Viewing archives for Curriculum

Consistently high quality RE is a dream for many of us in the RE community. Consistency often seems to need a significant degree of centralised control. And yet don’t we want teachers to be curricular producers in their own right? (Teachers of RE are like Hollywood Producers a bit). The tension between consistency and teacher creativity is at the heart of debates around a national standard for RE content. It is in this context that the RE Council’s National Content Standard for RE has been called a significant landmark in the RE world (The RE Podcast: The One About the National Content Standard).

Many teachers understand that a conversation about RE content is needed because, as Ofsted has again confirmed, the scope of RE is vast, often leading to a curriculum that characterised as superficially broad and lacking depth (Deep and Meaningful? The Religious Education Subject Report ).  Many teachers also know that their often superhuman, sometimes breathless, efforts to engage with the deep and meaningful questions of RE are valued but perhaps only within relatively narrow contexts: the children and wider school community in which they work. RE does work in many places.

Lewis Young (Humanists UK) recently pointed out that, ‘[w]hen taught well, an education in religion and worldviews education can equip pupils with a good understanding of the world around them and develop their critical thinking skills. Disappointingly, Ofsted’s deep-dive into RE shows once again that … the problems faced by the subject continue.” (OfstedReport into Religious Education Shows Long Overdue Need for Reform says Humanists UK). That is precisely the point. RE is sometimes taught really well, other times not. It seems to suffer from a lack of quality control. The local determination of content has its virtues, but consistency is probably not one of them.

Uniformity of curricular content is one path. That uniformity could be imposed in strict terms by an authority (who would that be?!) stipulating very specific content that every classroom should adhere to. This could ensure consistency, but the price would be too high. Teaching would be reduced to a functionalist process of transmission that takes little account of local contexts and interests and would almost certainly erode student engagement. So, how do we maintain some measure of consistency while also allowing teachers to bring material to life in their own ways?

One aspect of the AfterRE project is developing what is known as the exemplary way: an approach which develops exemplary forms rather than specified content. Those exemplary forms elaborate in rich detail (the depth that Ofsted in after) quite specific episodes of interest to RE. The specificity means that any given episode is likely to only work in certain contexts (age range; student dynamics; local cultural makeup etc). But the exemplary structure is there to be adapted and applied to the local context. The exemplary way tries to bring into focus the learning goals and suggests that many different examples might be used to achieve those goals. Here are some examples from our project that readers might want to adapt. (https://www.afterre.org/framework)

So rather than think of RE in terms of specified content, we emphasise the idea of exemplary content which can be taken up and adapted. Teachers are best placed to know which examples, cases, and narratives to use, though the exemplary way offers some guiding questions to help keep in view the overall educational goals of RE (which are nicely summarised by a German pedagogue, Wolfgang Klafki: https://www.afterre.org/framework).

The exemplary way resonates with the proposals for a National Content Standard as well as the recently released Religion and Worldviews Approach to RE toolkit so I hope that the RE community can embrace this ideas in the spirit with which they are offered: as a template to thinking about how to develop high quality RE for all.

I was inspired you to put myself forwards as team leader for this project in two ways. Firstly, while contemplating the frankly terrifying prospect of writing the Coventry and Warwickshire syllabus, it seemed imminently sensible to align with the REC’s Handbook. My second source of inspiration came from the wonderful Dr Celine Benoit at Aston University who encouraged me to apply. I agreed, as long as she was part of our team! In the end, we were lucky enough to have Celine and Dr Tim Hutchins in our squad.
Who is the squad? I describe our team as ‘Old School’. As well as myself, an RE adviser, and Tim and Celine as academic advisers, the team comprises of primary and secondary teachers supported by two local SACREs and Coventry Diocesan Board of Education. Two members of our team have completed Farmington scholarships as part of the project. Their learning around assessment and disciplinary lenses is integral to our framework. We even have a team mascot, as one of our members had a baby during the project!

Our vision was to create something absolutely local. We have drawn on the rich social, religious and cultural contexts found here in Coventry and Warwickshire. We created a warp and weft for the framework. We weave together seven core concepts and three main disciplines, resulting in a ‘tapestry’. I even made a paper tapestry at one point to make sure it all worked. We call this one of the ‘relics’ of our framework.
We learnt that a religion and worldviews approach is hard but absolutely worth it! We realised how easy it is to slide back into a world religions paradigm despite our best intentions.

We worked collaboratively with other project leads. We took from Gillian Georgiou three principles for a religion and worldviews approach: move from the particular to the general, use local contexts and embrace hermeneutical thinking. All music to my ears. Ultimately we taught ourselves to see differently, we tried to think in a decolonised way, we constantly communicated across the primary- secondary gap.

Now, as the Handbooks and Frameworks are launched, I think we are in shock that we have done it! We all really believe in what we have created and we know that some may be shocked by the academic rigour of it and the higher expectations but we think it’s something to be aimed at.

We conceived of our whole framework as a journey and pupils as explorers of religion and worldviews. Anyone setting out on a long hike might find it hard to visualise the destination but the important thing is to take that first step. We hope we can act as traveling companions for those who want to do that.

I am now brave enough to add ‘project management’ to my CV. This was one heck of a project. There were timelines and post-it notes everywhere and more than one sleepless night but we did it and I am very proud of our team and our framework.

I have been the Secondary Advisor to Somerset Council for nearly two years and this is my first advisory post. I work alongside with Somerset’s Primary advisor and our council representative. My job is varied and requires all sorts of creativity from me. I advise the SACRE, which means being up to date with local needs and national matters, such as policy changes and shifts in the subject. I connect a great many people together: teachers of all key stages, RE Hub leaders and faith representatives. I also provide training and advise the team who are responsible for the locally Agreed Syllabus.

In this latter capacity we have begun to review our Agreed Syllabus. We are considering our current syllabus and whether it needs to evolve to reflect new developments nationally. When we started talking and thinking about the new Agreed Syllabus we had two aims. Firstly, to ensure and improve connections between SACRE members and RE teachers so teachers have support they need. Secondly, we wanted to ensure teachers are aware of the key changes happening in the subject at a national level.

We were inspired to create, produce and host a curriculum symposium after NATRE’s curriculum symposium (November 2021). NATRE even provide guidance for running such an event, their website suggesting the ‘what’ and ‘why’. How could we refuse! As this process started, we realised the development of the curriculum was the primary aim of the advisory service, because it enables us to empower teachers with up- to -date knowledge, skills and understanding.

Through my year on Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme I had met many influential RE people who were excited by the prospect of taking part.  I secured some amazing speakers – Dawn Cox, Gillian Georgiou, Sophie Smith and Alice Thomas who led our teachers in employing a multi-disciplinary approach in a religion and worldviews curriculum.

The aim of the curriculum symposium was to:

1. Create a supportive network of Somerset RE teachers across all phases
2. Engage Somerset RE teachers with developments to the subject at a national level
3. Bring Somerset RE teachers into conversations about our new Agreed Syllabus

The teacher feedback was tremendous. Almost all showed extremely high levels of enjoyment and satisfaction. We had a fantastic time and felt we connected to many teachers, which we look forward to working with. We know we met our aims.

Locating teachers’ contact details across the whole county was hard, as was promoting and communicating the event. We wanted as many teachers as possible, so we had to learn how to navigate social media successfully. However, it was well worth the effort, and now we have a strong network of contacts.

Now we have the connections, I am incredibly excited to work with SACRE and teachers to develop our present Agreed Syllabus and to further improve the quality of teaching and learning for students in Somerset.

I would thoroughly recommend putting on a curriculum symposium to other advisors. It was hard at times, but also exciting, and the benefits for long-term creative development and empowered, knowledgeable teachers will be far-reaching.

Reference:  Advancing Education: Curriculum Symposium Projects | NATRE

A Welsh language version is available below.

Of course, values have always been an essential component of RE, but with the launch of a new Welsh curriculum and the renaming of RE to RVE: ‘Religion, Values and Ethics’, it is worth looking again at the idea. While schools proudly display their values for visitors to see, what does it mean to talk about values in a subject of the curriculum?

Questions emerge; what values exactly, how these are to be incorporated into a robust academic curriculum, and how are teachers to measure and assess progression in values?

RVE is made up of three components: religion, values and ethics. Firstly, teachers and curriculum designers need to ascertain what is meant by each of these three components (religion, values and ethics) and consider carefully how can they be explored in the curriculum over time. Pestalozzi[1] is helpful here, offering the concept of holistic education, education which is about cognitive development, but also moral and physical development. This offers an idea of the aims of RVE.

Exploring religion means delving deeply into beliefs, behaviours and belonging. It covers doctrine, ritual and mythology and also explores diversity and plurality. Values describes ideals, a sense of what is good, or a moral standard. Ethics is about actions, what we do and how we learn what to do. Religion, values and ethics are lived practices. Religion Values and Ethics incorporates what people believe (religion), why they believe and how they articulate this (values) and how does it impact on actions (ethics); a big ask for a curriculum subject with minimum timetabled time!

RVE, like its predecessor RE, remains a locally determined subject. Negotiating between the freedom of each school to develop their own curriculum with the legal requirements for RVE has required care, caution and professional dialogue. It has turned out that the ‘values’ part of the subject has been most difficult to balance between national policy and the local context. The reason has been the sheer complexity of the meanings behind the idea of ‘values’.

‘Values’ overlaps with but is not the same as ‘morality’ or ‘ethics’. A value can be personal, chosen or a commandment. A recent study finds that Gen Z seek out those who share their values[2], and thus values act as identity-markers. Values are more likely to be self-selected, both by individuals and organisations, than ethics or morality which tend to be more associated with custom and culture, and are perceived as given. In short, they are harder to identity and harder to explore than religion or ethics. However, this might make them most fascinating of all!

Amalgamating religion, values and ethics in an academically rigorous progression curriculum requires care and thought. In line with legislation, the curriculum must adopt an approach that is objective, critical and pluralistic. I am excited to see how this translates into living, breathing RVE curricula that challenge learners and allow them to explore the world today, in all its messy, connected reality.

[1] Johann Pestalozzi, https://pestalozziworld.com/

[2] Roberta Katz et al., Gen Z, 2021.

Jennifer Harding-Richards: Jennifer is currently on secondment working as RVE (Religion, Values and Ethics) and RSE (Relationships and Sexuality Education) adviser to schools in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. She is also the RE Hubs lead for Wales.

Professor Linda Woodhead MBE is F. D. Maurice Professor and Head of Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London

Mae cyfuno crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg

Wrth gwrs, mae gwerthoedd wedi bod yn gydran hanfodol o AG o hyd, ond gyda lansiad y cwricwlwm newydd i Gymru, ac ailenwi AG i CGM: Crefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg, mae’n werth edrych ar y syniad eto. Er bod ysgolion yn arddangos eu gwerthoedd yn falch i ymwelwyr eu gweld, beth yw ystyr siarad am werthoedd fel pwnc yn y cwricwlwm?

Mae cwestiynau’n dod i’r amlwg; pa werthoedd yn union? Sut dylid eu cynnwys mewn cwricwlwm academaidd cadarn? Sut dylai athrawon fesur ac asesu cynnydd mewn gwerthoedd?

Mae CGM yn cynnwys tair cydran: crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg. Yn gyntaf, mae angen i athrawon a’r rheini sy’n llunio’r cwricwlwm benderfynu beth yw ystyr y tair cydran hyn (crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg), ac ystyried yn ofalus sut gellir eu harchwilio yn y cwricwlwm dros amser. Mae Pestalozzi[1] yn ddefnyddiol yma, gan gynnig y cysyniad o addysg gyfannol, addysg sy’n ymwneud â datblygiad gwybyddol, ond hefyd ddatblygiad moesol a chorfforol. Mae hyn yn rhoi syniad o nodau CGM.

Mae archwilio crefydd yn golygu ymchwilio’n drylwyr i gredoau, ymddygiadau ac ymberthyn. Mae’n cynnwys athrawiaeth, seremonïau a mytholeg ac mae hefyd yn archwilio amrywiaeth a lluosogrwydd. Mae gwerthoedd yn disgrifio delfrydau, ymdeimlad o’r hyn sy’n dda, neu safon foesol. Mae moeseg yn ymwneud â chamau gweithredu, beth rydym yn ei wneud a sut rydym yn dysgu beth i’w wneud. Mae crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg yn arferion profiad byw.  Mae Crefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg yn cynnwys yr hyn y mae pobl yn ei gredu (crefydd), pam maent yn credu a sut maent yn cyfleu hyn (gwerthoedd), a sut mae hyn yn effeithio ar gamau gweithredu (moeseg); gofyniad mawr ar gyfer pwnc yn y cwricwlwm nad yw’n cael amser digonol ar yr amserlen!

Mae CGM, fel ei bwnc blaenorol, AG, yn bwnc a bennir yn lleol o hyd. Er mwyn i bob ysgol gael y rhyddid i ddatblygu ei chwricwlwm ei hun wrth ddilyn gofynion cyfreithiol CGM, mae angen bod yn ofalus, yn wyliadwrus ac yn broffesiynol. Mae’n ymddangos taw elfen ‘gwerthoedd’ y pwnc yw’r elfen fwyaf anodd i’w chydbwyso rhwng polisi cenedlaethol a’r cyd-destun lleol. Y rheswm am hyn yw cymhlethdod go iawn yr ystyr y tu ôl i’r syniad o ‘werthoedd.’

Mae ‘gwerthoedd’ yn gwrthdaro â ‘moesoldeb’ neu ‘foeseg’ ond nid yw’r un peth. Gall gwerth fod yn bersonol, yn ddewisol neu’n orchymyn. Canfu astudiaeth diweddar fod Cenhedlaeth Z yn ceisio’r rheini sy’n rhannu eu gwerthoedd[2], ac felly mae gwerthoedd yn gweithredu fel marcwyr hunaniaeth. Mae gwerthoedd yn fwy tebygol o gael eu dewis yn bersonol, gan unigolion a sefydliadau, na moesau neu foesoldeb, sy’n dueddol o fod yn fwy cysylltiedig ag arfer a diwylliant. Yn gryno, maent yn anoddach i’w nodi a’u harchwilio na chrefydd a moesau. Fodd bynnag, efallai fod hyn yn eu gwneud nhw’n fwy diddorol fyth!

Mae cyfuno crefydd, gwerthoedd a moeseg mewn cwricwlwm cynnydd sy’n fanwl gywir yn academaidd yn cymryd gofal a meddwl. Yn unol â deddfwriaeth, mae’n rhaid i’r cwricwlwm fabwysiadu ymagwedd sy’n bwrpasol, yn feirniadol ac yn blwraliaethol. Rwy’n gyffrous i weld sut y mae’n cael ei ddehongli mewn cwricwla CGM go iawn sy’n herio dysgwyr ac yn eu caniatáu i archwilio’r byd heddiw, yn ei holl realiti anhrefnus a chysylltiedig.

[1]Johann Pestalozzi, https://pestalozziworld.com/

[2] Roberta Katz et al., Gen Z, 2021.

Jennifer Harding-Richards: Ymgynghorydd Crefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg (CGM)

Yr Athro Linda Woodhead MBE: King’s College, Llundain

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.

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/

I have always seen change as part of growing and developing and this year certainly involves change. I am getting married, turning 30, buying my first house and moving the length of the country. With this move comes a professional change. After eight years in the same school I have taken on the role of Head of RE and Personal Development in a new setting. As well as trepidation there is an overwhelming sense of excitement at the opportunity to drive change.

I will be documenting my successes, failures and lessons learnt as I grow and develop a Religion and Worldviews department in a new setting.

In my previous school we had 6 specialist teachers, compulsory, universal GCSE RS and a pupil attitude that was overwhelmingly positive. In contrast, in my new school, there is one specialist and RE has been taught in conjunction with PSHE and there has been a struggle for GCSE uptake in the subject. Religion and Worldviews is in a position where it needs further identity and drive in its own right. There is however a strong appetite on SLTs part to give the department scope for growing in profile and impact, an essential ingredient.

The key to my new role is vision. What is my vision for Religion and Worldviews in this school? and what vision does the school have for the subject? Without being able to answer these questions I would be setting myself and the department up for failure. While there is a much wider debate about the aims of Religion and Worldviews, the very basic principles that I am working around are:

• Designing a Religion and Worldviews curriculum that is relevant to the pupils I am teaching.
• Planning a curriculum that challenges pupils’ own views and gives them opportunities to explore a wide variety of religious and non-religious worldviews.
• Developing pupil’s religious literacy, critical thinking skills, reading and writing skills.

This role is so exciting due to the autonomy given by the school to drive change in the subject. The school envisions Religion and Worldviews as subject in its own right, detached from PSHE. As of September we will be moving towards this vision with a designated hour for Religion and Worldviews on the timetable. We are an Academy so I have the freedom to bring some creative curriculum design into play, in order to excite, challenge and enthuse pupils.

At this early stage I can see my biggest challenge will be changing pupil’s negative attitudes; the most common comment is that RE is boring and/ or pointless. Therefore as well as high quality teaching and learning, branding and marketing is vital. The name will change to PRE (philosophy, religion and ethics) as part of this essential re-brand.

This term I will be refining and further developing my vision, ready for a September launch. Key factors will be early ‘quick wins’ to generate enthusiasm in the classroom. A test of my curriculum design will be interest in taking the subject for GCSE. However my priority is building relationships with pupils and learning what inspires and drives them.

I would be delighted to hear from and engage with other teachers and leaders as I document my journey.
Contact me on twitter – @AdamHoldsworth1

This blog is dedicated to Andy Squires, a great boss who encouraged me in promoting an RE curriculum that includes both religious and non-religious worldviews and addresses controversial issues in the classroom. Young people need a safe space to discuss difficult questions about the benefits and challenges of living in an increasingly multicultural society and here is my argument.

If Religion and Worldviews is to remain relevant to young people this will sometimes involve discussing controversial issues that arouse strong feelings, particularly those that raise questions about authority and power. In this blog I will argue that we should not avoid these moments of complexity or uncertainty, which are a natural part of our subject matter. Helping our young people acquire the tools to make sense of complex and often emotive issues could be the most important thing we do for them.

The world is complex and there is no getting away from controversial issues. Examining an issue that arouses disagreements might take us out of our comfort zone. We can see it as akin to sex education, uncomfortable at times but absolutely crucial for students to encounter, for their future health and confidence.

I suggest that we therefore need to embrace interpretation. Instead of using short lines of text to make a point, often with no acknowledgement of context, we could consider taking more time and exploring different ways text can be interpreted. We can help our young people in their developing critical awareness by exploring with them different interpretations, including interpretations we or they may not agree with. We can show the roots of each school of thought or tradition, the claims or purpose of the text, and the context in which the text was written as well as how this particular mode of interpretation has come about.

Of course any source can be open to this process, not just text. Outlooks, practices and traditions can be traced to a way of thinking and made sense of in context, offering a more textured and complex understanding of belief, belonging and culture. In becoming more comfortable exploring different interpretations, we are halfway there to understanding the roots of ideologies at play in current controversial issues, a key part of making sense of where the controversy has sprung from.

I propose that the consequences of not allowing young people to engage critically with aspects of religion and worldviews can lead to a limited understanding of religion, history, beliefs and ethics. It is also to reduce the intellectual challenge of the subject. As well as the educational case for critical analysis, there is the moral case for preparing our pupils to make sense of, engage with and thrive in a complex, diverse world.

Teachers might feel they lack the expertise or confidence to broach controversial issues, and we do need to both do our research and tread carefully. However if we steer away from critically analysing religions to avoid any difficult conversations, this can also trivialise religion. We can hold on to an educational argument in our uncertainty; we sometimes need to address controversy for educational reasons, in other words, so our young people gain a valuable understanding. A critical engagement with religion and worldviews is a particular approach that could feel uncomfortable to some pupils, so we have to defend it educationally, while approaching certain topics with sensitivity and care. Such care does not dilute our overall aim, it is part of our professional toolkit.