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REC Newsletter February 2010
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STRATEGIC NEWS FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
NATIONALLY
At the end of January the DCSF published three
key documents for religious education:
1. New Guidance for Religious Education.
The final version of government guidance on RE in schools and academies
is now available and can be downloaded from http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/subjects/re/guidance It
has been developed in partnership between the DCSF and member organisations of
the RE Council.
2. New Religious Education Primary programme of
Learning. RE is expressly identified as a distinct area of learning with the
new primary curriculum programme as published by the QCDA
http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/new-primary-curriculum/areas-of-learning/religious-education/index.aspx
3. Research Report on
Resources for Teaching RE. This research by the Warwick Religions
and Education Research Unit was commissioned by the DCSF as a key
component of the RE Council's RE Action Plan: http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-RR197&
RE Council's response to the review - http://www.religiouseducationcouncil.org/content/view/152/45/
4. Letter from Schools
Minister. Diana Johnson has set out her public appreciation of
the importance of religious education as a fundamental component
in the primary and secondary curriculum and her encouragement that the
partnership between the DCSF and the RE Council should continue to
pursue its strategic efforts to strengthen the quality of RE. http://www.religiouseducationcouncil.org/images/stories/pdf/letterschoolsminister.pdf
OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN DCSF
CONSULTATIONS
It is possible for anybody interested in doing
so to take part in any or all DCSF consultations on proposed educational
developments and to hear reports on responses
received. You can arrange this by first registering
on the DCSF website and identifying your areas of interest: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations/index.cfm?menu=3&ti
COURTING CONTROVERSY? TEACHING THEOLOGY AND
RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY
This conference will take place at
the University of Leeds, 8-9 July 2010. Keynote speakers:
Anthony Reddie (The Queen’s Foundation) and Dan Cohn-Sherbok (St Mary’s
University College, Twickenham. For further details see http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/view.html/prsevents/460
JAIN NEWS
The Bedford Council of Faiths organised its second
annual Faith Fest at the Newnham Middle School, Bedford, where 9 major faiths
had set up their stands to explain their beliefs to the visiting school
children and answer their questions. The JAINpedia banner was
displayed prominently and brochures and information on were handed out to
teachers and supervisors for use in their schools. Further information is
available at http://www.local-news.tv/your_townvillage/bedford/
A ten session Foundation in Jain Studies course
was delivered by Dr Harshad Sanghrajka between September and December 2009
under the auspices of the Oshwal Association of UK. Over 50 students
participated and were awarded Institute of Jainology certificates.
A training day was organised by Rajiv Anand
– Museum Consultant to the Jainpedia project on 9th January,
2010. 25 Volunteers turned up at the V&A Museum where they were given a
tour of the Objects of Worship in Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The V
& A will be holding a Jainpedia Exhibition from April 2010 for two
years.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND NATIONAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE
The first national residential conference
for Heads of RE in secondary Church of England schools, organised by the
National Society, will take place at Warwick University on July 14th and
15th. There will be an opportunity to hear stimulating lectures and take part
in workshops lead by Heads of RE with innovative practice to share
concerning Religious Education. There will also be a presentation of the
findings of the case study by the National Society, in
parnership with the SSAT, on the impact on RE in Humanities specialist Church
of England schools. Further information can be found on https://register.livegroup.co.uk/event/RE.
‘LOVE YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL’ DAYS
The Baptist Union of Great Britain Mission
Department will be holding the first of these days on Thursday 4th March to
help churches to develop links with their local school. The speakers will
be David Skinner from RE-Inspired, Paul Haynes from RE-Inspired and Martin
Sweet from the Spinnaker Trust. The day will
enable participants to learn about the various resources and
materials which might be helpful in their church
as they support schools and those who work in them. Click here for more details and a booking
form.
DEA GLOBAL LEARNING CHARTER
The Development Education Association has
developed its Global Learning Charter with a wide range of
stakeholders as a way to bring together all those who believe
that education and learning can help tackle the big issues that we
collectively face such as climate change,
intolerance and poverty. The Charter makes the argument
that the global challenges we face can’t just be left to technical and
policy fixes, but needs a mass campaign of education and citizen involvement,
and that this is a challenge for all of society’s institutions. A broad
coalition of signatories to the Charter are committing to play their part
in helping society to innovate and respond to global issues such as
international poverty and climate change through helping citizens learn
more about the issues and how they can do something about
them. More information available at: http://www.dea.org.uk/global_charter
FACE TO FAITH PROGRAMME
Face to Faith is a global schools programme
which connects 11-16 year olds of different faiths and none through video
conferencing technology, allowing students to learn directly with, from and
about each other. Since its launch in summer 2009, Face to Faith has
grown rapidly and now operates in 12 countries: India, Pakistan, Thailand,
Indonesia, Singapore, Jordan, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Australia, UK,
US and Canada. Video conferences have already taken place between students in
Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, Singapore and the US and within
India. For further information see www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/pages/schools
NEWS FROM HINDU COUNCIL UK
The HCUK continues to offer an informed Hindu
voice on many contemporary issues through educational establishments as well as
temples. On 3rd February it will participate in
a debate on the issue of Science and Faiths at Imperial College. On 4th February it
will present a Hindu outlook on issues like euthanasia and abortion to
year 13 at St Michael’s Grammar School, Finchley. On 11th February it
is running a training day for the Police and Fire Department in Brent at a
Hindu Temple in Cricklewood.
RE-SILIENCE PROJECT
Recent work has focused largely upon preparation
for the pilot study and the development of the website, details of which may be
found on www.religiouseducationcouncil.org
The REsilience website will be launched in February and will
contain all future updates.
CONFERENCE FOR BAHA’I SACRE MEMBERS
The Baha'i Religious Education Agency (BREA) will be holding a day conference
for Baha'is serving as SACRE members on Saturday 17 April 2010 at the Liverpool
Baha'i Centre. Different workshops will be offered and BREA's new website will
be launched. For more info: email
THREE FAITHS FORUM
Shared Futures has started a second year of
school linking and our first term has included an exciting variety of
activities exploring faiths and beliefs within partner schools. Our schools are
a mixture of Muslim, Jewish, Christian and non-denominational schools and each
link is unique. Teachers come together once a term for training and planning
purposes and create link days around a religious theme, incorporating
activities into the curriculum. www.threefaithsforum.org.uk. For more
information about school linking, contact
CELEBRATING RE
Preparations are well under way for a month long
celebration of religious education across England and Wales in March
2011. Schools and colleges, faith and belief communities, local
communities, museums and libraries are invited to plan activities to celebrate
the unique contribution of RE to the education of children and young people.
The website will be launched in mid-February. We will send out a further
mailing when the site is launched.
MAKE THE FUTURE
A new video looking at ideas drawn in the main from
research commissioned under the Beyond Current Horizons programme,
is now available. The video, entitled Make the future, considered futures
for education in the light of social and technological change over the next two
decades. The video aims to inspire education leaders to think differently about
the future of education and to consider the challenges and possibilities for 21st century
schools. The video is available to watch at www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/multimedia/video/Video1589 .
VISION MAPPER
Another source of information to help plan for
the future is www.visionmapper.org.uk, a
free web resource designed to help examine the future of education beyond 2025. The
resources provided are designed to support education leadership, including
headteachers, department heads, local authorities and school redesign consortia
to approach long-term planning and decision making with an informed view of the
future.
UPDATE ON PREVENT DEVELOPMENTS
The issues which the
goverrnment’s Prevent agenda addresses and the activities linked
to it are relevant to the work of faith communities and inter faith
organisations and also for educational institutions and RE. The IFN office
has therefore provided its own member bodies at intervals with
briefing on its development and associated funding programmes. The latest
such compilation will be available on the IFNET web site from 5
February: www.interfaith.org.uk
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