Global terms: Blog Categories

Creating New Resources

Hayley Curtis | 02 April, 2024

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. 

About

Hayley is Joint Curriculum Leader for Religious Studies and Ethics at Dartford Grammar School for Girls. She is passionate about high quality teaching and learning, as well as the capacity of the subject to allow young people to explore the views of themselves and others.

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Discovering Leadership

Jane Yates | 02 April, 2024

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…

About

Jane is a trainer for SAPERE P4C and manages their Thinking Together in RE and Science Project. She is also the North West RE Hubs Lead and RE Adviser to Cumbrian SACRE. www.janeyates.net

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Innovations on a SACRE through the RE Quality Mark

Jake Womack | 19 March, 2024

Recently, one of my students gifted me a copy of The Myth of Sisyphus. In an amusing exchange, he said that he considered teachers to have a great deal of similarity with the cursed Greek King (not bad for a year 8). With no conviction to disagree, I of course responded, yet ‘one must imagine Sisyphus happy.’ I then pointed towards the REQM Gold badge icon on the headed letter paper in my hand.
As teachers of RE, we work incredibly hard to plan excellent curriculums and secure good outcomes. Perhaps the task becomes more palatable when accompanied by celebration, recognition, and yes…a badge for your headed letter paper (SLT very much loves the latter). The REQM, from the process to the award itself, is an amazing experience that energizes RE in your school, raises its profile, and bolsters its quality.
However, while completing the annual report for my local SACRE in Oldham (many of us have a few boulders to roll), I noted that only one school had completed the REQM. I thought this was a real shame and on further investigation found that some areas across the UK have a deficit of the quality mark. This is not to say that quality RE is absent in these areas, but that there are barriers to engaging with it. One of these is without a doubt cost. Though the £495 price tag is very fair for what you get, and all teachers can access the quality standards matrix for free, some departments simply don’t have the budget or wider school support to receive such funding. This got me thinking…
Pennine Learning, the advisory team here in West Yorkshire, have previously experimented with an ‘RE Merit’ awarded by Oldham SACRE. An RE Merit recognizes good quality RE, using similar criteria to the REQM Bronze award (in our context, we link closely with the Locally Agreed Syllabus). Departments complete a quality matrix, share curriculum documentation and evidence, and then benefit from an online review or in person school review. Schools who have received the RE merit are encouraged to undertake the REQM, supported by a wealth of evidence and experience. And yes, you guessed it…we commissioned a set of badges to be used on headed letter paper.
From this we have developed a pilot to run this innovation more widely, with an aim of increasing REQM numbers. Where departments gain the RE Merit, we are hopeful that funding for the REQM will become more readily available in their schools. This has been the case in my most recent visit, where an academy in Oldham commented ‘We are now confident following the support of Jake and the SACRE Merit, that we will work towards REQM.’
SACRE can be an underused tool. Often, the interplay between SACRE and schools is limited to commissioning the Locally Agreed Syllabus and writing reports. But it can do more!
In future Oldham SACRE plan to offer two free spaces a year and involve more SACRE members in the process of reviewing and awarding. Ultimately we want to see more schools sporting the REQM. After all, it is our Sisyphean mission to strive for enhanced religious literacy and a consistently high-quality experience of Religion and Worldviews for all of our students.

About

Jake is a high-performing practitioner of Religious studies with several years' experience as a Head of Department. He coordinates the Secondary RE Network for Kirklees, Calderdale and Leeds and supports the Primary Network in Oldham. Jake is also the professional advisor to Oldham SACRE.

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Insights from a Farmington Scholarship

Sophie Smith | 05 March, 2024

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.

About

Sophie is Head of RE in a secondary school, and has been teaching for 11 years in the midlands.

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Discovering the Big Ideas Curriculum

Naomi Johnston | 20 February, 2024

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/

About

Naomi is RS Subject Lead at a small secondary school in the South East

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What is Religion?: A Learning Resource

Ruth Marx | 02 February, 2024

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

About

Ruth was an RE teacher in London for 20 years and now works as a consultant and author in Religion and Worldviews and PSHE support. She now lives in South West France and can be contacted via X (formerly twitter) @MzMarxRE

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Mixing Lenses

Jane Brooke | 02 January, 2024

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  

About

Jane has worked in schools as Head of RE, written syllabi, advised in dioceses and local authorities, and inspected Religious Education. Jane and Mary Myatt co-founded the RE Quality Mark.

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Christian Ethics and Farmed Animals: a Teachers’ Fellowship

Nadia Nadeem | 01 December, 2023

I was intrigued by this project because it was an opportunity for me to learn about a topic I had never given any real thought to; how animals are farmed, and what are ethical ways of thinking about this. The project is CEFAW: Christian Ethics of Farmed Animals Welfare. The CEFAW project is an engaging and accessible way to educate pupils about farming practices and the ethical questions raised, such as responsible meat consumption. As a teacher, I was able to tailor the lesson plans and resources created through the project to enable pupils from all backgrounds to explore these ideas, contextualising what this means for Christians, the animals, farmers and for pupils as individuals – now and in the future.

I have always been mindful of what children put into their bodies and how this can impact their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing and consequently their ability to learn and be responsible members of society. I had been recently researching the impact hormone injected chickens can have on children and what some of the signs are of this impact.

For these reasons, when the opportunity to work alongside leading experts like David Clough and James Holt presented itself, I was excited to explore how a topic I am interested in personally, will develop through the RE lens.

I worked with two primary colleagues – Mel Gilbert and Stacey Cowell- which was a wonderful experience in itself. We shared ideas and experiences and provided each other with advice and support to refine our thoughts. Working with teachers from different parts of the country made certain that the resources were reflective of all pupils.

Furthermore, being provided with forums where I could share my research and experience from the project has facilitated me to continuously reflect on how the project can be utilised in the primary classroom and its potential long-term impact on the environment and young people’s health. For this I am grateful to Culham St Gabriel’s Trust!

One of the many things that I have taken away from this project, is the effectiveness of using discursive questions to stimulate pupils to think critically, review their opinions and experiences considering what they are learning and researching in lessons as well as the wider implication of key concepts and ideas.

Regardless to say, participating in such projects has its own barriers. As a fulltime teacher in Year 6, I had to consider whether I would be able to manage the deadlines and workload. I couldn’t attend the residential as it clashed with SATs. Consequently, I didn’t have the first hand experience of being on a farm; a highlight of the project. Despite my own unfortunate diary clash, it is essential for teachers to take such opportunities, which prevents our teaching from becoming stale and invigorates our own thinking.

Every time I participate in classroom-based research, my class enjoys the benefits of learning something controversial, being able to ask difficult questions and appreciating it is not necessary that everyone agrees to everything.

When the CEFAW resources are available for distribution, I believe everyone should evaluate how their pupils can benefit and trial them.

Our pupils live in a complicated world where most of what they experience is through a screen – the CEFAW project teaches compassion for living things – it teaches to connect with what is happening around you.

About

Nadia Nadeem works in Primary education whilst supporting RE in Barking and Dagenham as an Advisory Teacher.

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Interfaith Week and the importance of excellent Religion and Worldviews teaching

Josh Cass | 14 November, 2023

Each year in November the Interfaith Network for the UK (IFN) convenes and coordinates Interfaith Week. For IFN, Interfaith Week is an opportunity to raise awareness about the UK’s different and distinct faith communities, and to celebrate the contribution which their members make to their neighbourhoods and wider society. In doing so, Interfaith Week creates opportunities to increase understanding between people of different religious and non-religious beliefs. However, for this to occur, IFN notes that there needs to be a foundation of understanding, awareness and respect.

To many people in the Religious Education world, these themes will be extremely familiar. Many educators will recognise that when supporting learning about complex and sensitive issues such as those relating to religion and belief, that there is a need to establish safe and nurturing learning environments which promote respect. Moreover, and with that open and inclusive learning environment established, religion and worldviews classrooms by definition must explore different and distinct religion and belief communities.

Religious Literacy: A tool for better interfaith relations

IFN talks about these kinds of activities as promoting greater religious literacy. Religious literacy is understood as a suite of skills for interpretation and interaction grounded in an understanding of one’s own faith or belief, and the faith or belief of those with whom they are interacting. For IFN this literacy is vital in a diverse society; it is one important factor which increases the likelihood of positive and respectful coexistence. Indeed, this aligns with findings from Culham’s 2022 Religion and Worldviews Parent survey which found that 66% of parents believe that religious education lessons prepare their children effectively for life in multi-religious, multi-secular Britain.

Interfaith Week: A tool for enhancing the teaching of religions in schools

There are many ways in which teachers can use Interfaith Week as an opportunity to dig into issues which align with many religious education syllabuses. For instance, IFN have seen how some schools use Interfaith Week as an opportunity to explore aspects of living together well in religiously diverse societies and the values that underpin them. Other schools have used Interfaith Week to deliver lessons focussing on a particular religion or religious festivals (particularly those which happen around the time of Interfaith Week). In these cases, schools often reach out to their local Interfaith Forum, or local places of worship, to explore how they can add greater richness to the planned activities such as sourcing speakers for assemblies. Where there are schools with different religious ethos’ physically close to one another, Interfaith Week has been an opportunity to do linking activities, which have brought children of different faith traditions together to learn from one another. Where distance might prevent this, some schools have found that they can use video-conferencing to facilitate exchanges between schools.

If you are interested in using Interfaith Week as a way into creative religious education learning opportunities, this report by IFN is a great place to start. Many local interfaith groups will be particularly active during Interfaith Week and receptive to enquiries and requests for help. For that reason, it is a great opportunity for schools to build up links with local faith communities and interfaith activists.

About

Josh is Lead Consultant: Advocacy for Culham St Gabriel's

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Empowering Voices

Gillian Georgiou | 31 October, 2023

Moving to Lincolnshire from a diverse area, things seemed much more monocultural than what I was used to. However, I came to appreciate that diversity is there, just not as visibly. I also came to see that this impression of lack of diversity was having a negative impact on RE teaching. Teachers felt worried about teaching religious worldviews because of strongly negative feeling within the local community. Our REConnecting Lincolnshire project was a response; seeking to bring people together through sharing stories from Christianity and Islam.

You can find out about REConnecting Lincolnshire here.

The Empowering Voices project is a development of this wider work, particularly in aiming to represent lived, authentic worldviews.

We decided on podcasts as the medium for Empowering Voices inspired by Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Explorations in Theology (1961). He notes the significance of hearing to build understanding of the world. We cannot but hear what is spoken, even if it places us in a space of discomfort. This struck me quite deeply: our evaluation of the initial phase of REConnecting Lincolnshire had shown that although we had had a significant impact on challenging misconceptions and prejudice, there were some who chose not to engage and whose misconceptions consequently remained unchallenged. We were inspired by von Balthasar to pursue an audio medium for this piece of work to see if this widened engagement and therefore increased impact.

We were lucky enough to work with a fabulous team of creative professionals; David Lambert (Cultural Solutions UK) and Leanne Taylor (Taylor Made Arts) and Emily Bignell (Artistic Director of Shooting Fish Theatre Company). It was a fantastic opportunity for pupils involved to develop creative and digital skills.

We began by considering what worldviews might alight tensions in local communities if they were included in the Primary or Secondary curriculum. We started with people: we went to local communities to find inspiration for the stories at the heart of each podcast. Through education packs we support teachers to move from the particular to a bigger, often global, picture.

Finding time to bring people together in a busy school day was tricky. However, a bigger challenge was taking the time to ensure that everyone felt that their voices and concerns were heard. Just as challenging was the need to unpick some assumptions and misconceptions we encountered.

However, it was a real joy to watch new relationships forming and flourishing. We know that several schools have connected through this process and now regularly working together. It has been brilliant to find the ‘hidden voices’ in worldview communities and provide a platform for them.

Explore the full Empowering Voices resource here, and see what topics and voices are coming up.

Reference
Hans Urs von Balthasar, Explorations in Theology II: Spouse of the Word (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, first edition, 1961, this edition 1991), 475-6

About

Gillian has authored a number of publications on RE, notably a co-authored chapter in Reforming Religious Education (ed. Mark Chater, John Catt, 2020). She works as the RE Adviser for the Lincoln Diocesan Board of Education and is a Trustee of Culham St Gabriel's Trust.

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