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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…  

This started for me in 2022 with a Farmington Scholarship. I was inspired by so many RE specialists praising the programme. Unlike other courses, a Farmington Scholarship covers the costs of cover at school, offering scholars precious time for their research.

The focus of my Farmington is two-fold. Firstly, the transition from Primary to Secondary and the inconsistent subject knowledge shown by pupils coming in from different schools. Secondly, the benefits of disciplinary knowledge in the RE curriculum, and how far this could provide a model for progression from EYFS to KS3. I was aware the idea of disciplinary knowledge in the RE curriculum might cause concern for non-specialist RE teachers, and so also planned to investigate ways of supporting non-specialists in understanding and working with the disciplines in their teaching.

My working hypothesis was that non specialists were not secure in their understanding of the disciplinary lenses in RE. This is further compounded by the lack of National Curriculum in RE, which means there is no clear guidance of what Primary-age pupils should know and understand by the end of their Primary education.

I began by engaging teachers from different key stages in thinking around end of key stage outcomes. I delved into RE outside my own key stages through reading and observing, to gain a sense of RE through the phases. Academic research is part of a Farmington Scholarship, but if I am honest I found this challenging at first. After initial reluctance, I found myself enjoying the academic reading and my more systematic reflection and expanded knowledge. One of the great benefits of the Farmington programme is the time and resources made available to teachers to actually study.

My work links closely with the new Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus. In fact, those involved in the creation of Warwickshire’s Agreed Syllabus make up one of three working groups developing a curriculum to support the REC’s new Curriculum Framework. Joining this group has been hugely positive, not least to work with two inspiring women: Jennifer Jenkins and Alice Thomas. My own research into disciplinary lenses and progression links with Alice’s work on assessment and Jennifer’s role ensuring the new syllabus supports the REC’s Curriculum Framework. The opportunity to be part of this group means my work has a much wider reach and impact.

There are several key moments in my journey of discovery. Observing an EYFS lesson sticks in my memory as a turning point. It was then the idea of progression in disciplinary first came to me. I also found the differences in co-planning with KS2 teachers compared to KS3 teachers fascinating.

However the major turning point for me was probably an exploration into what disciplinary lenses could mean for teachers, how teachers understood the idea of disciplinary lenses and how teachers envisioned their implementation. It is abundantly clear that teachers need CPD to understand and then implement the disciplinary lenses in the RE curriculum.

There is lots of knowledge out there for teachers, and engaging with it myself through the Farmington made a big impact on my own grasp of progression, curriculum design and subject knowledge in RE. The information about disciplinary lenses comes in the form of books and articles, but also podcasts, recorded conversations and practical ideas. The first step for a teacher who is reshaping their curriculum is to find out what is already out there, to enhance both their subject knowledge and practical understanding.

What’s next for me? I will continue to work with local primary schools in building a wider understanding of the core disciplinary knowledge pupils should possess at the end of each key stage. I will also be investigating different ways of implementing disciplinary knowledge across the key stages, and developing the all-important CPD for teachers. The Farmington has shown me that continuing to pursue my academic reading and thinking is of prime importance, not only for my own understanding, but for the benefit of my team and all the teachers I work with in the local area.

The first thing I need to say is that I am a non-specialist Head of RS. Yes, we exist! You might know someone similar. My specialism is actually English. At a time when I was looking to get back into teaching, having taken time out to raise my daughter, there was an urgent shortage of RE teachers in my area. Having grown up in a religious family, where my father was an elder of the Evangelical Free Church, I have always had a strong interest in religion, so I jumped at the chance. I imagined it would be ‘safer’ than diving into teaching English.  Looking back this seems like a very naive view!

As I got used to the department, I began to see limitations in the curriculum when it came to teaching about Christianity. Lessons in no way explored the wide variety of views, traditions and beliefs that I was aware of.  I wondered how far this must be the same for other faiths too.  When my head of department left I applied to become the subject lead for RS, and then my journey as an RS teacher really began.

In many ways English and RS compliment each other. Both are about observing small details and using them to make sense of the whole.  English however offers constant opportunities to explore different interpretations of a source, different arguments and is completely open to the idea that views change over time. This could be part of RS, but it is not as established as English at present. For me this would be what a shift to Religion and Worldviews could look like.

I found the multitude of conversations I had with students each day fascinating. The biggest challenge has been to distill thousands of years of history and belief, especially when there is no curriculum that supports this. I have spent my first two years on the job building a Religion and Worldviews curriculum.

When we gained out first GCSE cohort, I was delighted to discover the Big Ideas approach for AQA Christianity at GCSE on RE:ONLINE (referenced below).

The curriculum covers all the main points of the GCSE specification and is fully resourced, but what I like most is the Big Ideas approach itself. There is a big question to answer every couple of lessons, and content is framed by a mixture of philosophical, ethical, historical and theological questions. These are the Big Ideas in effect. Framing the subject content with the Big Ideas has allowed me to use examples from different Christian traditions. I found my students enjoyed the philosophical questions especially, which enhanced engagement and progress.

I have used the Big Ideas curriculum for my current Year 10s and can see already that they retain much more conceptual information than students did last year, before we adopted Big Ideas. The approach gives students an accessible way to think about religion, a subject many do not know anything about.

Inspired by this success, I am now embarking on creating my own GCSE curriculum following the same approach for Buddhism. Watch this space!

I am interested to see how this approach to teaching influences our teaching and curriculum design at KS3. We have found separating knowledge into different Big Ideas helpful for so many reasons, but mostly because it allows students to explore complexity, retain information and make connections.

Read about the Big Ideas approach and check out the GCSE Christianity and Islam curricula for yourself https://www.reonline.org.uk/teaching-resources/big-ideas-curriculum/

Find out more about the Big Ideas approach, including lessons and teaching material: https://bigideasforre.org/

Our Resource of the Month is a unit of work designed by Ruth Marx exploring how religion can be classified, to allow pupils to answer the question, ‘what is religion?’. In this blog Ruth explains the thinking and inspiration behind her work, which was originally created with Isobel Boyson at the Bridge Academy, Hackney, London.

The main aim of this teaching resource is to help teachers explore the phenomenon of religion and some key thinkers exploring the classifications and origins of religion. The resource takes a disciplinary approach and introduces some key thinkers whose ideas have been used to challenge religious belief, offering opportunities for evaluation throughout. The resource includes explainer YouTube clips around the key thinkers which can either be used for staff subject knowledge or shown directly to the class, as well as knowledge organisers for teachers.

I was teaching much of this content to my A Level classes and wanted to explore these ideas with a younger age group, many of whom may not take RS A Level, so I designed a unit of work for Key stage 3. It was first taught to Year 9, and has subsequently been taught to a non-examined Humanities Pathway cohort of year 9/10/11 students.

Since then I’ve offered the resource widely to the Religion and Worldviews community as there seems to be an appetite for this approach. So far it has been sent out to 50 teachers across the country. My aim in writing this blog is to share the resource with many more.

In creating these lessons I am hoping to support teachers who want to develop a multidisciplinary  approach in their classrooms. I was first inspired by a note in the 2018 CoRE Report that the idea of ‘what is religion itself’ is missing from most syllabuses. The resource supports teachers who are interested to explore topics around atheism and non-religious worldviews. The resource also shows teachers how they can introduce scholarship to a younger age range. A lesson on Jedism as a religion was added to allow discussion of this subject in light of the England and Wales census.

There are many ways to improve our subject knowledge as teachers, even if we are short of time.

Reading of course, but podcasts are a great way to gain knowledge if you can’t find time for reading, such as Panpsycast and the RE Podcast. There are online sources of support, such as RE:ONLINE, on Facebook, @Team RE- UK on Twitter, NATRE resources, and much more- if you want to explore there will be a community for you. Getting together with other teachers through local Hubs and networks is also incredibly valuable. It is such a vibrant and exciting time to be an RE teacher and the best thing is that I feel the community are supporting one another through the transition to Religion and Worldviews.

If anyone tries these resources I would love to hear from them; how did students respond, what kind of discussions took place in the classroom? Do please let me know, as we move into this new era of RE together.

Contact: ruth.h.marx@gmail.com

Find Ruth’s resources below:

‘What is Religion?’ Unit of Work

Booklet to support the learning

Explainer videos for teachers and students

After finishing my undergraduate degree, I embarked on a distance learning Masters in Education. As a teacher I want to be as well-informed as I can be. My inspiration? When I was a school student myself, it was teachers who had a genuine passion for education and imparting knowledge that in turn fuelled my passion for their subjects. Although a Masters is not essential for enthusiastic teaching, it was the right thing for me. Indeed, earning my Maters has benefitted not only myself, but also colleagues and, most importantly, my students. I feel excited to try new approaches and better equipped to contribute to curriculum discussions. For me, being better-informed gives me confidence to contribute.

When I decided to apply for the Masters, I didn’t exactly shout it in the staff room during rush hour, but I did let a few colleagues know. While everyone thought it was a great idea, and some shared their own experiences of gaining additional qualifications, most queried whether it was the right time. I was about to start my ECT induction years and my colleagues’ concern was that the workload would become unmanageable. Were they proved correct? Although, of course a Masters requires time and attention, finding time after my working day to commit to my studies wasn’t as difficult as many first feared.

Partly this was due to the flexibility offered by a distance learning programme. This allowed me to juggle my professional and academic commitments in a way that suited my own context and time. I was very well-planned, a must, but the work was definitely manageable. My planning system was simple- I worked backwards from a submission deadline, breaking the final assignment into chunks, and breaking the chunks into smaller tasks, to complete in the time available.

It is strange being classed as a student outside work, and then walking into my classroom every day as a teacher. I do take advantage and claim a student discount every so often! However, this has been an invaluable opportunity for reflection on the experience of being a learner. I can relate to students so much more so when they talk to me about managing their workload- this has been especially relevant when talking to my sixth formers. I truly understand the pressures of juggling multiple demands they are experiencing.

Of my learning itself, this has been invaluable. I specialised in applied linguistics and teaching and learning. This provided me with broad experiences in conducting pupil voice, pedagogies to promote literacy and English language, which further improved my skills in my own area of interest; supporting disadvantaged learners. The academic development has had hugely positive impacts on my classroom practice.

As I near the end of my Masters, I look forwards to continued research through an Ed.D and other forms of CPD. Of course financial realities mean any further study will have to be completed alongside my professional role. However the experience of studying for a Masters whilst teaching has encouraged me further to nourish my own love of learning, as much as anything to develop my students’ love of learning.

If you’re considering applying for a Masters or any other CPD, I would say go for it! Of course it is a commitment, but remember that it was your love of learning that brought you to teaching in the first place. Moreover, investing in yourself is also an investment in your students. As a teacher, you are used to making the unmanageable manageable anyway!

I will talk about a new resource called ‘Mixing Lenses’, written for Primary teachers to explore the ways scientific language and religious language can overlap. For readers who are not Primary teachers, don’t be put off- there is lots here for Secondary- age students, and you may well be asking similar questions to myself. The aim of the resource is to support pupils in making sense of the world using language at the interface of science and Christianity.

I started with some significant questions; are there new ways to approach engagement with science and faith? Can the ways that we help children to explore both science and faith be mixed together? How can we show children a meaningful intertwining of the language of science and faith in the classroom? I have been concerned over the years when I see an ‘either/ or’ mentality applied to science and faith; as if pupils have to choose. Yet of course both modes of thinking offer meaning, and many people comfortably employ both.

This is nothing new – for many years we have tried to help young people understand that a believer of any faith can also be a scientist. This often involves myth- busting, for example, dispelling the myth that Genesis is read in the same way as a science book.

The Mixing Lenses resource for teachers has emerged from my work with Chester Cathedral Education Department. Workshops on science and faith were taken into schools, funded by a group called Scientists in Congregations.

Scientists in Congregations celebrates the scientists who are present in church congregations. The group seeks to understand and share ideas around science and faith, developing material for teaching and encouraging the creative and at times surprising thinking that arises from explorations in this area. Find out more on the ECLAS website.

You may have heard of God and the Big Bang, a project to provide space for school students to explore science and faith in creative ways. RE Today have produced a set of teaching resources following God and the Big Bang topics for Primary and Secondary.

As my own work was with Chester Cathedral I focused on Christian faith but the questions and information could be explored with any faith.

It occurred to me that both faith and science:

a.  have language in common.

b.  use both metaphor and analogy to aid understanding of concepts.

This got me thinking, and four questions emerged which have become the basis of my planning:

1. What are the concepts within the science and RE topics?
2. What is the vocabulary to be taught in Science and RE (in my case, Christianity)?
3. What activity can be planned to link the vocabulary between the subjects and so offer deeper understanding? What question could be asked to lead the activity?
4. What questions can be asked during the activity/discussion or on completion?

The resource established the parameters of this field of thinking for teachers using learning theories such as Piaget and Vygotsky. The resource then works through some practical examples. For example, the resource connects and explores the idea of circuits in science, and discipleship in Christianity. Circuits can break, and children can explore how to keep a circuit open and running. In a Christian life, sometimes events keep people from being disciples, their circuit has broken. Children can explore what might cause someone to stray away from their path, and the help and support they can receive the find it again. The resource makes many other connections in this way, such as the idea of a sound wave, and the idea of love travelling to reach people.

This resource is free for teachers. I hope it is useful. I am also interested to know if readers think there is mileage in developing this further, with other key stages and faiths. If anyone would like to pilot the material or offer suggestions, I would be delighted!

Contact: Canon Jane Brooke jane.brooke333@gmail.com