Global terms: Blog Categories

Celebrating Faith, Fighting Hate: A Personal Reflection for Interfaith Week

Sarah Owen MP | 14 November, 2025

Interfaith Week is a wonderful cause for celebration. As someone who grew up in a mixed-race, multi-faith household, I have a huge appreciation for the impact religion can have on the lives of believers as well as those around them. And now living in Luton, I see the fruits of the work our diverse faith groups do together every day.

In my constituency of Luton North, the interfaith community is long established and a source of cohesion and strength.

Many voices and cultures

Luton is a town of many voices and cultures, with a history of our communities uniting to oppose forces of hate. Our diversity is a strength and we can never take for granted the relationships and networks that run through our fabric. Lutonians know all too well the struggle against those who choose to pit communities against one another, to increase tensions and exploit insecurities for political gain.

There are so many initiatives I’m proud of locally that are run by people of faith. Our Luton Council of Faiths is a uniting group that works with the council, schools, the police and public services to care for our town. They are proactive in supporting vulnerable members of our community, and mediating tensions if they arise. Their work earned them an award from the late Queen, in recognition of their contributions to social cohesion.

Re-emergence of racism

Sadly, we have seen the ugly trends of far-right racism re-emerge in a powerful way over the past couple of years. As the Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee in Parliament, I have heard testimonies about the importance of different faith groups standing together to repel the extremist messages both in politics and in wider culture. Whether it’s Islamophobia coming out of Unite the Kingdom marches, to so-called “Christian nationalism” infiltrating some church communities, or the distressing attacks we’ve seen occur at synagogues across the country, it’s never been more important to stand up for our neighbours in their time of need.

Standing up, standing together

And standing up for those in need is exactly what faith groups do best. We all saw the way in which they served the general public during the pandemic; everyone either benefitted from it themselves or knows someone who did. Temples and Gurdwaras cooking hot, nutritious food for the masses; churches helping with vaccine drives; mosque volunteers dropping off supplies for local people shielding.

But of course this sort of work had been going on behind the scenes for a long time before the pandemic: food banks, night shelters, youth projects and dementia cafes – all of these have been offered by people of faith for decades, and will continue to be while vulnerable people fall through gaps left by the state.

When I look back on my time on Labour’s front bench as the Shadow Minister for Faith and Communities, I often joke that the thing I miss most is the food. Faith communities definitely know how to cater their events, and the hospitality I received from the most lovely, welcoming people will always be treasured. But of course the real thing I miss the most is seeing people from different backgrounds, who are often pitted against each other, coming together to love their neighbourhoods.

Celebrating RE teachers

There’s a special group of people I want to recognise this Interfaith Week, and that is our fantastic RE teachers. It has never been more important that children and young people learn about religion and world views, so they may grow to be compassionate, understanding and rounded adults. I will continue to do all I can to help increase the access to RE teaching for every pupil, and support schools to recruit high-level subject specialists. Countering hateful attitudes (or innocent misunderstandings) as early as possible is essential in this diverse, vibrant country we live in. So to all the RE teachers doing what they can to progress that: Thank you.

About

Sarah Owen is the MP for Luton North, and Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee. She previously served as the Shadow Minister for Faith and Communities in Labour's opposition frontbench.

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Do you feel adequately resourced to address faith-based harm in your school?

Rebecca Collins | 12 November, 2025

Glancing out of the staffroom window, you notice three of your students approach the playground fence just as a woman in a hijab is walking by. They say something to her and the only words you can clearly make out are “burka” and “go home”. The students laugh as the woman quickly walks away with her head down looking upset.

As a teacher, what are your options here? Storm outside, chastise the students, and dole out an appropriate punishment? Schedule an assembly? Escalate it to the head? Undertake outreach to the local mosque? Book in a RE session on Islamophobia? Do nothing?

But what if the students were themselves Muslim? Does this change how you act next? What if you know those students are Hindu? What if, instead of a woman wearing a hijab (a Muslim head covering for women), it was a man wearing a kippah/yarmulke (a Jewish head covering for men) and the students were Muslim? How do various denominations, schools and branches of religions come into conflict and how do these layers of complexity – potentially involving race or status too – influence how we respond?

The key here question is not just: Would you know how to approach this incident? But more widely: Do you feel adequately resourced and supported to address faith-based harm in your school? Do you feel that your school has developed systems that offer pathways for learning about faith-based harm?

Harm related to faith often feels like a minefield of sensitivities; there can be so much fear of “getting it wrong” that we often end up doing nothing. Not from a lack of sympathy for the harmed, but out of fear of igniting wider tension that you do not feel confident to navigate. Global and historical conflicts feel more present than ever in UK societies – from conflict in Israel/Palestine, and tension between India and Pakistan, to division between Catholics and Protestants. And how do recent riots against asylum seekers and immigrants relate to faith?

Interfaith restorative justice

This gap in understanding and confidence in how to approach faith-based harm led to the inception of the Interfaith Restorative Justice Project. This work, a partnership between the Faith & Belief Forum, Interfaith Glasgow and Why me? – and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund – explores how Restorative Justice (RJ) processes can address hostility against and between faith communities in Solihull and Glasgow. We have trained local people of faith as RJ Community Facilitators and support them to take on cases where they facilitate repair or moving forward after harm has occurred. And whilst this project isn’t targeted at schools, as integral parts of communities, we’re liaising with Solihull and Glasgow education institutions as potential sources of referrals and casework partners where harm has been identified.

Restorative practices and Interfaith

There are loads of fantastic resources and initiatives to bring Restorative practices into schools, and there are projects across the country (including our own F&BF schools work) which can help staff and students better understand and navigate faith and worldviews. RJ in schools can be simplified as a “culture that identifies strong, mutually respectful relationships and a cohesive community as the foundations on which good teaching and learning can flourish”[1]. Interfaith can be described as “all forms of intentional engagement between individuals from different faith and belief backgrounds, who come together specifically because of their religious diversity”[2]. The crucial overlap between RJ and interfaith approaches: Both invite learning new ways of being.

“Learning new ways of being” may sound like another new term or initiative on top of many others that offer a distraction to an already packed Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) and religious education or religion and worldviews curriculum. But both RJ and interfaith work give us frameworks to be able to navigate the most difficult parts of life – relationships, conflict, disagreement, mistakes, offense and division. So, when we talk about new ways of being, we can see that this approach brings together many strands of the work of ‘developing the whole child’ that we all strive to encourage in our classrooms.

Learning how to live alongside one another

Learning (by studying and practising established processes) how to live alongside each other across difference and to navigate harm is essential to a well-functioning society (and, dare I say, conspicuously absent in many communities up and down the UK today). And learning, not just how we look after ourselves and each other when we are harmed, but how we take accountability when we are the one doing the harming, are skills that can be taught and learned. If we want schools to produce well-balanced, self-aware, caring and emotionally intelligent young people who can build relationships in their communities and respect others despite differences, then learning new ways of being should be well and truly on the agenda.

For more information on how a Restorative approach might be applied to the case study above, RJ expert Anika Cosgrove from Why me? has a blog post coming soon

[1] Restorative Approaches in Schools in the UK , University of Cambridge, https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/programmes/restorativeapproaches/RA-in-the-UK.pdf

[2] UK Summer Riots 2024: Restorative Responses and Interfaith Instincts, Faith & Belief Forum, available at: https://faithbeliefforum.org/report/uk-summer-riots-restorative-responses-and-interfaith-instincts-report/

About

Rebecca Collins is a Senior Programme Manager at the Faith and Belief Forum overseeing their Communities team. As part of this she manages the IRJP, a 3-year, National Lottery-funded project to apply Restorative Justice approaches to hate and hostility against and between faith communities in Glasgow & Solihull.

See all posts by Rebecca Collins

Dialogue in Diversity: Building Bridges in the Classroom

Riaz Ravat | 11 November, 2025

One would assume that being based in Leicester – the most plural city in the UK, would provide St Philip’s Centre (SPC) with the ‘cheat sheet’ for how to live well together. Whilst that remains a journey not a destination, our interactive programmes of religious and worldviews education are increasingly requested geographically with schools engaged from the East Midlands, West Midlands, South Yorkshire and the East of England.

Why Interfaith education matters more than ever

Why is this the case? Collectively whilst we operate in different contexts, we are all connected by mutual desires to upskill our children so that they can confidently and glowingly contribute as active citizens in any part of the world let alone the UK. In a febrile national and global atmosphere where perspective and fair play has been recalibrated to create imbalance and distrust, we encourage children, carers and teachers to engage with a range of different views and opinions about all manner of topical subjects. Our team of community faith practitioners who are integral to our delivery, provide us with originality, authenticity and a human face. Our work intends to build a resilient future through education and openness by allowing children and young people to express themselves through adventure and the promotion of kindness.

Creating safe space for big questions

We go beyond the textbook and make the subject FUN! We do not claim representative status but instead our team amplify lived religion and belief under a democratic apparatus. We encourage free and frank dialogue where disagreement is accepted as part of life within a framework of peaceful coexistence. Children, carers and teachers often ask questions about gender rights, religious obligations versus the rule of law and exclusivism in belief. We highlight the presence of different traditions or intra-faith. Looking over the garden fence to our neighbours may be pain-free but when one needs to turn in and accept divergent beliefs when under the same label, it can be harder to digest.

Dialogue in action: bringing lived religion into the classroom

From foundation to lower secondary, our offer is age appropriate. Our programmes include assemblies, workshops, visits to places of worship, tours of cultural sites such as our famous ‘Golden Mile’ and our flagship ‘Religion & Belief Roadshow’ which brings up to ten different religions and beliefs into a school as part of a fun-packed festival using stalls, clothing, music, artefacts and food – the currency of interfaith! Over the years, this pioneering endeavour has engaged thousands of children across the nation.

One of the most pressing challenges facing school leaders is how to prepare children and young people for life. It is commonly assumed that rural areas are isolated and removed from the wealth of plurality but the same can be said of some towns and cities. Day to day or meaningful engagement with difference is rare and forces pupils to play ‘catch-up’ later on in life at college, university or work – by then it is often too late. The demands of school life means that it is often only possible to provide one-off encounters and so the sustainability of a child’s journey must be a collective responsibility with friends, families and communities all playing their role outside of the classroom.

Building blocks for a resilient future

At SPC, our programme recipe is appetising and colourful – there is something for almost everyone! We have up to ten religions and beliefs under our umbrella which connects classrooms with communities. High quality religious and worldviews education must be relevant and applicable to today’s world. Schools operate on the frontline and we very much see our role as being one where we help them, to help themselves. We energise and equip schools to connect meaningfully with their children and families in this area of work. The building blocks of responsible citizenship and community resiliency cannot be left to chance. Our collaborative efforts with schools have increased pupil and teacher confidence and knowledge.

About

Riaz Ravat is Deputy Director of St Philip's Centre in Leicester where he leads on training, education and engagement. He is a Trustee of the Woolf Institute in Cambridge and Secretary General of Baraza - an international NGO dedicated to peace-making. Riaz has completed postgraduate degrees in Inter-Religious Relations and Faith-Based Leadership.

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Help, its Inter Faith week, what can I do! Let me tell you a story

Anne Moseley | 10 November, 2025

As a classroom teacher, every year I would get excited about “Interfaith Week”. I would want to do something fun to celebrate diversity and inclusion. However what often happened, was that my best intentions were overtaken by other priorities, and I ended up feeling guilty because I had run out of time. I want to encourage you this year too do something, even a small activity can make a big difference. My hope is that this blog will help to take away some of the guilt and provide some small easily accessible ideas to begin to use with your pupils to help them engage and learn more from each other

Story

My work as a researcher has highlighted the potential for using stories to help pupils to understand the values of others who hold different worldviews. Stories from sacred texts carry significant meaning across time and place and can offer a safe space to talk about matters of faith and belief. The meaning is nuanced and requires the reader to go exploring for what is hidden in the text. You do not need to be a theologian to be able to share a story and explain why it is important to you. It is something everyone can do, be they pupils, staff, or members of local faith communities.
I would like to suggest that it is these very connections that could be a rich source of knowledge to tap into during interfaith week.

Could you find some time in the classroom to explore stories that carry meaning for your own pupils?

Could you ask members of staff, volunteers or parents to come in and share stories that are important to them as representatives of different faith community?

Sharing stories in their own right is helpful and interesting, but I would argue that the most interesting conversations can be developed when we bring stories together from different perspectives and begin to look for the similarities and differences in how they are perceived. This year Interfaith Week highlights the theme of “Community: Together We Serve”.

Could you invite three people from different faith perspectives to share a story that illustrates something of what it looks like to serve?

Are there trusted members of the school community who might be willing to talk about their beliefs through story telling?

Dialogue

It is important to recognise that for these interfaith encounters to be positive, setting a space for dialogue is important. There is a famous American psychologist called Gordon Allport (Allport, 1954) who has suggests that prejudice can be reduced through positive contact. He argues that for this to be effective it needs to be conducted within a safe environment. His contact theory, also known as the intergroup contact hypothesis, suggests that encounters are most effective when all members of the group have equal status, shared objectives, active collaboration and these encounters should be supported by recognised authority structures. When these conditions are in place, he suggests encounters can lead to more positive attitudes and better intergroup relations.

The Story Tent

At the heart of my interfaith work has been the concept of a Story Tent. My research and subsequent classroom-based practice have highlighted the potential of creating spaces, to share our stories and build friendships across divides. My logo illustrates a tent shape with a space for dialogue underneath. It could also represent a bridge that connects different starting points. In this space I encourage pupils to consider themselves as both a guest and a host. The space is shared, and all participants have equal status.

You may find that there is somewhere in the school that you dedicate to creating such an interfaith story telling space. I have used a gazebo to create a temporary space, but you may have a book corner or space in the library which could be set aside for interfaith week.

Guidelines for dialogue

Using guidelines for dialogue in this space enables open respectful conversations to emerge but it is important to remember that this space needs to have some authority figure around to oversee the activities. I have attached below some guidelines for dialogue which I have used in primary schools, a PDF is available on my website. There are also guidelines which can be used in secondary school which have been developed by “The Feast”, an interfaith networking organisation, more details available on their website listed below.

Download guidelines for dialogue here.

The Faith and Belief forum have recently produced a report May 2025 – highlighting the positive impact and importance of this Interfaith Week initiative which was started in 2009. But Interfaith Week does not need to be the end of an interest in this aspect of important work. Rather it can be the start of developing an interest in the lived experiences of people of different faiths and worldviews.

My challenge to you today is to go away and plan to do at least one story related activity during Interfaith Week (or afterwards) and see where it leads. Begin to explore a dialogical space where it is safe for pupils to talk about their perceptions. This type of learning can help reframe attitudes and help pupils to not only discover more about what others believe but also refine their own beliefs, values and sense of identity.

Bibliography:

Allport, G.W. (1954) The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, Mass: Addison-Wesley.

Interfaith week consultation report, 2005, Faith &Belief Forum,

https://faithbeliefforum.org/report/report-inter-faith-week-consultation/

[accessed 18th October 2025]

Resources:

Faith and Belief Forum

https://www.ifw4schools.co.uk/ [accessed – 12th Oct 2025]

Interfaith week resources

https://www.interfaithweek.org/resources [accessed – 12th Oct 2025]

Story Tent resources

https://www.storytent.concordant.online/ [accessed – 12th October 2025]

Story Tent @ Coventry Cathedral video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WolsaClLHPg [accessed 12th October 2025]

The feast guidelines for dialogue:

https://thefeast.org.uk/resources [accessed 12th October 2025]

About

Anne Moseley began teaching primary pupils in 1986 and taught for over 20 years with pupils aged between 4 - 11. She became a teacher-researcher in 2008 at Warwick University completing and MA and then a PhD exploring the impact of interfaith dialogue on pupils' intercultural competencies. She now spends her time as a research supervisor at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and also works in partnership with Rose Castle Foundation as the founder and creator of the Story Tent project.

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A bold step for RE: Why the review got it right

Dr Kathryn Wright | 06 November, 2025

The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s recommendation to embed Religious Education (RE) in a new national curriculum marks a watershed moment for education. Culham St Gabriel’s Trust celebrates this bold step toward equity, coherence, and justice. Over the last few years, we’ve championed a statutory national benchmark for RE- one that guarantees every pupil, in every school, access to high-quality, inclusive, and meaningful learning about religion and worldviews.

Why This Matters

I have often used this scenario in our advocacy over the last year…

Imagine being a 14-year-old student deciding whether to do RE as a GCSE option. Your experience of the subject has been fragmented – repeating content due to curriculum variations between local areas, missing key topics as you moved schools, or being taught by non-specialist teachers. You’re curious about how people live and view the world, but you feel unprepared and uncertain. This is the reality for many pupils across England.

The current system, with many different agreed syllabi and inconsistent provision, has led to widespread inequity. Some pupils receive rich, engaging RE; others receive none. This disparity is not just unfair – it’s educationally and socially unjust.

The report says:

‘Provision for RE is many schools is not good enough and does not prepare pupils adequately for life beyond school’ p. 108

The Case for Change

The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommendation affirms what those of us working this this field have long known: the status quo is untenable. At the recent Confederation of School Trusts Annual Conference 95% of those voting in our informal poll agreed that RE should go into a new National Curriculum. This included chief executives, headteachers, trustees, curriculum leads, inclusion leads, journalists, Diocesan Directors of Education and Year 10 pupils. This should encourage both the review panel, and the government as recommendations are taken forward. I believe the education world strongly supports this move as it will:

  • Restore Equity: All pupils deserve access to a coherent and inclusive RE curriculum, regardless of their school’s governance or location.
  • Ensure Consistent Standards: A national benchmark will help raise expectations, improve outcomes, and support accountability.
  • Improve Provision: Schools will be required to allocate appropriate time and resources to RE, ensuring it is no longer sidelined.
  • Modernise Content: A religion and worldviews approach will reflect the lived experiences of diverse communities, moving beyond outdated paradigms.

A Vision for the Future

The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommend a staged process, building on the National Content Standard for RE in England (2023) which could serve as the foundation for this new curriculum. I wholeheartedly support this approach. It offers a framework on which to develop further consensus and unite the education community. I am delighted that the report recommends Dr Vanessa Ogden chair a Task and Finish Group to lead this next stage.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. I urge the religion and worldviews community-educators, faith and belief groups and policymakers – to come together for the common good. Let us work through the challenges together, be open to compromise where needed, take a humble approach and listen to one another. I hope that we can build a curriculum that reflects the richness of human belief and experience, and ensures every child receives the education they deserve.

Six reasons why RE should be in a new National Curriculum https://www.cstg.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-worldviews/

About

Dr Kathryn Wright is CEO of Culham St Gabriel's Trust

See all posts by Dr Kathryn Wright

Culham St Gabriel’s applauds proposed landmark RE curriculum reform

Dr Kathryn Wright | 05 November, 2025

Culham St Gabriel’s warmly welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s bold recommendation to embed Religious Education (RE) within a new national curriculum through a staged process. This marks a pivotal moment for education in England. We are proud to have championed this change throughout the last year through our advocacy and submission of evidence.

The Report states:

‘The Review believes that RE should be moved to the national curriculum to improve access to high-quality provision and prevent further diminishment… We believe a staged approach to reform is the most appropriate way forward’. P.109

We believe this move is essential to ensuring every pupil, in every school, receives equitable access to high-quality RE. It’s a vital step toward a more inclusive and informed society.

As this transformative vision takes shape through dialogue and negotiation with stakeholders, Culham St Gabriel’s stands ready to support policymakers and officials with our expertise and resources. We are committed to helping realise this once-in-a-generation opportunity. We strongly support the next steps and future approach set out in the report which seeks to create consensus, building on what has already been achieved through the establishing of the National Content Standard for RE in England.

We welcome the report’s recommendation that Dr Vanessa Ogden chairs a task and finish group to build on the constructive and collaborative work already undertaken as part of the review.

Our vision is clear: a broad-based, critical and reflective religion and worldviews education that fosters respect, understanding and openness. This recommendation brings us closer than ever to making this vision a reality.

Kathryn Wright, Chief Executive
Linda Whitworth, Chair of Trustees

To read more about our reasoning regarding RE taking its place in a National Curriculum please see: https://www.cstg.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-worldviews/

For further information about our position contact Kathryn Wright, CEO, Culham St Gabriel’s Trust ceo@cstg.org.uk

Culham St Gabriel’s applauds proposed landmark RE curriculum reform

About

Dr Kathryn Wright is CEO of Culham St Gabriel's Trust

See all posts by Dr Kathryn Wright

Bringing RE to Life: Leading Lived Experience Encounters Across Diverse School Communities

Maddy Oakes | 21 October, 2025

Watching eyes widen, jaws drop and students mouth “Wow!” to one another. I am filled with pride as one of the quietest girls in the year belts out a prayer in Arabic. We are standing in the prayer hall of a nearby mosque, and she has volunteered to share this part of her lived faith during our visit.

“Bob, it’s Bob! Bob we have a question…”
Break duty is made all the more enjoyable as I watch 13-14-year-old students chase “Bob the Humanist” around the school grounds as if he is a major celebrity; their interest has bubbled over following his talk about what being a humanist means to him.

Raising the Profile of RE: Starting from Scratch

As I stepped into my current leadership role I was faced with secondary schools which had no discrete Religious Education (RE) lessons and no specialist teachers. Whilst building the subject from the ground up, it soon became apparent that there was some heavy lifting to do in order to raise the profile of the subject with all stakeholders. To impart, within our school communities, an understanding of the value of good quality RE, my approach has been multifaceted, however, something that has proved very beneficial in this campaign has been the inclusion of encounters with the lived experience of different worldviews.

The Ofsted Deep and Meaningful Report (2024) states: ‘Through the RE curriculum, pupils should build knowledge of the religious and non-religious traditions that have shaped the world…this knowledge includes…the diverse lived experiences of individuals who are part of living traditions…high-quality RE curriculums should accurately portray the diversity and complexity of religion and non-religion.’

One Trust, Many Contexts: Responding to Demographic Diversity

Although many of our trust schools are within the same local authority it became clear that the student experience within our RE lessons was very different due to the individual demographics of our sites. For instance, one school has a very rich cultural diversity, with fifty-two different first languages spoken, 48% of the student population having English as an additional language (EAL) and 21% declaring their worldview as non-religious. Whereas, another site has 7% of its student population denoted as EAL and 54% declaring their worldview as non-religious. During lesson observations this contrast was often readily apparent, with some students immersed into a classroom dialogue involving a variety of lived experiences, whilst others resembled an echo chamber in which only the teacher could try to utilise classroom resources to depict a range of worldviews. Having the privileged position of being able to see RE lessons across this range of settings made it clear to me that engaging with the lived experiences of those outside our individual school communities was going to be a vital part of the curriculum I was building.

From Virtual Panels to Real-World Encounters

So just as we were emerging from the pandemic and putting “bubble teaching” behind us, I harnessed everyone’s newfound skills for video calls and organised our first encounter with visiting speakers. The format was a worldviews panel that was, due to Covid restrictions, delivered virtually to students across several schools simultaneously. There were some real positives to come out of this event and student feedback indicated that they enjoyed interacting with a diverse group of people. However, it became clear that to make a real success of this, face to face encounters were going to be preferred and students wanted to hear voices from their own local community (the virtual format had meant the speakers had represented communities from up and down the country).

Since this we have worked hard as a team to build an entitlement curriculum in which all students are given the opportunity to visit local places of worship and engage with talks from visiting speakers. This has been bolstered by a supportive CEO who ensured curriculum time and school budgets would enable us to enact our plans. At present all Year 7 and 8 students are given the opportunity to visit a mosque and gurdwara, Year 9 students engage with a worldviews panel and Year 10 students experience a workshop delivered by the National Holocaust Centre.

Helpful hints for embedding lived experience in RE:

  • Dream big (but start small). From the outset we thought carefully about the types of experiences that would deepen student learning beyond the classroom and when they would complement our curriculum. Although we were aiming for equity across all sites we started by rolling out the program at a couple of school sites, enabling us to iron out any issues before running it across all schools.
  • Think local. We have found the experiences to be much more impactful when students see the worldviews reflected from their own communities, whilst being mindful of avoiding echo chambers which meant a trip to the nearest city for some of our schools.
  • It’s all in the planning. Personally, I think this can be easily overlooked once you are bogged down in risk assessments and coach bookings. But taking the time to carefully select appropriate speakers and places to visit can truly be the making of your event. From recceing the place in advance to meeting the speakers ahead of time (it is important they are clear in your aims of the experience). Some examples of preparation I’ve done that paid off in the long-term include:
  1. Established clear boundaries i.e. students will not partake in worship activities during the visit
  2. Meeting with a speaker ahead of time to plan and tailor a session, I could then confidently share with parents/carers the aim of the session and it removed any on the day nerves of not knowing what would be presented
  3. Working with class teachers to build into lesson time an explanation of what students could expect during an upcoming visit and provide an opportunity to plan questions for students to ask to encourage dialogue rather than tumbleweed silence
  4. Sending specific topics ahead of time helps provide structure to the session and affords the worldview panel members thinking time
  5. Creating a contract all visiting speakers sign and adhere to, this has proved useful as a tool to provide constructive feedback for subsequent interactions.
  • Explain why. I’ve found it beneficial to engage with all stakeholders to share an understanding of why an event is happening; making sure that staff, students and parents understand the aims of the event. Be prepared for parent/student pushback and consider how you are going to tackle this. Some strategies we have found beneficial include:
  1. Inviting the senior leadership team to the events so they can see first-hand the benefits
  2. Providing discussion questions for at home
  3. Getting the students to write up their experience of the event and share this on the school websites/social media.
  • Collaborate. Utilise the experience of others around you, for instance, sharing the contact details of effective speakers. We also took the opportunity to collaborate with the Geography department, spending the morning completing our places of worship visit and in the afternoon completing an urban field study. This allowed us to share the coach fare but also allowed students to see that we can share interest and skills across our subject specialisms.

Developing these experiences has afforded us much more than raising the profile of the subject within our school communities. We have seen a deepening of student understanding of different worldviews, the development of their interpersonal skills (considering how to interact with others, how to prepare to visit an unfamiliar space, etc.) but also fostered relationships across communities.

About

Maddy Oakes is the Director of Religious Education across a multi-academy trust based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Maddy has recently completed her first year on the Culham St Gabriel's Leadership Programme.

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Is Your RE Curriculum Helping Pupils Flourish?

Dr Kathryn Wright | 13 October, 2025

“Flourishing” is fast becoming a popular term in education – but what does it really mean in the context of Religious Education (RE)? And more importantly, are we creating the conditions for children and young people to truly flourish through RE in our schools?

The word flourish comes from the Latin florere – to bloom, blossom, or flower. And just like a garden, flourishing doesn’t happen by accident. It requires the right soil, sunlight, water, nutrients, and care.

So, is your school’s RE a well-tended RHS-quality garden, or a dry, neglected patch of ground?

In some schools, RE is thriving-rich, vibrant, and deeply rooted in the life of the community. In others, it’s struggling for attention, under-resourced and undervalued. This disparity raises serious questions about equity and justice – questions we hope the Curriculum and Assessment Review will address. But beyond policy, there’s a practical question for school leaders:

What does flourishing in RE look like, and how can I nurture it in my school?

To support this, Culham St Gabriel’s has partnered with the National Society for Education to develop a new guidance document based on Flourishing Together–a collective vision for education. It explores how the ten “seeds” of flourishing can grow through high-quality religion and worldviews education, and offers self-evaluation questions for leaders, teachers, and the wider school community.

Although designed with the English context in mind, we hope it will also resonate with colleagues in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

What Does Flourishing RE Look Like?

We believe flourishing RE:

  • Is rooted in relationships – fostering genuine understanding and connection.
  • Seeks wisdom – through listening, learning, and critical reflection.
  • Offers hope – promoting peace, dialogue, and positive community relations.
  • Prioritises the margins – amplifying under-represented voices and supporting the vulnerable.
  • Contributes to spiritual flourishing – for all, whether religious or non-religious.
  • Provides knowledge – enriching pupils’ understanding across the curriculum.

Through RE, pupils can discover their voice, understand their place in the world, and grow into confident citizens ready to navigate a complex, multi-religious and multi-secular society.

So… is it time to give your RE some love?

Download the Flourishing Together guidance document here.

About

Dr Kathryn Wright is CEO of Culham St Gabriel's Trust

See all posts by Dr Kathryn Wright

From the Margins to the Middle: Co-creating space for Home Educators to explore Religion and Worldviews

Alice Khimasia | 27 September, 2025

The Religion and Worldviews Home Educators’ Fund was set up by Culham St Gabriel’s, St Peter’s Saltley Trust and All Saints Educational Trust with the aim of supporting home educating families, who are often unable to access traditional funding schemes for RE. The fund was co-designed by a group of home educating families, with support from TSIP, The Social Innovation Partnership. The fund is now in its second year and decisions on grant applications are made by a ‘community panel’ of home educators.

Alice Khimasia is one of the parents that has been involved since the beginning of the fund’s co-design process and in this blog she reflects on her experience. The trusts are currently offering more grants in this area. You can also read about some of the other Home Education projects that were awarded funds.

I have spent many years immersed in home education, but I once trained as a Religious Education (RE) teacher and have always believed in the potential of quality RE, and the importance of educators who hold space for big questions about meaning, belief, identity, community and belonging, often in departments with limited time, tight frameworks, and ever-present pressures. It is no small task, and it matters deeply. So, when I was invited to help co-create a fund to support home educators’ learning about religions and worldviews, I saw an exciting opportunity to extend the reach of this important work into a different and often overlooked part of the educational landscape. Home educators in the UK are part of a growing community which receives no funding or systemic support. Despite the challenges, there is a great deal of creative, rigorous, values-led learning taking place outside traditional classrooms, often learner-centred, innovative and dynamic. This fund was an opportunity to recognise and support that in a meaningful and collaborative way.

Co-creation in Education: Building the fund with home educating families

My home educated son and I joined a working group including other home educators and staff from the Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) helping shape the fund’s aims, values, and processes. The project was grounded in co-creation, not consultation. We weren’t just giving feedback, but were invited to the table from the start. For those of us used to working on the fringes of formal education, it was powerful to be heard and respected, to shape something from the ground up, to be recognised and paid fairly for our expertise. The fund supports home-educating families and groups to explore different religions and worldviews in ways that are relevant, creative, collaborative and impactful. Like many RE teachers, those of us engaged in this project are committed to fostering curiosity, empathy and respectful dialogue in the next generation, and want to inspire encounters that open people to difference and help us all live well together.

When I joined the panel reviewing grant applications for our pilot year, I was inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness of the submissions. The home education community is incredibly diverse, and so are the approaches to RE. Some families use structured curricula, others draw on storytelling, visits to places of interest, project-based learning, or philosophical discussion. Much is conversational, interest-led, emergent and reflective, often deeply rooted in lived experience. The flexibility of home education is one of its strengths, and applications reflected that with submissions from groups learning together, families engaged in collaborative projects, and parents of children with special educational needs.

Voices from the community: Reflections from grant recipients

One grantee reflected:

“One of the most rewarding things was seeing how open and thoughtful the children became when given space to explore big ideas. They were genuinely curious and respectful, and it was clear they were learning not just about different beliefs, but about empathy and understanding too.”

Perhaps most powerfully, one child said:

“I didn’t know that people could believe different things and still be kind to each other. I liked learning how other people see the world.”

Reading reflections like these was moving and affirmed the value of the work. We hope the fund ensures that wherever children are learning, in classrooms, community centres, in libraries, or at kitchen tables, they have access to high-quality, thoughtful, inclusive education about religions and worldviews, recognising that quality RE can happen both inside and outside school walls, and that we share a common goal, to raise compassionate, empathic citizens.

The Future of RE in Home Education: Dialogue, Diversity, and Connection

Some of my most memorable experiences with my own sons involved visiting places of worship and speaking with people from different communities. These encounters brought beliefs and practices to life and sparked genuine curiosity and respect. I hope the fund continues to grow, not just by offering grants, but in the connections it fosters. At the heart of RE is dialogue, and that includes us all listening well, being open to difference, and co-creating learning opportunities together.

About

Once trained as an RE teacher, Alice Khimasia is a long-term home educator committed to promoting good religion and worldviews education, enabling people to encounter and explore diverse ways of being, seeing and experiencing the world and to grow in compassionate citizenship. Alice's sons have followed different pathways into work aligned with their interests and she continues to support innovative learning beyond the classroom encouraging and empowering parents to co-create learning journeys with their children which reflect diverse needs and interests. Her youngest son continues to learn from home.

See all posts by Alice Khimasia

Culham St Gabriel’s Announces Four New Funding Priorities for 2025-26

Dr Kathryn Wright | 26 September, 2025

At Culham St Gabriel’s, we’re passionate about ensuring religion and worldviews education is meaningful, inclusive, and forward-thinking. That’s why, for 2025-26, we’re focusing our funding on four key priority areas; each chosen to address specific needs and gaps in the field.

  1. Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

    We believe every child deserves to flourish through their RE entitlement. That’s why we’re seeking to fund projects in special schools and enhanced resource bases. Whether you’re working with autistic children, pupils with complex physical needs, or exploring sensory and storytelling approaches, we want to hear from you! How can RE promote healthy bodies, minds, and spirits in these unique contexts? Let’s work together to make RE accessible and inspiring for all.
  2. Generative AI: Pedagogy and Ethics

    AI is here to stay, and its reshaping classrooms everywhere, including RE. We’re looking for projects that explore the ethical and pedagogical implications of using generative AI in religion and worldviews education. How can AI be used responsibly? What does social justice look like in an AI-enabled classroom? If you’re innovating in this space, we want to support you.
  3. Supporting Teachers of RE with other specialisms (TWOS)

    Did you know that over half of secondary RE teachers in the UK are specialists in other subjects? We’re committed to equipping these teachers with the tools, knowledge, and confidence they need to deliver outstanding RE. Whether it’s subject knowledge development, peer mentoring, or opportunities to engage with members of worldview traditions, we’re eager to fund projects that make a difference.
  4. Championing Diversity: UKME and GMH Teachers and Leaders

    Our community’s leadership should reflect its grassroots diversity. We’re especially interested in projects that support teachers and leaders from UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) and Global Majority Heritage (GMH) backgrounds. This could include mentoring, anti-racist RE initiatives, or diversifying the curriculum to better represent all voices.

Are You…

  • Working in a special school or enhanced resource base?
  • Using generative AI in religion and worldviews education?
  • A teacher with a specialism other than RE?
  • From a UKME or GMH background?

If so, we want to fund your project!

Get in touch with us and let’s shape the future of religion and worldviews education together.

About

Dr Kathryn Wright is CEO of Culham St Gabriel's Trust

See all posts by Dr Kathryn Wright