or by humans (for example through the use of nuclear weapons), and many political and revolutionary movements include ideas about an idealised future state of society.

 The Centre for Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM) encourages and promotes high quality critical and academic research into apocalyptic and millenarian movements, and supports ways to extend public understanding of the field – including through our present major project the Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CDAMM).

CDAMM is an online encyclopaedia of articles about religious and secular instances of apocalyptic and millenarian thinking throughout history and across cultures. It emerged from an awareness of apocalypticism and millenarianism as important themes in religion that also have a significant presence in all sorts of ways in wider and popular culture. Despite being so common, movements and ideas in this area can often be misunderstood and it can be hard to find reliable information about them, our response to that was to produce an authoritative and accessible (and free!) resource about these themes and movements.

All our writers are emerging or established academics with research expertise in the topics they are commissioned to write on. Some, like Eileen Barker (Children of God, written with Sarah Harvey) and John Collins (Millenarianism in Ancient Judaism), are long-established distinguished professors in their fields, others like Ellie Fielding-Redpath (Far Cry) and Damian Cyrocki (Mariavites), are early-career scholars opening up new areas of research and study. Generally, articles are about individual movements (for example, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Nation of Islam) or individuals (like John the Baptist, or Kimpa Vita), but we also have articles on important themes (from Gender to UFO Religion), and broader introductory articles on fundamental topics (like Apocalypticism and Armageddon). The Dictionary presently has around 75 articles, and it will keep on growing as we commission new writers to develop new topics.

CDAMM can support teachers in their developing subject knowledge. It provides a wide-ranging (and growing) resource for information about a great diversity of movements and belief systems across time and cultures. It has a great search function and browsing topics broken down by period, tradition and geography. Every article has a clear summary introduction and then goes into detail about its topic – so it is useful for a quick refresh or a more developed read.

It is of course important to be sensitive to the fact that the topic may have direct personal relevance to pupils in ways that may not be obvious or that they have not disclosed. And, while they are very common, some of the ideas are regarded as unconventional or controversial. However, despite this warning, apocalyptic and millenarian thinking is an important strand in today’s world and well worth understanding.

The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS) is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art.

Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three high-resolution (zoomable) art works, a short commentary on each one, and a longer ‘comparative’ commentary drawing them together.

 Using visual art to help unlock and support understanding for pupils

VCS exhibitions aim to transform interaction with Scripture.  Our hope is that our users will never read the biblical passages or see the art works in the same way again.

The exhibition curators represent a diversity of disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives as they explore illuminating interactions between the text and images.  Their choice of artworks ranges from the ancient world to the contemporary: you’ll find Hans Holbein next to Banksy, and video art alongside illuminated manuscripts.

Hermeneutical principles

The VCS is a constructive contribution to living traditions of thought and practice that converse with the Bible as an authoritative resource in contemporary contexts.

Its theological hermeneutics align with the seminal defences of the role of images in Christianity advanced by theologians like John of Damascus.  Artworks are selected on grounds comparable to those that governed the choice of commentary for inclusion in Jewish Talmud or in Christian Catenae: not because they all said the same thing, but because their insight and dialogical potential were fruitful for their communities.

Interdisciplinary thinking

The VCS is a theologically driven project, informed by biblical studies and art history, with an interdisciplinary team based in the TRS department at King’s College London. Each page of the VCS is theologically ‘curated’, and each has the potential to become a dramatic event, perhaps even an ‘epiphany’ for the viewer.

The contemporary conversational engagement of art with Scripture builds mutual understanding and creative perspectives on present issues for non-religious as well as religious audiences, in our increasingly polarised times. Visual art offers an hospitable space for multiple viewpoints to be explored, and the ‘conversational’ mode of interaction fostered by groups of three artworks promotes peaceable rather than conflictual interpretative practices.

The VCS in the classroom

RE teachers are already discovering the VCS and using it in the classroom. You can search the website by book within the Old Testament and Apocrypha or New Testament  or by theme (e.g. Wisdom, Creation, Miracles…), explore a ‘spotlight’ topic (currently Coptic and Ethiopic art), use the video channel, or learn more about the hermeneutical principles behind the VCS. There are 265 exhibitions currently online, and hundreds more in the pipeline.

The VCS is working on tailored school resources to bring the Bible alive in new ways for students. If you would like to join a focus group for school resources, or pilot them in your teaching, or if you’d just like to discuss ways of using the VCS, please contact Dr Chloë Reddaway at vcs@kcl.ac.uk

You can subscribe to the free VCS mailing list at the bottom of the homepage.

I was always going to be a linguist. My Dad was a French teacher and, not wanting to be lectured on the conjugation of French verbs at home, I threw myself into every opportunity to learn languages other than French. I took German and Russian A Levels, discovering along the way a love of poetry, etymology and collecting alphabets. When it came to choosing what I wanted to do at university, I was torn between pursuing languages and RE, my other great love.

What swung it for me was the fact that most Theology and Religious Studies degrees required the study of a language associated with sacred texts – Sanskrit, Qur’anic Arabic, Hebrew, Greek. I jumped in enthusiastically, getting from zero Hebrew to the equivalent of A Level in 7 weeks. Despite the odd mistranslation, the journey of discovery into these text’s original languages opened my eyes to entirely different ways of living in and thinking about the world. For example, in Hebrew, thinking is something you do with your heart, rather than your head; so where ‘Moses thought…’ in an English Torah translation, in the original Hebrew “Moses said in his heart…”. That puts an entirely different spin on decision-making.

This was powerful: it gave me permission to step outside my own worldview and temporarily inhabit someone else’s. The impact of doing this was something that I wanted to share. I continued my studies, earning a Masters and then working on a PhD. However, life intervened, and despite reaching the writing-up phase of my PhD, ill health meant that I never completed it. I moved into teaching Secondary Religious Studies and Philosophy and *loved* it.

Writing as a postgraduate researcher was both frustrating and daunting; the audience were the experts and I was just starting out. In teaching however, my teenage audience was curious (usually) and enthusiastic (sometimes), and my job was to explain things never before encountered. My writing changed – I needed to make complex, abstract ideas accessible. It was at this point that I started blogging and through this, connecting with other RE teachers.

In my current role as an adviser to a huge range of Lincolnshire schools, my writing changed once again. I had the chance to re-engage with research in my field, considering its adaptation to the classroom. I was now writing for an audience not of academics or teenagers, but teachers, and needed to speak into their contexts in practical and useful ways. Several generous colleagues shared their time and expertise, providing collaborative writing opportunities which opened doors for me; Mark Chater, Kathryn Wright, Olivia Seymour, Jane Chipperton, and many more. Writing can feel like a lonely and isolating activity, and I was astonished by the power of collaborative writing. I can say with absolute certainty that my writing improved a hundred-fold. I have taken that lesson into my day job and intentionally seek opportunities to work collaboratively with teachers who are writing for publication, for research and for their own professional development.

I did not set out to become a writer, but throughout my professional life, writing has challenged me to present what I know to others and, perhaps most importantly, to a range of different audiences. It can often feel, at the end of a long working day when the laundry still needs doing and paperwork needs sorting and there are still 50 unread emails in your inbox, that writing is an added extra – something you’ll get round to once you’ve sorted out everything else. I would urge you to revisit that assumption. For me, writing has been a way of trying out ideas, of improving my ability to communicate effectively to different audiences; it has provided me with a space to think and to work collaboratively with others. Writing has helped me grow professionally and it has become an invaluable part of who I am.

There are lots of ways in which you can get involved in writing – why not start with a blog post for RE:ONLINE?

In my last blog I laid out my proposal for why hermeneutics should be part of any good Religion and Worldviews curriculum. It is my belief that exploring hermeneutics can start in the primary phase. Pupils can be supported to make their own interpretations of texts and consider how their own worldview impacts on their understanding. They can think about the meaning they take from text due to their own prior understanding.

What can textual hermeneutics look like in Primary? Take the Noah story, which many pupils will have encountered in several forms before studying it as a text in an RE lesson. Pupils can explore the specific historical-social context of the text, considering who wrote it and why, who they wrote it to and how it would have been interpreted and understood at the time. They can move on to consider whether the interpretation of the story is different today. They can think about the ways in which a text is interpreted.

Not sure where to access resources for hermeneutical exploration? Books such as The Lion Handbook of the Bible, websites like the British Library’s Sacred Texts or the excellent collection of materials on the Bible Project website can support teachers in locating this knowledge for hermeneutical discovery.

There is also scope for engaging KS2 pupils in philosophical discussions around where meaning lies within a text; with the author’s intention or the reader’s interpretation? Is meaning a static thing or does it evolve and change over time as texts find themselves used and read in new circumstances? Theological hermeneutics could take the form of Dawn Cox’s lenses to ask questions: How would a theologian understand this text? What about a Christian? Would it be understood differently by a Muslim and why? Is there anything of value in this text for someone with a non-religious worldview who might interpret it without religious affiliation or experience?

Primary pupils are more than capable of engaging with interpretation of sacred art in a similar way. They might explore how images represent not only theological ideas but also the contemporary worldview of the artist. For example, studying images of Jesus from different time periods, cultures and geographical regions offers pupils the opportunity to practice interpretative skills. They will consider what an artist is trying to show about their understanding of Jesus for themselves and their community. They will think about how they, as the viewer, makes meaning of the artwork, and how and why this might differ from the meaning made by their peers.

In the secondary phase, pupils can continue to hone these skills, building up their knowledge of the contexts within which sacred texts were written and the authorships and readerships of these texts, as they study more complex and sophisticated texts. They may also be introduced to the ‘hermeneutics of suspicion’, where they ask themselves what the text is not telling us at face value and for which we may have to dig a little deeper e.g. who does it benefit to interpret a text in this way? Who is harmed by such interpretations and why would that be desirable for some? This could lead to study of the Bible through the lenses of topics such as womanism or racial justice.

Not convinced? I can forgive you; maybe I am being cunning just like Hermes. But take a look at my recent article in RE Today on ‘RE Alert to Hermeneutics’, where I shared ten practical ways to bring hermeneutics into the RE classroom or dive into RE:ONLINE’s hermeneutics resource. Hermeneutics is waiting for you to discover its merits for your RE teaching! I hope you come to love it as much as I do.

Useful links:

https://retodaylibrary.org.uk/article/theologies-of-reading-ten-examples-of-re-alert-to-hermeneutics/

https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts

https://bibleproject.com/

Note on terminology:  ‘RSE’ stands for the statutory legislation published in 2019 that has been compulsory in all schools since 2020, Relationships and Sex Education.

As a teacher in a faith school myself, I am interested to explore how RSE can be taught in faith schools. As part of an extensive training programme in RSE, I encountered other teachers from faith schools. My own faith background (and school) is Shi’a Muslim, but I met teachers from the Catholic sector who were asking the same questions as me. Through this experience I have uncovered some fascinating and useful research, with the end result that an ‘Abrahamic Commentary’ on RSE has now been produced.

I was delighted to meet Lucy Emmerson, CEO of the Sex Education Forum. The Forum provides excellent resources and clarity on all the different issues involved in RSE, such as being aware of diversity in your classroom and the community. It was a suggestion from Lucy to show non-Christian families and weddings, to embrace diversity, and that got me thinking. I wanted to represent other faiths and provide more information for parents and pupils from these faiths too. After speaking to others, I decided upon an Abrahamic model.

I sought advice and expertise from advisers, teachers, Local Authorities, the PSHE Association and scholars from the three faiths. I was particularly pleased to meet Dr Jo Sell, whose doctoral thesis explored ‘faith, relationships and sex education’. Through Jo I learnt that young people from a faith background struggle with the same issues as those from a non-faith background; consent, mental health concerns and silence. In some religious communities issues that young people experience can become hidden. Young people of faith can struggle with observing a traditional form of their faith, upholding their family expectations, and experimenting as young people will, especially as they are bombarded with an external culture that is more open and direct about matters of sexuality.

However there are many faith-sensitive ways to open up a conversation and it has been wonderful to learn more about them. A conception of being made in the ‘image of God’ for example, speaks to human dignity and respect for the body. However some principles are simply traditional village culture given a religious spin. During a discussion at an Islamic conference the issue of sex and relationships came up. It was refreshingly honest, open and balanced – the trouble was that from start to finish the whole thing could have been taking place in a secular ‘marriage guidance’ context. ‘Muslim’ only denoted the cultural context of the discussion and there was no input from Islam at all. As a Muslim myself I would like to see a thorough study of Islamic anthropology, addressing the question of what is it to be human? From there I would like to see an exploration of the dynamics of relationships, community and society from an Islamic perspective. It would be wonderful to see this for all faiths.

The Abrahamic commentary provides support for teachers when delivering RSE. They can refer to the three faith areas to further develop and explore understanding of the principles and topics, such as families, the body, marriage or respect for others. The commentary has been created for both Primary and Secondary phases, and is age- appropriate. We also hope parents from the Abrahamic faiths will also find interest and support in the commentary, as well as parents from all and no faiths; the scriptures are treasures of wisdom for all humanity to benefit from.

The commentary can be found here.

Further Resources:

Dr Jo Sell’s faith- and student- sensitive approach to RSE can be found on her website: https://realationships.co.uk/

Jo has published her thesis: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10072639/1/Sell_10072639_Thesis_sig-removed.pdf
The Sex Education Forum: https://www.sexeducationforum.org.uk/