The Regional RE Hubs team is ready to go!

Céline Benoit, Chair of the Regional Hub Steering Group, is delighted to announce the full team of Regional Leads that will be representing and supporting their region in the new RE Hubs project.

Under the leadership of Claire Clinton, Lead Director, a fantastic team of Regional Leads will be supporting their region. Recently appointed Regional Leads are:

Regional Leads

Christopher Allen: East
Deborah Yeomans: East Midlands
Stacey Burman: London
Karenza Passmore: North East
Naomi Anstice: North West
Justine Ball: South East
Ed Pawson: South West
Jennifer Harding-Richards: Wales
Chris Giles: West Midlands
Olivia Seymour: Yorkshire & Humber

The new team provides a rich and diverse set of skills and experience within education and RE provision with extensive years of working as practitioners. They have been recruited to build relationships with advisers, dioceses, universities, SACREs, LAs, governors, MATs, teaching school hubs and more. The Regional Leads will also act as conduits between the regional providers of research, CPD, resources, places of worship and so on for the benefit of all Religion and Worldview stakeholders.

Working alongside the Regional leads is NATRE’s Saima Saleh, the Local Groups & Networks Lead, ensuring that that those running over 360 RE support groups from all around the country benefit from this new programme.

The steering committee, with representatives from RE organisations AREIAC, AULRE, TRS-UK, NASACRE, NATRE and REC, are dedicated to this collaborative working approach. This project is supported by a number of funders, to whom we are grateful for their investment at the start of this key infrastructure programme for all those working in and supporting Religious Education.

One of the aims of the programme is to develop a well-resourced and up to date Regional Hub website facilitating information and knowledge exchange which will go live in November.

The Regional leads officially start their work in October 2022.

Further information:

The Specific Aims:

• To improve communication between teachers, professional development and resource providers, and research communities
• To improve connections and interactions between different parts of the RE/R&W Eco-System
• To be an information exchange to increase accessibility for all teachers to local and regional professional development and research
• To enable teachers to teach with greater confidence through their access to the support, knowledge, training and resources available in their region.
• To create a sustainable long-term model for future provision

This will be achieved through

• An excellent communication system that works efficiently and effectively between teachers, CPD and resource providers, local/regional adviser networks and research communities which will link those who need training, resources and encouraging with those whose purpose is to provide it.
• Improved cohesion and strategic operations between different RE/R&W organisations and groups
• Improved engagement by teachers with RE/R&W local groups/networks
• Increased access to wide range of professional development locally and regionally
• Secured long term funding for this project
• Improved accountability lines for the project

For further information contact:

Claire Clinton – REHubsdirector@regionalREHubs.co.uk

Zoë Keens – RE Today zoe@retoday.org.uk

The Regional RE Hubs is enabled and supported by RE Today