Project team

Co-creators

Giles Freathy

Giles Freathy is a consultant and lecturer for The Learning Institute. He was formerly a Specialist Leader of Education for Religious Education, Humanities and Thinking Skills at Sir Robert Geffery’s Primary School in Cornwall. He was the recipient of the TES Humanities Award (2014) for his innovation, teaching and subject leadership in Religious Education. Giles also acted as the advisory teacher and resource developer for the University of Exeter’s ‘RE-flect project’, which developed a programme to foster metacognition in the Religious Education classroom. Giles is co-authoring a book arising from this project called Metacognition, Thinking and Religious Education(London, 2016). He is a course tutor for the Cornwall Primary SCITT Partnership, University of Exeter Primary PGCE programme and The Learning Institute’s PGCE programme. Giles offers a range of training courses and intervention projects for schools, focusing on whole staff teams, teachers and/or teaching assistants.

Rob Freathy

Rob Freathy is Academic Dean for Students and Dean of the Faculty of Taught Programmes at the University of Exeter. He is also Professor of Education in the University’s Graduate School of Education. He has authored and edited numerous books, book chapters and journal articles on religious education, taking both historical and contemporary perspectives, including Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief (2012), The Art of Bible Reading(2014), History, Remembrance and Religious Education (2014), Politics, Professionals and Practitioners (2017) andMetacognition, Worldviews and Religious Education (2019). He is an Editorial Board member for History of Education and British Journal of Religious Education, and co-editor of a series of books published by Peter Lang on the theme of Religion, Education and Values.

The wider team

Jonathan Doney

Jonathan Doney is a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Winchester. His first degree was in Theological Studies (Bristol), and his Masters is in Educational Research (Exeter). His doctoral work, funded by the ESRC and supervised by Drs Rob Freathy and Deborah Osberg, centred on the interrogation of policy development in English RE, focusing on the relationships between the Ecumenical movement and the adoption of the study of world religions during the 1960s and 1970s. His wider research interests are in methodological innovation, critical studies, and the role of education in developing identity. He is co-editor of History of Education Researcher.

Geoff Teece

Geoff Teece is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education. After teaching Religious Education in schools for 16 years, he joined the staff of the Regional RE Centre (Midlands), where he helped to develop the influential Westhill Project, and of which he subsequently became the Director. For over ten years he worked with Michael Grimmitt, at the University of Birmingham, training Secondary Religious Education teachers. From 2009-2012, he was Director of Studies for Initial Teacher Education. He has published various books and academic and professional articles, and was the recipient of the SHAP Award in 2005 for making ‘an outstanding contribution to the teaching of world religions’. Currently he is editor of the Professional Reflection section of RE Today magazine. In October 2016, Geoff will be giving the first John Hull Memorial Lecture.

Karen Walshe

Karen Walshe is Senior Lecturer in Religious Education at the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education. She is course leader for the Secondary PGCE RE course and has published articles in both national and international journals. Karen was one of four members to be appointed to the national Subject Review Panel for Religious Education (Phase 1). She is Reviews Editor for the British Journal of Religious Education and Deputy General Secretary of the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values. In addition, Karen is currently directing the ‘Bridging the Gaps’ project funded by St Luke’s College Foundation. She is Director of the MA Education programme at the University of Exeter and was Principal Investigator of the ‘RETAIN’ project, funded by the European Commission.