Resource Spotlight: National Content Standard E-learning course

January 2025

As we await the publication of the interim report of the Curriculum and assessment review in England please take a look at the Culham St Gabriel’s National Content Standard E-learning course.

This very brief introduction to the first edition of the National Content Standard for RE in England aims, in just 30 minutes, to summarise the key elements of this important non-statutory guidance document launched in Autumn 2023 by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales. We will find out what it is, who it is for and how it might be used.

As Deborah Weston says in her blog,

‘For too many years, the level and quality of provision for RE around England has been reported as inconsistent at best. This means thousands of pupils in our schools are denied their entitlement, established in law, to high-quality religious education. Instead, they receive either no RE, especially in key stage 4, or a single lesson combining the content of a range of subject areas, usually doing a disservice to all of them and often taught by teachers who are ill-equipped to do so.’

The Religious Education Council for England and Wales (REC) National Content Standard for RE utilises sections of the ‘Developing a Religion and Worldviews approach in Religious Education in England: a handbook for curriculum writers’ to establish a benchmark for high-quality religious education.

The number of organisations that have recommended the national content standard for RE in England continues to increase as you can see below.

Once you have completed the E-learning course consider;

• If you work in England what are you hoping for from the curriculum and assessment review?
• What are the problems of not having a national benchmark for religious education?
• What are the benefits of having a national benchmark for religious education?

Resource Spotlight: Mixing Lenses

January 2024

We are delighted to bring you a new set of thinking for teachers by Jane Brooke. Jane has been a teacher and adviser in the RE world for many years. As Canon of Chester Cathedral, Jane was involved in education around science and faith and created a resource for teachers to explore these in the classroom, around the idea of ‘Mixing Lenses’. Jane puts together educational thinking and suggested lesson ideas to allow 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. The aim of the resource is to support pupils in making sense of the world using language at the interface of science and Christianity.

Read more about the work behind this resource in Jane’s blog.

Here we present for your reading and experimentation, Jane Brooke’s ‘Mixing Lenses’ paper and teaching ideas.

Please contact Jane if this is something you would like to develop, she is keen to hear from teachers: jane.brooke@chestercathedral.com

If you are interested in education around science and religion, you will find new thinking from the National Institute of Christian Education Research (NICER) helpful and interesting. Check out Science Religion Encounters, a video and toolkit to understand and improve this area of RE teaching.

You might be interested to think about different disciplinary ways of knowing as we move into a Religion and Worldviews approach. Jo Fraser- Pearce and Alexis Stones have conducted this research into how teachers can support their pupils to ‘know better’. Read and listen to their research Knowing Better in Religious Education.

Resource Spotlight: Hermeneutics in RE

April 2024

You might remember lots of talk of ‘hermeneutics’ when the Commission on RE was published in September 2018. The idea of adopting a hermeneutical approach to knowledge in RE was recommended in the report. This month we revisit some thinking around hermeneutics in RE by adviser Jen Jenkins. It is a valuable approach which can help to unlock complex and connected understanding, even in very young pupils.

If you are put off by the rather unusual word, don’t worry! Firstly, Jen defines and explains what this means. As you will see on this webpage.

Jen shares several classroom-ready resources which will allow you to bring hermeneutical thinking to your pupils. Jen’s work is for Primary age children, but Secondary teachers will find lots here to adapt.

If you would like to find out more, read these two blogs where Jen explains how she discovered the joys of hermeneutical thinking and why she thinks it offers so much for RE teachers:

Ways of knowing hermeneutics part 1

Ways of knowing hermeneutics part 2

Additionally this month, hear about how Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme opened doors for Jane Yates. From representing humanism on her SACRE and working as an anti-racist advisory teacher, Jane is now leading, supporting and inspiring others in RE. Read about her journey here.

How should teachers respond when students want to talk about confusing and emotionally-charged events? Read about Hayley and her team’s approach to facilitating challenging current affairs conversations in the classroom.

Resource Spotlight: GCSE Religious Studies Shi’a Islam: Beliefs and Practices

September 2023

We kick off the school year with a fantastic FREE book on Islam, focusing on Shia Islam. This book is kindly given to users of RE:ONLINE by the Al Khoei Foundation, who published the book in 2017, when Shia Islam was first included in the GCSE. The Foundation wish to make the book freely available to all teachers so as many people as possible can benefit from it in RE classrooms.

Although the book covers GCSE themes, it offers a useful history of Shia Islam and an understanding of practices and beliefs today. If Shia Islam is something you always wanted to know more about, look no further. Written by RE Adviser Zameer Hussain and scholar Ahab Bdaiwi, this offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to Shia Islam.

Read Zameer’s blog to find out more about the book as well as general reflections on teaching Shia Islam

Resource Spotlight: Faith in the Town Project

November 2022

We know you will love these resources, developed by social historians from Manchester University and adviser Kate Christopher. We present the Faith in the Town project, and the practical teaching resources created for Primary pupils. Dr Kate Gibson, a social historian, is the main researcher. She has trawled through archives, diaries, letters, maps, samplers and reports from the late 18^th Century in the north of England, to gain a sense of Christian faith among ordinary people, such as children, factory workers and those who had come into the growing cities to find work. The historical findings show just how important the church and Christian faith were to people as the world changed around them. If you are interested in bringing an Historical lens into Primary RE, these could be just the thing for you.

The resources allow Key Stage 2 and 3 teachers to bring these voices to the classroom. They are fully-resourced and ready to be used.

The resources can be found here

Kate Gibson and Kate Christopher’s blog can be found here

Resource Spotlight: Empowering Voices

November 2023

We are delighted to present ‘Empowering Voices’, a wonderful project coordinated by Lincolnshire adviser Gillian Georgiou, supported by a team of production experts, school pupils and members of local religion and worldview communities. This is part of a wider project exploring diversity and community in Lincolnshire, called ‘REConnecting Lincolnshire’. Read Gillian’s blog about this wider work and how it inspired the creation of podcasts, the Empowering Voices project.

Access the whole resource here, including guidance for teaching, multimedia resources, teachers’ notes and education packs.

Find out about REConnecting Lincolnshire here, and get ideas for exploring diversity your region.

Resource Spotlight: e-Learning

As the long winter nights draw in we know there is an increase in visitors to our website. I wonder therefore if it also a time for some eLearning or to share some eLearning with your colleagues. In this resource spotlight we focus on four eLearning providers.

• What are your current professional development needs?
• Do you know the professional development needs of your colleagues?
• How are you supporting early career teachers?
• Who will flexible eLearning suit?
• How will you share what has been learnt from this learning?

RE Today E Learning zone

RE Today have a new e-learning platform with both paid and free content. For those in England, there is an excellent free course on the OFSTED Subject report, Deep and meaningful?

Openlearn from the Open University

Perhaps look at the short course on Why not world religions? Or an education in religion and worldviews. If you have a little more time you may want to explore the longer philosophy of religion course. Note Openlearn Cymru has courses in the Welsh language.

The University of Edinburgh

Another longer offering comes from The University of Edinburgh, the free philosophy, science and religion course is made up of 3 courses which you can progress through at your own pace. It is an opportunity to explore contemporary debates at the intersection of Philosophy, Science and Religion.

Culham St Gabriel’s short courses

As people have been discussing their responses to the Curriculum and Assessment Review in England you might have heard mention of the National Content Standard. We have a short course, approximately 30 minutes, The National Content Standard for RE in England: A very brief introduction, which will help you find out more.

Alternatively, do you have colleagues new to teaching in your primary school if so our three-part Primary Beginning teacher course maybe ideal for them focussing on introducing a religion and worldviews approach, teaching and learning and the framing of subject knowledge.

Resource Spotlight: A view on the world

June 2023

This month we celebrate our competition winners. We are delighted and impressed with the creativity and insight we have received from young people all over the country.

We asked:

• How have religious and non-religious worldviews changed over time where you live?
• How would you describe the mix of worldviews in your community today?
• What might it look like in 50 years time?

Our overall winners are Zephan and Jonah! Their work will be professionally made into a video, watch this space! The judges loved what they had to say about diversity and a strong sense of the local.

Congratulations to our Key Stage 2 winners.

Florence at Chiltern Primary. Read Florence’s script.

Year 3 at Warren Road Primary. Watch their film:

We commend our Key Stage 3 and 4 winners.

Zara at Rushet Mead Academy. Read Zara’s script.

Millie and Isla at Lichfield Cathedral School. Watch their film:

Use the competition ideas for reflection, discussion and creative work as the summer term approaches. Pupils could design artwork for the classroom, perform an assembly or create a whole-school display. To help you the competition resources are available as downloads below: