RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2013

Issue No: 14 Contact: James Mitchell-Cassell Date: January 2013 Tel: 01823 355759 Email: sacre@.gov.uk

In this Issue:

• RE Celebration Week: Marvellous Performances • CPD Support in RE for Somerset Schools • The RE Review 2013 • New RE:ONLINE – Coming Later this Month! • Barbara Agutter Award 2013 • Holocaust Memorial Day 2013: Communities Together • James Hemming Essay Prize • Farmington Fellowships • Eridge Trust – Grants For School Trips • REC 40th Anniversary Sponsored Walk • Young Ambassadors for RE • Support For Training To Teach RE In 2013 • NUT And NAHT Launch Joint Campaign • REC Website • RE-FLECT – Free Workshop • Small Grants to Support Teaching of Christianity • Young Atheist’s Handbook • 2013 Hockerill/NATRE Award for Innovation in RE Teaching • Science & Belief – Essay Competition • Climate Week 4-10 March 2013 • Ready Reference Update • Support for Teaching About World Religions

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 1 RE CELEBRATION WEEK: MARVELLOUS PERFORMANCES

Somerset’s first RE Celebration Week was a huge success for all involved in the presentations at Heathfield Community School on 22 October 2012.

There were marvellous performances from five primary schools as well as the host school itself. A delighted audience of teachers, parents and governors from Bishop’s Hull, , Cheddon Fitzpaine, St John and St Francis and Combe St Nicholas Primary Schools and Heathfield Community Secondary School viewed examples of RE work in a display and lively and inventive performances relating to themes on RE on stage.

Children from Combe St Nicholas School Ralph Bullock and Mike Strange get into the RE Celebration swing. present Celebration certificates.

All the participating schools received the congratulations and certificates from organiser and Head of Bishop’s Hull Primary School, Ralph Bullock and SACRE Chair, Mike Strange.

SACRE would like to thank all those involved in the RE celebration Week, especially the children of the schools who took part and their teachers.

CPD SUPPORT IN RE FOR SOMERSET SCHOOLS

Following last February’s highly praised afternoon training event for Primary RE Coordinators, another conference will be held with ALL NEW MATERIAL being demonstrated, on Thursday 7 February 2013, from 1.15 – 4.45pm at The Canalside Conference Centre (Just off Junction 24 of the M5).

Schools have already been sent booking forms for this event, but please contact Dave Francis if you have not received one: [email protected]. Just a few places remaining!

More bespoke training is also available for subject leaders and all staff involved in teaching RE. Contact Dave for further information.

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 2 THE RE REVIEW 2013

Dr Janet Orchard, manager of the RE Council’s ongoing project to review religious education, would like to say a big thank you to everyone who submitted feedback on the draft report for Phase One.

The results are now being analysed and a final report will be published later this month. Phase Two of the Review will begin in February, when members of a Task Group have been appointed. The group will be asked to write a working paper(s) which:

• provide a clear and cogent statement of aims for RE, applicable across the range of school settings, and propose ways in which these aims might be communicated to different stakeholders • re-evaluate and produce clear accounts of core knowledge, understanding in RE, as well as subject specific skills, appropriate to pupils in particular age groups and stages • create new instruments for describing achievement in RE that teachers can use working alongside the DfE’s new descriptions of achievement in subjects like English, mathematics and science

The paper(s) will be published for consultation in April 2013.

As RE is a subject that continues to be locally determined, any proposals that this group makes will be offered as part of national non-statutory guidance for the subject. Proposals will seek to set out at the level of principle an entitlement to RE for pupils and students in schools and FE colleges up to the age of eighteen.

NEW RE:ONLINE – COMING LATER THIS MONTH!

Culham St Gabriel’s has announced that a major redevelopment of the RE:ONLINE website has been taking place over the last year, involving a rebranding and complete restructuring of the site. The site will be divided into five main sections with features including fully searchable links and resources; a teachers’ toolkit for assessing pupils’ progress; an RE Café; TV and radio listings; and a news service. All your old favourite parts of the site will still be there and more easily found via the much improved search engine or the more user-friendly RE categories. For a sneak preview see http://bit.ly/TYxs7c

The new site will be supported by a series of roadshows to be held across the country in conjunction with the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE), details of which will be published soon; meanwhile, the current site can still be accessed at: http://www.reonline.org.uk

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 3 BARBARA AGUTTER AWARD 2013

This is an annual award for Years 1-8 in all Somerset schools, set up in memory of former SACRE member and excellent RE teacher, Barbara Agutter, to celebrate good practice in RE by a class or year group (rather than an individual). The work will be linked to some aspect of the Agreed Syllabus – Awareness, Mystery and Value. Entries could be in a variety of presentations, eg artwork, display boards, drama (filmed on DVD?), poetry, PowerPoints, record of work, sculpture etc.

The judges will be looking for evidence of innovation, inspiration, imagination, creativity and originality; also that through the school’s involvement, the work has had a real impression on the children, just as Barbara herself inspired young people in her care. All schools who wish to apply for the award must send the pro-forma found at: https://slp.somerset.gov.uk/pages/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=281 with their entry by 14 June 2013.

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 27 JANUARY 2013: COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2013 – 27 January – is 'Communities Together: Build a Bridge'. The theme encourages us to remember those who were betrayed by their neighbours during the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides. It also helps us recall those who risked everything to assist their neighbours, and inspires us to consider the different communities we belong to. We can create connections with others, and together we can build a better future.

Many refugees have made Britain their home, rebuilding their lives, and we can all work together to ensure our workplaces, schools and neighbourhoods are inclusive and safe environments.

On HMD 2013, people are being asked to build a bridge to the past to remember those who suffered and those who survived, and build a bridge to your communities and know, respect and support everyone within them.

The South West Regional Champion for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is Colette Bennett. Collette is offering her support in helping you to organise and deliver any type of activity and or event in your school or group. She can help you find the resources that might be the most appropriate for you as well as acting as a sounding board for ideas. By clicking on this link for example, you can find information on how to approach HMDT in an age appropriate way through a number of resources including lesson plans and assembly ideas suitable for use in schools and colleges.

HMDT has a vision that activities will be held in every local authority area in the UK, and in all secondary schools and the Regional Champions will hopefully raise the profile of this important day and help bring communities together.

If you would like Collette to sign you up for a campaign pack, full of useful resources and ideas, please let her know: e: [email protected]. Tel: 01823 240 260.

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 4 JAMES HEMMING ESSAY PRIZE

Students in UK schools and colleges are invited to submit entries for the James Hemming Essay Prize 2013, discussing Bertrand Russell’s words:

“A good world needs knowledge, kindliness and courage. It does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.”

Entries of no more than 1,500 words will be accepted from any student at a UK school or college studying for AS or A2 levels or qualifications at the same level who is 19 or under and the competition closing date is Monday 1 April 2013. More information at http://hemmingprize.org.uk/

FARMINGTON FELLOWSHIPS

The closing date for applications for Farmington Fellowships for the school year 2013-14 is 28 January 2013. Farmington will pay costs and salary of a replacement teacher for one term and enable you to study aspects of RE with support from one of a number of universities, including Bath Spa.

Application forms and details can be downloaded from the Farmington website: http://www.farmington.ac.uk/fellowships_and_awards/fellowships.html.

ERIDGE TRUST – GRANTS FOR SCHOOL TRIPS

For many years the Eridge Trust has been making grants for school trips to museums, galleries and centres of art at home and abroad.

The purpose of the Trust is to encourage young people to look at works of art, especially painting, and to enjoy and appreciate them. So that must be one of the objects of every trip they support. But it need not be the only object. Nor need pupils be studying art and design. Indeed, the Trust is keen to encourage the enjoyment of art by pupils not studying the subject academically and hopes that the trips it supports will not be narrowly focussed on the requirements of a particular exam.

The Trust has given grants for many different kinds of trip, mainly organised by individual schools, but also by groups of schools, education authorities and others. They have included day trips to local galleries, trips of a few days to major UK cities and trips of up to a week or more to European centres of art. Many successful trips have involved pupils studying a range of subjects, or whole year groups, and have benefited from the participation of teachers in different disciplines.

Trips for pupils in all maintained sector schools or colleges throughout the UK (primary or secondary) are eligible for grants from the Trust. Applications need to be made by the end of May each year for trips due to take place in the ensuing school year. More details and information on how to apply can be found at www.eridgetrust.co.uk.

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 5 NEWS FROM THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COUNCIL OF AND WALES

REC 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPONSORED WALK

Plans are afoot across England and Wales for walks and similar events in May 2013 to mark the REC's 40th anniversary, to raise the profile of RE and to raise much needed funds for the REC's work of championing and supporting RE as an essential part of every young person's education. The first issue of the Sponsored Walk Newsletter came out in early December and a second will be published in early January; these give details of walks already in the pipeline, ideas for planning routes, local organising teams, sponsorship and other information.

Please help to make this a success, whether by organising, walking yourself or sponsoring somebody else. Contact [email protected] for further information.

YOUNG AMBASSADORS FOR RE

This scheme will be publicised to schools early in January. Teachers will be able to select a team of Young Ambassadors from Y5 to Y13 students at their school; the young people will have the chance to receive training in speaking and communication skills, to take part in initiatives to support RE locally, regionally and nationally, including for some the chance to speak to MPs at the summer meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group.

For further information please contact [email protected]

SUPPORT FOR TRAINING TO TEACH RE IN 2013

The Association of Church College Trusts has issued a statement on training to teach religious education in 2013, saying that candidates can train to teach through a PGCE course at 28 universities in England, two in Wales and two in Scotland, and that, although the government no longer provides a bursary for RE, there are other sources of support.

For 2013-14, trainees in secondary RE could be eligible to apply to one of the Church College Trusts for a grant towards course costs or living expenses; candidates can check www.cstg.org.uk/acct for details of the trusts and foundations to which they can apply.

NUT AND NAHT LAUNCH JOINT CAMPAIGN

The National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Head Teachers have launched a joint campaign in response to government proposals to replace GCSEs with English Baccalaureate Certificates. The campaign calls for the consultation period on the proposals to be extended and for a full public debate to take place, involving parents and students as well as teachers and employers, before any final decisions are made.

Anyone wishing to support the campaign can sign a petition supporting the call to extend the consultation period.

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 6 REC WEBSITE

The long awaited redevelopment of the REC website has unfortunately not yet come to fruition. A different web development company has now been employed by the REC and is moving forward quickly with fresh designs; the new website should be up and running by the end of March. The first task of the new developers will be to clear the malware that has affected Celebrating RE and the CPD RE Handbook sites for some time; we hope they will be fully available and safe to use very soon.

RE-FLECT – FREE WORKSHOP

The University of Exeter is offering a free one day workshop introducing a new approach to religious education, as part of its RE-flect programme. Taking place on 14 March at St Luke's Campus, it will show participants how to create a classroom environment based on reflecting on beliefs, values and thinking.

For more information, please visit http://elac.ex.ac.uk/reflect/.

SMALL GRANTS TO SUPPORT TEACHING OF CHRISTIANITY

Over the past eight years, the Jerusalem Trust Religious Education Small Grants Scheme has distributed over £300,000 to secondary schools to support the teaching of Christianity within religious education.

Schools can apply for grants of up to £500 to purchase resources for use in RE lessons, including textbooks, artefacts, DVDs, CD-ROMs and class sets of Bibles.

YOUNG ATHEIST’S HANDBOOK

The British Humanist Association is supporting a drive to send a copy of The Young Atheist’s Handbook: Lessons for Living a Good Life Without God to all secondary schools in England and Wales.

The YAH4Schools campaign was conceived by science teacher and blogger Ian Horsewell.

NATRE NEWS

Many thanks to the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) for the following items. To join NATRE and subscribe to RE Today magazine and the termly RE publications, go to www.natre.org.uk/join.php

2013 HOCKERILL/NATRE AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN RE TEACHING

NATRE is pleased to announce the launch of the 2013 Hockerill/NATRE Award for Innovation in RE Teaching. Details of the Award and how to apply are found on the website of the Hockerill Educational Foundation (see below).

The award is in two parts:

a) £700 for the school to enable it to purchase new RE materials b) £400 as a bursary to the teacher to part-fund attendance at a specialist educational course for RE

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 7 There are two categories for entry:

a) Schools teaching primary age pupils (ie 4 – 11 years) b) Schools teaching secondary age pupils (ie 11 – 19 years)

The closing date for the receipt of entries is 31 January 2013. Judging will take place in the following two months, with the successful prize winners being notified by Easter.

The prizes will be presented in the late spring/early summer of 2013.

Enquiries from schools who want to talk over their ideas for entry to see if they meet the criteria for the award are welcomed.

Please contact Rosemary Rivett (NATRE) or Derek Humphries (Hockerill). E: [email protected] (0121 430 2959) E: [email protected] (01279 420 855) To download details: W: www.hockerillfoundation.org.uk

SCIENCE & BELIEF – ESSAY COMPETITION

RE Today is running an essay competition designed to help students to understand and evaluate Science and Belief: the Big Issues. This resource is an excellent set of 12 short films presented by Prof Russell Stannard, easily available on YouTube and supported by detailed classroom support materials written by Lat Blaylock, RE Today.

There are three first prizes of £300 and ten second prizes of £100. There is also an award of £100 for teachers who send in six or more essays from their students. Details and guidance: www.retoday.org.uk/news/essay-competition-science-belief To register for the competition, email [email protected] Deadline for entries: 14 March 2013.

CLIMATE WEEK 4-10 MARCH 2013

Britain's Biggest Climate Change Campaign – 4 to 10 March 2013. Climate Week is a supercharged national campaign to inspire a new wave of action on climate change. It culminates in thousands of events and activities, planned by organisations from every sector of society. Showcasing real, practical ways to combat climate change, the campaign aims to renew our ambition to create a more sustainable, low-carbon future.

The Challenge is open to all ages, can be done on any day during Climate Week and it is completely free to take part. Over 130,000 people participated in 2012 in a challenge to come up with an idea to green a local space and make it more environmentally friendly. The entries were judged by a celebrity panel and the winners went on to take part in workshops organised by industry and business leaders. Winning designs included the Water Pebble – a device for the shower that flashes green when you first start washing, amber for when it’s time to rinse off and red for when it’s time to get out the shower. The pupils really enjoyed their workshop learning about climate change, developing their design and creating a school action plan.

Start thinking about how you could get involved during Climate Week 2013. SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 8 Whatever you are doing, make sure you register your event on the Climate Week website and help to create a national movement for change.

E: [email protected] T: 020 3397 2601. W: www.climateweek.com

READY REFERENCE: UPDATE JANUARY 2013

SACRE’s recently published GUIDANCE ON COLLECTIVE WORSHIP can be found on the SACRE pages of the council website at: http://tinyurl.com/NSom- SACRE under ‘Publications’.

SACRE’s ARTEFACT COLLECTIONS are held at St Georges CofE/Methodist VA Primary School (Tel. 01934 426901) and Mary Elton Community Primary School, Clevedon (Tel. 01275 876432).

WEB SUPPORT FOR AMV for new agreed syllabus requirements and guidance go to http://amv.somerset.gov.uk/. The old AMV schemes of work and guidance are now included in the new site.

Please note that the new ONLINE SELF-EVALUATION TOOLKIT is now available at: http://betterre.reonline.org.uk/lead_manage_sef/intro.php. This includes the option of printing out an RE Improvement Plan based on your answers.

Find out more about the work of SACREs up and down the country via the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SACRES (NASACRE) site: www.nasacre.org.uk/

THE RE:QUEST WEBSITE contains specific links to the AMV syllabus. Go to: www.request.org.uk/teachers/syllabus/awareness/aware01.htm

RE CPD HANDBOOK: The DCSF and the RE Council of England and Wales has produced an online CPD Handbook for primary and secondary teachers of RE. In addition to guidance on teaching, learning and assessment in RE, the Handbook includes contributions from teachers, faith communities, advisers, and academics: www.re-handbook.org.uk

MAJOR RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS: www.culham.ac.uk/tvr/festcalendar.php

TEACHERS TV Resources to support Primary RE. Several 15 minute programmes can be found at: www.teachersmedia.co.uk/

SUPPORT FOR TEACHING ABOUT WORLD RELIGIONS

For all speakers, please arrange to cover their expenses and any fees directly with the individuals involved. Most communities are happy for you to visit without charge, though you may like to consider making a donation on a ‘per pupil’ basis.

Updates on speakers and local places of worship are now updated on the AMV website at: http://amv.somerset.gov.uk/resources/visitors-places-of-worship/

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 9 SOMERSET SACRE

Somerset Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) is made up of representatives from the council, and local religious and teachers’ organisations. It conducts all of its business through the local authority.

To see who is on Somerset SACRE and to access support materials, go to: www.six.somerset.gov.uk/sacre/. Recent items include a guide to RE policy, a guide to curriculum time to be allocated to RE and guidance for parents and pupils with certain religious beliefs.

If you would like this Newsletter emailed directly to your inbox, please contact Dave Francis, Somerset Associate RE Adviser, at [email protected]

SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL

Somerset County Council values diversity, and celebrates cultural and social differences. Our Equal Opportunities Promise is to provide all services of equal quality which meet your needs and fulfil your rights. You can expect us to treat you fairly, with respect and dignity, and to be understanding of whoever you are and whatever your background.

"Working together for equalities"

This document is also available in Braille, large print, on tape and on disc and we can translate it into different languages. We can provide a member of staff to discuss the details.

SACRE Newsletter - Spring 2013 10