RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWSLETTER
SUMMER 2012
Issue No: 12 Contact: Annie Chamberlain Date: May 2012 Tel: 01823 356037 Fax: 01823 355332 Email: [email protected]
In this issue:
• RE celebration week: Somerset schools 2012 • The Barbara Agutter Award: entries now due! • SACRE guidance on collective worship • RE network meetings for North Somerset schools • New schemes of learning on AMV website • Godly/spirited play • Inter faith week reports • Faith shorts • All party parliamentary group for RE launches • St Gabriel’s teachers weekend • Ofsted publications on SMSCD • Listening to children and young people talking • Art in heaven 2012 • Does religious education work? • Further support in RE for North Somerset schools • Ready reference update • Visits and speakers
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 1 RE CELEBRATION WEEK: SOMERSET SCHOOLS 2012
Ralph Bullock, Headteacher, Bishop’s Hull Primary School, Taunton, writes: SACRE members are continuing to make all necessary arrangements, for what will hopefully be a special week of RE across Somerset schools. The event is planned to take place in the week before the half term break, 22nd – 26 October 2012 at five venues across the county. To date we have secured Heathfield Secondary/Tacchi Morris in Taunton and Preston Secondary in Yeovil.
There will be opportunities for up to ten schools (including the host school) to share dance/drama performances and children’s work at the venue which is most convenient to them. Each host school will decide on a day within the week when the RE celebrations will take place.
The morning will be for setting up a display of children’s work and for rehearsals and the afternoon will be for actual performances in front of the other schools taking part, SACRE members and any parents who may wish to come along and share the experience.
In order to prevent additional work for everyone in the first half of the autumn term, you are encouraged to save pieces of work from 2011-2012 for display purposes. Our aim is to celebrate RE and not a particular school’s achievements and the work will be displayed with no school name. Details of how much display space will be available, will be sent later.
So, please start planning for this exciting event by collecting children’s work now and by thinking about bringing your Autumn Term 2012 RE alive, through the performance arts. You can find many ideas for creative and imaginative RE on the Celebrating RE website at: www.celebratingre.org/index.php/what-can-you-do.
SACRE will be writing to all schools again very soon with final confirmation of all five venues, the date they have each chosen for the event and in order to get a firm commitment of involvement to aid the overall planning process.
If you can’t wait for the letter and you wish to declare your interest now, then please contact Ralph Bullock [email protected] or Dave Francis [email protected].
I am looking forward to a fantastic week of RE across the county.
THE BARBARA AGUTTER AWARD: ENTRIES NOW DUE!
Why not tie in your ideas for the Somerset SACRE RE Celebration Week (above) with an entry for this year’s Barbara Agutter Award?
SACRE member, Mike Tedstone, reported that Buckler’s Mead, were sad to give back the Award banner. He also reported the enthusiasm of this year’s winners, Berrow CofE Primary, on receiving the banner.
The closing date for this year’s competition is 15 June 2012 and further details and the application form can be found on the Somerset SACRE website at: www.six.somerset.gov.uk/ > Barbara Agutter Award.
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 2 SACRE GUIDANCE ON COLLECTIVE WORSHIP
Somerset SACRE has engaged in a major new revision of its guidance for schools on Collective Worship. The new guidance contains answers to such questions as ‘Why collective worship?’ and ‘What is collective worship?’ and includes a clear explanation of the legal requirements, as well as advice on spiritual development, how to plan a collective worship programme and how to brief visitors who come to contribute to it.
There is a guide for Headteachers and governors as to their responsibilities for collective worship and a checklist that could be used as a basis for discussion of the quality of the programme. In addition, there is a list of recommended websites for finding materials for acts of collective worship and a sample policy ready to be adapted for your school’s own needs. The new guidance can be found on the Somerset SACRE website at: www.six.somerset.gov.uk/sacre/ > ‘Collective Worship’.
NEW SCHEMES OF LEARNING ON AMV WEBSITE
Three new exemplars for our locally agreed syllabus, Awareness, Mystery and Value (AMV) 2011 (http://amv.somerset.gov.uk/) have just been uploaded to the website:
• Key Stage 1 Unit 8: ‘Why is our World Special?’ • Key Stage 2 Unit 1: ‘What is important to Me?’ • Key Stage 2 Unit 8: ‘What do people believe about life?’
More exemplars are due to follow towards the end of term when the agreed syllabus schemes of learning group has completed its work.
GODLY/SPIRITED PLAY
Primary RE teachers – have you considered using ‘Godly Play’ or, as it has been renamed by the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE), ‘Spirited Play’, in your lessons? Originally developed in America by Jerome Berryman as part of an approach to Christian nurture, the technique has been adapted for use in British RE by a number of Church of England Dioceses.
See for example, the workshop offered by the Diocese of Bath & Wells at: http://www.bathandwells.org.uk/children/training/
NATRE members can see an example of spirited play in action at: http://www.natre.org.uk/bigpicture/pages/casestudies_films.php
Find out more about godly play at http://www.godlyplay.org.uk/
INTER FAITH WEEK REPORTS
The Inter Faith Network UK has reported that in this Diamond Jubilee year, there will be a special extended Inter Faith Week running from 18 to 27 November 2012. This is in anticipation of additional activities taking place because of the Jubilee, including some with a link both to the Week and to the ‘A Year of Service’ programme. See www.interfaithweek.org/ for more details.
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 3 FAITH SHORTS
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation is continuing to hold its global film competition, ‘Faith Shorts’, which asks young people to make short films about how their faith inspires them. This year’s competition is now open. Any young person aged between 14 – 27 is invited to submit a short film showing how faith impacts their life and the lives of those around them. For further details and to see entries from previous winners go to: www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/projects/faithshorts.
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
ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FOR RE LAUNCHES
An All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has been set up to support RE.
The group, which has been set up by Stephen Lloyd, MP, is intended to:
• Provide a medium through which MPs, Peers and other organisations with an interest in religious education can discuss the current provision of RE in schools, colleges, universities and academies • Act as a forum for all who share matters of common concern in promoting the highest possible standards of religious education • Press for continuous improvement in religious education • Promote a clear, positive image and public understanding of religious education • Advocate that every young person experiences a personally inspiring and academically rigorous RE in religious and non-religious worldviews
The group’s first meeting will be on 11 June. To see if your MP has joined the APPG go to http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/memi01.htm. Why not write to your MP to enquire if they know about the group and would be willing to join?
ST GABRIEL’S TEACHERS WEEKEND
The 11th St Gabriel's Weekend, entitled ‘From Here to Outstanding – Pushing the Boundaries for RE’, will be held at Wokefield Park Conference Centre on the weekend of 29 -30 September 2012. The conference is free to those teachers chosen to attend as it is funded by the St Gabriel's Trust.
To register an interest in being invited to the conference, contact Jessie Sim at the Culham Institute: [email protected] or see the website for further details: www.sgconference.net.
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 4 LISTENING TO CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE TALKING
NATRE’s Listening to Children & Young People Talking online, interactive database of children and young people’s responses to a series of religious and spiritual questions continues to be extremely popular. A recent addition to the resource is a collection of video clips of young people responding to questions at the heart of the database.
To view the video clips, carry out a search as usual and when the results of your search are presented you will see any video clips available at the top of the screen: www.natre.org.uk/db.
OFSTED PUBLICATIONS ON SMSCD
Ofsted has recently published two documents which are of help to RE:
1. A case study showing how a secondary school transformed staff and students’ perceptions of RE by reinvigorating teaching, the curriculum and the profile of the subject across the school. The case study also has some value for schools that are reviewing provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSCD): See http://bit.ly/x4YksQ2.
2. Subsidiary guidance to inspectors which includes reference to the inspection of SMSCD in the curriculum. A copy of the complete guidance document and a document containing the key sections from the guidance which are of particular interest to RE can be found here: http://bit.ly/xa66A1.
ART IN HEAVEN 2012
Art in Heaven is an annual competition for pupils in RE that promotes creativity and imagination in RE. It is all about spiritual ideas and skills. There is a wonderful web art gallery. Last year about 30,000 entered, and some of the best are on show. Teachers and pupils are warmly invited to join in with their own Art in Heaven. The closing date is 31st July. Go to www.natre.org.uk/spiritedarts for the entry form.
This year’s themes are: The Turning Point of the Story; Where is god Today? Hope for the World; Beginning / Ending; and ‘The Poisoned Pool’.
DOES RELIGIOUS EDUCATION WORK?
‘Does Religious Education work?’ An analysis of the aims, practices and models of effectiveness in RE in the UK, is the outcome of a three-year project funded by the AHRC and the ESRC and led by James Conroy, Professor of Religious and Philosophical Education at the University of Glasgow.
Professor Conroy says: ‘Even where RE is taught magnificently, it is so against the odds. RE in Britain is under-resourced, torn between competing aims, and has become overburdened by having to include other subjects (from sex to citizenship). Whilst governments insist on RE’s importance in theory, they marginalise it in practice – as Michael Gove has recently done by refusing to treat it as a core subject.’
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 5 However it is because of what Professor Conroy’s study observed in schools where RE is done well that he is quite categorical that RE continues to have an important place in the curriculum of all schools: ‘What they reveal is that good RE is about something absolutely fundamental: a space for serious, critical exploration of the meanings and values by which we live. To live good lives, individually and together, we need to be able to make sense of our world and ourselves – and RE offers the only place in the curriculum where that can still be done systematically.’
Further comments by Professor Conroy on the outcomes of his research can be downloaded (pdf) from http://bit.ly/wAbhz2 along with podcasts of the debate at which the research was launched.
FURTHER SUPPORT IN RE FOR SOMERSET SCHOOLS
I am continuing to offer bespoke training for subject leaders and all staff involved in teaching RE:
• Assist in preparing for (or responding to) Ofsted inspection, especially in relation to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development • Review and report on RE and/or collective worship in your school • Observe, support and work alongside individual teachers in the classroom; • Lead INSET on RE and/or collective worship for all staff or smaller groups, and on making most effective use of our new agreed syllabus • Train staff in developing their own knowledge and understanding of the main world religions and belief systems • Help to draw up collective worship and RE policy documents and/or units of work • Demonstrate active learning techniques and appropriate resources for RE; • Make presentations on RE and/or collective worship to governors, parents and the wider school community • Advise on issues arising from the interface between religion and school life, for example in connection with diet and dress
Please contact Dave Francis directly at [email protected] for further information.
READY REFERENCE: UPDATE APRIL 2012
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/toolkit.php/. This includes the option of printing out an RE Improvement Plan based on your answers. All Somerset schools are encouraged to complete the online self-evaluation.
THE SOMERSET SACRE WEBSITE is found at: www.six.somerset.gov.uk/sacre/ This includes contact details for visiting speakers and contacts for making visits to places of interest for RE. There is also a list of all the resource bases in the county with contact details.
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 6 Find out more about the work of SACREs up and down the country via the National Association of SACREs (NASACRE) website at http://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.
For Bristol places of worship and contacts see list below.
BUDDHISM
• Mike Keogh (Triratna Buddhist Community [Formerly FWBO]): tel. 07775 928722; email [email protected] • Paula-Boudica Brightwell: (Nichiren Daishonin) tel. 01458 443275 or 07952 409024. • Lam Rim Tibetan: www.lamrim.org.uk/lrb_info.htm
CHRISTIANITY
• For Christian churches see: www.findachurch.co.uk/index.html • Mike Strange, manager of the RE:Quest website, may also be available to talk to staff or work with pupils on using the site. Email: [email protected]
HINDUISM
• Dhirashanta Das [ISKCON] Tel: 01566 786965 Email: [email protected] • Ganga Devi [ISKCON] Tel: 01761 462161 Email: [email protected] • Please note that Christina Bramble has now moved to West Sussex
ISLAM
• Imam Ilyaas Limbada, Yeovil Mosque, 8 Westminster Street / Clarence Street, Yeovil, BA20 1AE. Tel: 01935 412685. Best to email some suggested dates for your visit to: [email protected] The Imam and his wife, Amina, are very pleased to receive school groups to visit the mosque and learn about Islam.
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 7 • IAEP: The Islamic Awareness and Education Project is operational again. Monowara Gani and Alan Duncan may be able to visit your school. Contact them via the website: http://www.iaep.org.uk/
JUDAISM
• Exeter Synagogue, Synagogue Place, Mary Arches Street, Exeter, EX4 3BA. They prefer age 8+, and charge £1 per pupil per visit. Contact Dr Paul Newgass, (President, Exeter Synagogue), who will also visit your school to talk about the Holocaust, on: 01392 251529 or email: [email protected] • Robin and Arnold Kanarek Tel:01935 263667 Email: [email protected] • Mrs Jane Silver-Corren is available for assemblies / INSET. Tel: 01308 459320 or email [email protected]
SIKHISM
• Gurdial Singh is available to visit schools and/or arrange visits to a Gurdwara in Bristol. Tel: 0117 956 6976 or 07981 130188 Email: [email protected]
PLACES OF WORSHIP IN BRISTOL
BUDDHIST COMMUNITY
Amitabha Buddhist Centre (New Kadampa Tradition) Old Vicarage, Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NX Tel: 0117 974 5160 – Gen Kelsang Chonden & Kelsang Rak-ma Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Web: www.meditationinbristol.org or www.kadampa.org (international)
Triratna (Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) Bristol Buddhist Centre 162 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NT Tel: 0117 924 9991 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bristol-buddhist-centre.org or www.fwbo.org (international)
Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling Buddhist Centre (Tibetan Sakya-pa) 121 Sommerville Road, St Andrews, Bristol BS6 5BX Tel: 0117 924 4424 - Centre Co-ordinators: Carl Rogers also David Armstrong Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.dechen.org/centres/southwest/bristol.html or www.dechen.org
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
Independent Baptist Kensington Baptist Church 208 Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0NX Tel: 0117 951 1202 – Office Manager: Malina Gitahi Email: [email protected] Web: www.kenbaptist.org
Church of England www.anglicancommunion.org or www.cofe.anglican.org or www.bristol.anglican.org
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 8 Bristol Cathedral College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TJ The Dean – The Very Revd Robert Grimley Tel: 0117 926 4879 – Administrator: Andrew Phillips Email: [email protected] Tel: 0117 904 6903 – Canon Wendy Wilby Email: [email protected] Web: www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk
St Mary Redcliffe Redcliffe Way, Bristol BS1 6SP Tel: 0117 929 1487 - Parish Administrator: Pat Terry or 0117 929 1487 - Revd Dr Simon Taylor Email: [email protected] Web: www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk
Orthodox www.sourozh.org (Russian Orthodox Church) www.nostos.com (Greek Orthodox Church) www.bristol-orthodox-church.org.uk
Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God University Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1SP Tel: 0117 925 3878 or 0117 970 6302 – Parish Priest: Archimandrite Kyril Jenner or 0117 972 0195 – Secretary: Anthony Hearn Email: [email protected] Web: www.bristol-orthdox-church.org.uk or www.thyateira.org.uk
Society of Friends (Quaker) www.quaker.org.uk
Redland Quakers Friends Meeting House, 126 Hampton Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 6JE Tel: 0117 974 1923 – Wardens: Bill & Louise Thatcher Web: www.bristolquakers.org.uk
Roman Catholic www.Catholic-ew.org.uk or www.cliftondiocese.com – good route to full list of parish churches
Cathedral Church of St Peter and Paul Clifton Park, Bristol BS8 3BX Tel: 0117 973 8411 - Canon Robert Corrigan Email: [email protected] Web: www.cliftoncathedral.org.uk
HINDU COMMUNITY
The Bristol Hindu Temple 163B Church Road, Redfield, Bristol BS5 9LA Tel: 0117 935 1007 - Panditji Kamlesh Vyas Email: [email protected] Web: www.bristolhindutemple.co.uk
JEWISH COMMUNITY
Bristol Hebrew Congregation – Orthodox 9 Park Row, Clifton, Bristol BS1 5LP Tel: 0117 927 3334 – Synagogue Email: [email protected] Web: www.brijnet.org/bristol
Bristol and West progressive Jewish Congregation 43-47 Bannerman Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0RR Email: [email protected] Web: www.bwpjc.org
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 9 MUSLIM COMMUNITY
Easton Masjid St Marks Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 6DH Tel: 0117 951 0317
Shah Jalal Jame Mosque 468 Stapleton Road, Bristol BS5 6PA Tel: 0117 951 9988
Community Groups
Bristol Muslim Cultural Society 404 Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0JE Tel: 0117 952 1802 – Mr Farooq Siddique – will arrange guided tours of a mosque. Email: [email protected] Web: www.bmcs.org.uk
SIKH COMMUNITY
Bristol Sikh Temple Shri Guru Nanak Prakash Singh Sabha Gurdwara 71-75 Fishponds Road, Eastville, Bristol BS5 6SF Tel: 0117 902 0104 – General Secretary: Mr Manjit Singh
Ramgarhia Gurdwara 81-83 Chelsea Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 8HS Tel: 0117 955 4229 – Secretary: Mohan Singh Mather
Sangat Shat Singh Sabha Gurdwara 11 Summerhill Road, St George, Bristol BS5 8HG Tel: 0117 955 9333 – General Secretary: Mr Baldev Singh Roudh
Siri Guru Singh Sabha 301-307 Church Road, St George, Bristol BS5 8AH Tel: 0117 939 7290 – Office or 0117 956 6420 – Chairman: Mr S S Bisla or 07981 130188 – Treasurer: Mr Gurdial Singh
OTHER SACRED SPACES
Elsie Briggs House of Prayer 38 Church Road, Westbury on Trym, Bristol BS9 3EQ Tel: 0117 750 6451 – Warden Email: [email protected] Web: www.elsiebriggshouse.org.uk
John Wesley Chapel 36, The Horsefair, Bristol, BS1 3JE Tel: 0117 926 4740
George Muller Foundation (a Christian philanthropist who set up orphanages) 7, Cotham Park, Bristol BS6 6DA Tel: 0117 924 5001
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]
SACRE Newsletter - Summer 10 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 - Summer 11