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The Big Ideas for Religious Education project was inspired by the work of US curriculum experts Wiggins and McTighe.

Barbara considered the arguments they made about the curriculum also applied to RE. In 2016 she convened a group to explore this, chosen for the breadth of their academic and professional expertise within RE. The group benefited from the chairing of Michael Reiss, a member of the ‘Big Ideas for Science’ group. The publication was received positively and attracted interest around the world.

The development group identified six ‘Big Ideas’ which focus on what is most important for pupils to grasp in RE. They seek to provide criteria for curriculum content selection, have in-built progression and knowledge transferable to life outside the classroom.

We were concerned that RE curricula no longer reflected society. RE continued to focus on ‘six world religions’ while over 50% of the adult population and a considerably higher proportion of young people no longer held any affiliation to organised religion. Moreover, research had established that these ‘Nones’ were particularly disenchanted with the very aspects of religion that occupied so much space in the RE curriculum, such as organised religion and liturgical worship.

So it was obvious that worldviews other than ‘religious’ ones should feature in the curriculum. Religions have a direct or indirect impact on the lives of most people in Britain, whether they are religious or not. Big Ideas is a curriculum which reflects the world young people experience, and seeks to provide the means for them to make sense of it.

The Big Ideas that emerged were:

• Continuity, Change and Diversity (within and across traditions, through time and places)
• Words and Beyond (expression/interpretation through texts and creative arts)
• A Good Life (being a good person, living a good life, ethics)
• Making Sense of Life’s Experiences (life experience, religious experience, ritual)
• Influence and Power (social, cultural, political influences and interactions)
• The Big Picture (overall account of life/universe/everything).

The Big Ideas project very much fits with a Religion and Worldviews approach. It was developed alongside the REC’s Commission on Religious Education (2016-18), which suggested renaming the subject ‘Religion and Worldviews’. Some of the Big Ideas team were involved the Commission, and in the REC’s subsequent ‘Religion and Worldviews’ Project. There has been synergy and mutual influence between the two projects.

Big Ideas now has a website https://bigideasforre.org aimed at both curriculum developers and individual teachers. The website offers guidance for developing Big Ideas curricula for pupils aged 3-18 and growing number of exemplar units of work, written by a team of teachers and other specialists ­(27 to date).

As well as developing new teaching material the Big Ideas project is currently trialling and evaluating units of work with a team of 13 teachers in a variety of classroom contexts. Four West Yorkshire Local Authorities (Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale) have drawn extensively upon the Big Ideas project in developing their latest Agreed Syllabus. In an exciting development, the team behind this, Pennine Learning, is also adapting this curriculum for the primary section of the Oak Academy RE curriculum.

We hope teachers will feel confident to check out the Big Ideas. We recommend starting here: https://bigideasforre.org/the-essential-guide-to-big-ideas- for-re/

Teachers might find it takes time to move from a curriculum driven by content to a curriculum focusing on the Big Ideas. At KS3, for example, where a teacher might have taught ‘rites of passage’, the Big Ideas approach suggests that students explore how ‘experience of religious rituals… helps people make a connection with God or gods and with each other, or with what is most important to them.’ This would be Big Idea 4, allowing pupils to consider how such experiences allow connection, meaning and wisdom. Here you can see a richer, deeper encounter with the complexity of our subject. It is well worth the effort.

Further reading

The full narratives for each age group are found here: https://bigideasforre.org/what-are-big-ideas-for-re/

Wiggins, G. McTighe, J. (2005) Understanding by Design (2nd ed). Alexandria VA. ASCD.

The original 2017 publication, along with later publications, can be found here: https://bigideasforre.org/Big-Ideas-Publications/

As well as being Head of Department, I have the privilege to lead the amalgamated Secondary RE Network for Leeds, Calderdale, and Kirklees. As part of this work I review curricula, conduct professional conversations, and undertake reviews of member schools’ RE.

While leading RE in my own schools has given me great exposure to the religion and worldviews approach, it has been interesting to see how the paradigm shift is perceived by other teachers I work with. There is enthusiasm for new life in the old bones, but there are also reservations, such as:
• lack of confidence as to what it means to adopt a religion and worldviews approach
• lack of confidence in adapting an existing curriculum
• concern about potential workload
• uncertainty as to whether a religion and worldviews approach is the right approach, given the dissenting voices they have heard.

Network meetings have been key to addressing these concerns, and in this collaborative setting I have seen enthusiasm grow. We can explore the concept of a more authentic expression of religion and worldviews with a greater emphasis on lived experience. Teachers acknowledge that monolithic expressions of religion are inaccurate and imagining a shift away from an anonymous approach is generally greeted by nods and smiles. As well as this, our discussions facilitate a cognitive transition from unconscious to conscious competence. Teachers realise they are actually quite skilled and they can certainly embrace a curriculum shift!

This brings to mind a dilemma experienced by many small churches in rural Yorkshire; how to move the piano to the front of the church without unsettling the congregation, surprised by the change? If you have any experience in Christian worship, you will know this can be a really big deal. In any case, the answer is; ‘an inch at a time’. The piano was always there, but sat out of the view at the back of the church. Much in the same way, the religion and worldviews approach has been inching forward and now it has come into full view. It is about to take central place at the front of the RE congregation, and while many are embracing the new expression, there are still (and will continue to be), those who resolutely prefer the piano at the back of the church.

So what can be done to support empower and encourage those who are not convinced by the prospect of a multi-disciplinary approach to RE? Is the answer producing more exemplar materials, and if so, where should these come from? In fact, it seems that much of this ‘inching forward’ is happening quite organically. Take for example Zoe Higgins’ worldviews teacher support database, a project which brings together existing expertise and applies this expertise to new materials. In the process of ensuring accurate and rich representations of beliefs, those involved are imbued with confidence, and benefit from the experience of collaboration. My work with my own SACRE allows me to curate and distribute a wealth of existing materials to members and educators to support the shift to religion and worldviews. Moreover the new West Yorkshire Syllabus, and accompanying training and advisory support, takes a religion and worldviews approach in conjunction with the Big Ideas framework. The piano inches forward.

It would very much seem that things are harmoniously in motion. The planets are aligning, and the age of the piano has dawned. And so we shall sing the refrain of quality RE, sufficient religious literacy, and accurate representation for all… we just need time for the new expression to bed in.

Check out Zoe Higgins’s Religion and Worldviews curriculum offer for Kapow Primary

Using faith visitors to support RE lessons is a fantastic way to develop pupils’ understanding. Encountering someone who lives their faith, who can draw on real and authentic experiences, can really make the religion come alive.

In an essentialised, world religions paradigm, using faith visitors was simple, essentially, ‘this person represents their religion, children, and whatever they tell you is what all of the other people in their religion believe as well.’ However, in a religion and worldviews approach, the relationship between faith visitors and the curriculum needs to be more nuanced. No longer do we want pupils to equate the experiences, values and beliefs of one person with all members of a religion. Faith visitors in a religion and worldviews approach is exciting, but also tricky. How to tease apart the institutional and personal elements of a visitor’s worldview, for example? Below are three practical tips:

1 – Notice essentialism in the curriculum

In the past I have certainly been guilty of posing questions such as, ‘What do Hindus believe?’ When we ask questions like this we are broadcasting to pupils that there is only one way to be a ‘proper’ Hindu. In a curriculum like this, when pupils meet a faith visitor they make all sorts of simplistic assumptions. In being aware of essentialism we can acknowledge that members of a religion act and think in very different ways, and this is completely normal. This allows pupils to interact with the knowledge in a much more explorative way.

2 – Listen to many voices

Another way that we can help pupils to explore diversity is make sure pupils hear a variety of voices. This might not always be easy or straightforward, but there are ways and means. While a real-life interaction has the greatest impact academically, if this isn’t an option then there are a plethora of videos to be found on the internet by all sorts of people on a huge array of subjects. The inclusion of any of these in lessons, will help to build up pupils’ understanding and normalise diverse perspectives for when a visitor does come in.

3 – Introduce hermeneutics

Hermeneutics seems like a complicated word, in fact Ofsted’s 2021 Research Review describes hermeneutical thinking many times without mentioning the word!  Essentially hermeneutics is the idea that everyone interprets things differently. You can find a fantastic guide to it here: RE:Online – Hermeneutics. When pupils are used to exploring different interpretations, including their own, it becomes much easier to see a visitor’s interpretation as just that; one view among many. In a religion and worldviews approach, faith visitors are able to represent their religion in their own way and not answer for all other members.

As well as intellectual benefits of diverse voices, there are social benefits too. For many teachers who work in areas of low diversity, there may be local prejudice towards people who are perceived to be ‘different’. Welcoming a faith visitor provides an excellent opportunity for pupils to meet those they might not encounter outside school. These contact experiences can develop understanding and interest, and potentially decrease prejudice.

Moreover, as the religion and worldviews approach deliberately avoids associating one visitor with an entire religion, it is possible that prejudicial views will decrease as reductive and essentialising ways of seeing are no longer on the menu.

I would suggest that following a religion and worldviews approach means faith visitors are just as welcome to the classroom, for academic and social benefits. It could be argued that with this renewed emphasis on cultural context and diverse voices, faith visitors can have an even bigger impact in allowing young people to explore the connected, complicated world we live in.

Consistently high quality RE is a dream for many of us in the RE community. Consistency often seems to need a significant degree of centralised control. And yet don’t we want teachers to be curricular producers in their own right? (Teachers of RE are like Hollywood Producers a bit). The tension between consistency and teacher creativity is at the heart of debates around a national standard for RE content. It is in this context that the RE Council’s National Content Standard for RE has been called a significant landmark in the RE world (The RE Podcast: The One About the National Content Standard).

Many teachers understand that a conversation about RE content is needed because, as Ofsted has again confirmed, the scope of RE is vast, often leading to a curriculum that characterised as superficially broad and lacking depth (Deep and Meaningful? The Religious Education Subject Report ).  Many teachers also know that their often superhuman, sometimes breathless, efforts to engage with the deep and meaningful questions of RE are valued but perhaps only within relatively narrow contexts: the children and wider school community in which they work. RE does work in many places.

Lewis Young (Humanists UK) recently pointed out that, ‘[w]hen taught well, an education in religion and worldviews education can equip pupils with a good understanding of the world around them and develop their critical thinking skills. Disappointingly, Ofsted’s deep-dive into RE shows once again that … the problems faced by the subject continue.” (OfstedReport into Religious Education Shows Long Overdue Need for Reform says Humanists UK). That is precisely the point. RE is sometimes taught really well, other times not. It seems to suffer from a lack of quality control. The local determination of content has its virtues, but consistency is probably not one of them.

Uniformity of curricular content is one path. That uniformity could be imposed in strict terms by an authority (who would that be?!) stipulating very specific content that every classroom should adhere to. This could ensure consistency, but the price would be too high. Teaching would be reduced to a functionalist process of transmission that takes little account of local contexts and interests and would almost certainly erode student engagement. So, how do we maintain some measure of consistency while also allowing teachers to bring material to life in their own ways?

One aspect of the AfterRE project is developing what is known as the exemplary way: an approach which develops exemplary forms rather than specified content. Those exemplary forms elaborate in rich detail (the depth that Ofsted in after) quite specific episodes of interest to RE. The specificity means that any given episode is likely to only work in certain contexts (age range; student dynamics; local cultural makeup etc). But the exemplary structure is there to be adapted and applied to the local context. The exemplary way tries to bring into focus the learning goals and suggests that many different examples might be used to achieve those goals. Here are some examples from our project that readers might want to adapt. (https://www.afterre.org/framework)

So rather than think of RE in terms of specified content, we emphasise the idea of exemplary content which can be taken up and adapted. Teachers are best placed to know which examples, cases, and narratives to use, though the exemplary way offers some guiding questions to help keep in view the overall educational goals of RE (which are nicely summarised by a German pedagogue, Wolfgang Klafki: https://www.afterre.org/framework).

The exemplary way resonates with the proposals for a National Content Standard as well as the recently released Religion and Worldviews Approach to RE toolkit so I hope that the RE community can embrace this ideas in the spirit with which they are offered: as a template to thinking about how to develop high quality RE for all.

I was inspired you to put myself forwards as team leader for this project in two ways. Firstly, while contemplating the frankly terrifying prospect of writing the Coventry and Warwickshire syllabus, it seemed imminently sensible to align with the REC’s Handbook. My second source of inspiration came from the wonderful Dr Celine Benoit at Aston University who encouraged me to apply. I agreed, as long as she was part of our team! In the end, we were lucky enough to have Celine and Dr Tim Hutchins in our squad.
Who is the squad? I describe our team as ‘Old School’. As well as myself, an RE adviser, and Tim and Celine as academic advisers, the team comprises of primary and secondary teachers supported by two local SACREs and Coventry Diocesan Board of Education. Two members of our team have completed Farmington scholarships as part of the project. Their learning around assessment and disciplinary lenses is integral to our framework. We even have a team mascot, as one of our members had a baby during the project!

Our vision was to create something absolutely local. We have drawn on the rich social, religious and cultural contexts found here in Coventry and Warwickshire. We created a warp and weft for the framework. We weave together seven core concepts and three main disciplines, resulting in a ‘tapestry’. I even made a paper tapestry at one point to make sure it all worked. We call this one of the ‘relics’ of our framework.
We learnt that a religion and worldviews approach is hard but absolutely worth it! We realised how easy it is to slide back into a world religions paradigm despite our best intentions.

We worked collaboratively with other project leads. We took from Gillian Georgiou three principles for a religion and worldviews approach: move from the particular to the general, use local contexts and embrace hermeneutical thinking. All music to my ears. Ultimately we taught ourselves to see differently, we tried to think in a decolonised way, we constantly communicated across the primary- secondary gap.

Now, as the Handbooks and Frameworks are launched, I think we are in shock that we have done it! We all really believe in what we have created and we know that some may be shocked by the academic rigour of it and the higher expectations but we think it’s something to be aimed at.

We conceived of our whole framework as a journey and pupils as explorers of religion and worldviews. Anyone setting out on a long hike might find it hard to visualise the destination but the important thing is to take that first step. We hope we can act as traveling companions for those who want to do that.

I am now brave enough to add ‘project management’ to my CV. This was one heck of a project. There were timelines and post-it notes everywhere and more than one sleepless night but we did it and I am very proud of our team and our framework.

I have been the Secondary Advisor to Somerset Council for nearly two years and this is my first advisory post. I work alongside with Somerset’s Primary advisor and our council representative. My job is varied and requires all sorts of creativity from me. I advise the SACRE, which means being up to date with local needs and national matters, such as policy changes and shifts in the subject. I connect a great many people together: teachers of all key stages, RE Hub leaders and faith representatives. I also provide training and advise the team who are responsible for the locally Agreed Syllabus.

In this latter capacity we have begun to review our Agreed Syllabus. We are considering our current syllabus and whether it needs to evolve to reflect new developments nationally. When we started talking and thinking about the new Agreed Syllabus we had two aims. Firstly, to ensure and improve connections between SACRE members and RE teachers so teachers have support they need. Secondly, we wanted to ensure teachers are aware of the key changes happening in the subject at a national level.

We were inspired to create, produce and host a curriculum symposium after NATRE’s curriculum symposium (November 2021). NATRE even provide guidance for running such an event, their website suggesting the ‘what’ and ‘why’. How could we refuse! As this process started, we realised the development of the curriculum was the primary aim of the advisory service, because it enables us to empower teachers with up- to -date knowledge, skills and understanding.

Through my year on Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme I had met many influential RE people who were excited by the prospect of taking part.  I secured some amazing speakers – Dawn Cox, Gillian Georgiou, Sophie Smith and Alice Thomas who led our teachers in employing a multi-disciplinary approach in a religion and worldviews curriculum.

The aim of the curriculum symposium was to:

1. Create a supportive network of Somerset RE teachers across all phases
2. Engage Somerset RE teachers with developments to the subject at a national level
3. Bring Somerset RE teachers into conversations about our new Agreed Syllabus

The teacher feedback was tremendous. Almost all showed extremely high levels of enjoyment and satisfaction. We had a fantastic time and felt we connected to many teachers, which we look forward to working with. We know we met our aims.

Locating teachers’ contact details across the whole county was hard, as was promoting and communicating the event. We wanted as many teachers as possible, so we had to learn how to navigate social media successfully. However, it was well worth the effort, and now we have a strong network of contacts.

Now we have the connections, I am incredibly excited to work with SACRE and teachers to develop our present Agreed Syllabus and to further improve the quality of teaching and learning for students in Somerset.

I would thoroughly recommend putting on a curriculum symposium to other advisors. It was hard at times, but also exciting, and the benefits for long-term creative development and empowered, knowledgeable teachers will be far-reaching.

Reference:  Advancing Education: Curriculum Symposium Projects | NATRE

A Welsh language version is available below.

Of course, values have always been an essential component of RE, but with the launch of a new Welsh curriculum and the renaming of RE to RVE: ‘Religion, Values and Ethics’, it is worth looking again at the idea. While schools proudly display their values for visitors to see, what does it mean to talk about values in a subject of the curriculum?

Questions emerge; what values exactly, how these are to be incorporated into a robust academic curriculum, and how are teachers to measure and assess progression in values?

RVE is made up of three components: religion, values and ethics. Firstly, teachers and curriculum designers need to ascertain what is meant by each of these three components (religion, values and ethics) and consider carefully how can they be explored in the curriculum over time. Pestalozzi[1] is helpful here, offering the concept of holistic education, education which is about cognitive development, but also moral and physical development. This offers an idea of the aims of RVE.

Exploring religion means delving deeply into beliefs, behaviours and belonging. It covers doctrine, ritual and mythology and also explores diversity and plurality. Values describes ideals, a sense of what is good, or a moral standard. Ethics is about actions, what we do and how we learn what to do. Religion, values and ethics are lived practices. Religion Values and Ethics incorporates what people believe (religion), why they believe and how they articulate this (values) and how does it impact on actions (ethics); a big ask for a curriculum subject with minimum timetabled time!

RVE, like its predecessor RE, remains a locally determined subject. Negotiating between the freedom of each school to develop their own curriculum with the legal requirements for RVE has required care, caution and professional dialogue. It has turned out that the ‘values’ part of the subject has been most difficult to balance between national policy and the local context. The reason has been the sheer complexity of the meanings behind the idea of ‘values’.

‘Values’ overlaps with but is not the same as ‘morality’ or ‘ethics’. A value can be personal, chosen or a commandment. A recent study finds that Gen Z seek out those who share their values[2], and thus values act as identity-markers. Values are more likely to be self-selected, both by individuals and organisations, than ethics or morality which tend to be more associated with custom and culture, and are perceived as given. In short, they are harder to identity and harder to explore than religion or ethics. However, this might make them most fascinating of all!

Amalgamating religion, values and ethics in an academically rigorous progression curriculum requires care and thought. In line with legislation, the curriculum must adopt an approach that is objective, critical and pluralistic. I am excited to see how this translates into living, breathing RVE curricula that challenge learners and allow them to explore the world today, in all its messy, connected reality.

[1] Johann Pestalozzi, https://pestalozziworld.com/

[2] Roberta Katz et al., Gen Z, 2021.

Jennifer Harding-Richards: Jennifer is currently on secondment working as RVE (Religion, Values and Ethics) and RSE (Relationships and Sexuality Education) adviser to schools in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. She is also the RE Hubs lead for Wales.

Professor Linda Woodhead MBE is F. D. Maurice Professor and Head of Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London

Mae cyfuno crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg

Wrth gwrs, mae gwerthoedd wedi bod yn gydran hanfodol o AG o hyd, ond gyda lansiad y cwricwlwm newydd i Gymru, ac ailenwi AG i CGM: Crefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg, mae’n werth edrych ar y syniad eto. Er bod ysgolion yn arddangos eu gwerthoedd yn falch i ymwelwyr eu gweld, beth yw ystyr siarad am werthoedd fel pwnc yn y cwricwlwm?

Mae cwestiynau’n dod i’r amlwg; pa werthoedd yn union? Sut dylid eu cynnwys mewn cwricwlwm academaidd cadarn? Sut dylai athrawon fesur ac asesu cynnydd mewn gwerthoedd?

Mae CGM yn cynnwys tair cydran: crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg. Yn gyntaf, mae angen i athrawon a’r rheini sy’n llunio’r cwricwlwm benderfynu beth yw ystyr y tair cydran hyn (crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg), ac ystyried yn ofalus sut gellir eu harchwilio yn y cwricwlwm dros amser. Mae Pestalozzi[1] yn ddefnyddiol yma, gan gynnig y cysyniad o addysg gyfannol, addysg sy’n ymwneud â datblygiad gwybyddol, ond hefyd ddatblygiad moesol a chorfforol. Mae hyn yn rhoi syniad o nodau CGM.

Mae archwilio crefydd yn golygu ymchwilio’n drylwyr i gredoau, ymddygiadau ac ymberthyn. Mae’n cynnwys athrawiaeth, seremonïau a mytholeg ac mae hefyd yn archwilio amrywiaeth a lluosogrwydd. Mae gwerthoedd yn disgrifio delfrydau, ymdeimlad o’r hyn sy’n dda, neu safon foesol. Mae moeseg yn ymwneud â chamau gweithredu, beth rydym yn ei wneud a sut rydym yn dysgu beth i’w wneud. Mae crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg yn arferion profiad byw.  Mae Crefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg yn cynnwys yr hyn y mae pobl yn ei gredu (crefydd), pam maent yn credu a sut maent yn cyfleu hyn (gwerthoedd), a sut mae hyn yn effeithio ar gamau gweithredu (moeseg); gofyniad mawr ar gyfer pwnc yn y cwricwlwm nad yw’n cael amser digonol ar yr amserlen!

Mae CGM, fel ei bwnc blaenorol, AG, yn bwnc a bennir yn lleol o hyd. Er mwyn i bob ysgol gael y rhyddid i ddatblygu ei chwricwlwm ei hun wrth ddilyn gofynion cyfreithiol CGM, mae angen bod yn ofalus, yn wyliadwrus ac yn broffesiynol. Mae’n ymddangos taw elfen ‘gwerthoedd’ y pwnc yw’r elfen fwyaf anodd i’w chydbwyso rhwng polisi cenedlaethol a’r cyd-destun lleol. Y rheswm am hyn yw cymhlethdod go iawn yr ystyr y tu ôl i’r syniad o ‘werthoedd.’

Mae ‘gwerthoedd’ yn gwrthdaro â ‘moesoldeb’ neu ‘foeseg’ ond nid yw’r un peth. Gall gwerth fod yn bersonol, yn ddewisol neu’n orchymyn. Canfu astudiaeth diweddar fod Cenhedlaeth Z yn ceisio’r rheini sy’n rhannu eu gwerthoedd[2], ac felly mae gwerthoedd yn gweithredu fel marcwyr hunaniaeth. Mae gwerthoedd yn fwy tebygol o gael eu dewis yn bersonol, gan unigolion a sefydliadau, na moesau neu foesoldeb, sy’n dueddol o fod yn fwy cysylltiedig ag arfer a diwylliant. Yn gryno, maent yn anoddach i’w nodi a’u harchwilio na chrefydd a moesau. Fodd bynnag, efallai fod hyn yn eu gwneud nhw’n fwy diddorol fyth!

Mae cyfuno crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg mewn cwricwlwm cynnydd sy’n fanwl gywir yn academaidd yn cymryd gofal a meddwl. Yn unol â deddfwriaeth, mae’n rhaid i’r cwricwlwm fabwysiadu ymagwedd sy’n bwrpasol, yn feirniadol ac yn blwraliaethol. Rwy’n gyffrous i weld sut y mae’n cael ei ddehongli mewn cwricwla CGM go iawn sy’n herio dysgwyr ac yn eu caniatáu i archwilio’r byd heddiw, yn ei holl realiti anhrefnus a chysylltiedig.

[1]Johann Pestalozzi, https://pestalozziworld.com/

[2] Roberta Katz et al., Gen Z, 2021.

Jennifer Harding-Richards: Ymgynghorydd Crefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg (CGM)

Yr Athro Linda Woodhead MBE: King’s College, Llundain

In this blog, Hayley discusses how her school approaches facilitating challenging current affairs conversations in the RE classroom.

As a department, we are passionate about providing our students with opportunities for informed and honest dialogue about religion, ethics and life. Recently our Year 10 students specifically requested, through a Form Captain meeting with the Head, information about the current Israel- Gaza conflict. They wanted to better understand the history and the terminology they were being exposed to through the media. We felt this request for information should be honoured by teachers, and set about the uncertain and time-consuming task of designing a new resource.  

We felt it was extremely important to give an opportunity for students to have this knowledge as well as tackling issues such as misinformation. This current crisis is very present in our students’ concerns, but we respond to other global or sensitive issues in the same way as educators; we agree that students must have the information they need to make sense of the world. In previous years we have developed lessons about the Holocaust for a KS3 scheme of work. Rather than avoiding painful, emotionally-charged topics, we have learnt that staff and students are best supported when they have well-designed, accurate information, as well as different ways of seeing the information, to explore, discuss and come to a conclusion of their own.    

Therefore, we created a resource which both delivered information as well as allowed students (and staff) to view the information from different perspectives. The resource begins with an exploration of the meaning of the word ‘conflict’ and moves to the historical roots of conflict between Israel and Palestine, the emergence of Hamas and the role this group plays in the situation. We termed this process ‘looking at’; seeing historical information from different points of view. This is such a valuable process in itself for teenagers as they learn to make sense of the world, whatever the topic. Then we encouraged students to ‘look beyond’ the current conflict and potential resolution through words. The words used came from two sources; interviews with a Rabbi and Imam.  

We took very seriously the need to avoid a sense that anyone was ‘taking sides’, or taking a biased stance, in the terminology of the recent DfE guidance1. We are aware of powerful currents of pain, shock and fear in our students’ communities. After consulting with senior management, we took the decision to explore this resource in the classroom as part of the fortnightly Core Ethics programme for KS4. Teaching staff were briefed and given the options to take part or all of the lesson to deliver. After the lessons we completed a debrief and feedback session with staff.  

We found that each lesson varied due to the shape of the questions students asked and the ensuing discussion. Generally, students were very keen to understand the history of Israel and Palestine especially as they had previously studied the region in a KS3 unit on Jesus and early Christianity. Teachers found that this process of simply understanding the current crisis led to discussion reflecting students’ concerns about others’ perceptions. It was interesting to see that this was as much of a issue to students as a desire to gain knowledge. Teachers also found that groups spent time discussing ideas around conflict resolution. 

We plan to introduce the resource to Year 9 with a wider set of voices considered as part of the ‘looking beyond’ section. We have shared this resource with our local RE network. A member of staff will be running a workshop for teachers in the wider network before they bring the resource to their students. This model has shown us that schools can provide a space for students to make sense of some of the planet’s most urgent conflicts, where the suffering seems incomprehensible, when staff work together, take responsibility for identifying accurate information, and are also able to explore the information from different perspectives. It is surely our job as teachers to help our young people make sense of the world.  

Recommended by NATRE, you might find this curated list of resources to support schools when addressing contentious topics helpful. 

Life contains the most unexpected changes of direction. I never set out to be an RE teacher, never mind an RE subject leader.  Even more surprising to become a paid RE Adviser to my local SACRE, a provider of RE CPD to two local Councils and the North West Lead for the RE Hubs. How did this happen? Sometimes I still ask myself this. I had been an anti-racist advisory teacher in Cumbria and when I returned to the classroom, I was delighted to take the lead on RE and Philosophy for Children (P4C). It has been a steep learning curve, but I have enjoyed every minute. I hope this blog might inspire others to stretch their wings and discover leadership.  

I initially joined my SACRE as a Humanist representative, but a decade later when I found myself leading the review of the Cumbria Agreed Syllabus, I felt I needed expert guidance. I applied for the CSTG Leadership Programme and was delighted to be offered a place.  I was acutely conscious of the changing landscape and the move to Religion and Worldviews. I felt a huge weight of responsibly to have up- to- date knowledge, especially without any formal specialist training. Another reason for applying for the Leadership Programme was also a personal desire to find opportunities to engage in RE more on a national level. 

 The Leadership Programme certainly did support me to feel confident and competent. My Mentor Fiona Moss provided an invaluable space for me to reflect on my development as a leader within the subject. She created a non-judgemental environment in which we could discuss the challenges of creating a syllabus in a changing educational landscape.  

The mentoring process helped me to address areas where I lacked confidence and tease out my strengths. I realised I don’t have to be a leader in every aspect of RE, but the skills I have can be of service to the community. Fiona also provided me with valuable connections and sources of support from the wider RE community.  

The Programme supports members to engage in academic readings, which for me was hugely important. Prior to the programme, I had little knowledge of how RE has evolved as a subject and how contestable it is. I quickly realised how crucial this knowledge of the history of the subject is for understanding the current landscape.  I won’t deny that I found the academic readings challenging at times but through the reading group, led expertly by Sean Whittle, our understanding flourished. Having the opportunity to question the authors of the academic readings was invaluable. 

I particularly enjoyed being part of a Community of Practice sessions where we could discuss and explore together. These sessions helped me to better understand, take more interest and value the lobbying and campaigning by national RE organisations. We have all kept in contact, and had the pleasure of meeting again at the AREIAC conference, where the  programme funded out attendance.  

Without a doubt it was the Leadership Programme that gave me confidence and the capability to apply for the role as North West RE Hubs Lead. In many ways, the support I am now gaining from this RE Hubs national team is comparable to the Leadership Programme community.  One of the main things I have learnt is that leadership works best in collaboration with others. 

Since finishing the leadership programme in the summer of 2023, we have launched our new Locally Agreed Syllabus and I have been busy delivering CPD to support its implementation. What next for me?  I plan to grow into both of these new roles as North West RE Hubs Lead and local RE adviser to SACRE.  I have recently become a teacher trainer for Understanding Humanism so enjoying rising to the challenge of providing some of their national training.  However, I will also be keeping an eye out for teachers in Cumbria who I can support to become the next generation of leaders of RE.  Hopefully I’ll persuade them to apply for the Leadership Programme…