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Welcome
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| Gill will return in 2008 with more creative ideas – this time for Key Stage 1. |
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The 3rd Annual SACRE Lecture
The members of SACRE were delighted to welcome Ian Fenn as the guest
speaker for their 3rd Annual Lecture. A former Staffordshire teacher, advisory teacher and
senior manager he converted to Islam and was appointed as the headteacher at a Muslim boys’ school. He is now the head at Burnage
High School for Boys, a predominantly Muslim school in a challenging
area of Manchester. Ian, who also uses the Muslim name Yousuf, held the
audience captive with his personal perspective on the way events of the
last twelve months have affected British Muslims. No holds were barred
as he tackled issues of integration, extremism and the media portrayal
of Islam. He talked of his own growing awareness of the diversity of
Muslim perspectives and a disappointment at the reluctance of some
communities to recognise the best in each other, to share and to grow
through the enrichment that brings. He reminded his audience that
Britain is a great place for Muslims to live, talked with pride of his
involvement with the 1001 project to raise awareness of the Muslim
contribution to the culture of the modern world, but also identified the
anxieties shared by his students about the way they are perceived by non-Muslims. He
called 
on educators, especially those involved in Religious Education, to allay
those fears by promoting the knowledge and understanding which not only supports harmony but enables those involved to
grow as human beings. Questions from the audience ranged from role of
faith schools to family issues. All were answered with openness and
honesty. Many thanks to Ian for upholding the ‘tradition’ of excellent
SACRE lectures in Staffordshire.
Promoting RE in Staffordshire schools: the 2007 SACRE Awards
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The 11th July 2007 found the Seabridge Centre once again alive with the buzz of the annual SACRE Awards, the PRESSies (Promoting Religious Education in Staffordshire Schools). Nominees and their guests arrived on this summer afternoon to be greeted by members of the Student Council, who encouraged them to climb aboard the Kerygma Bus, show off their knowledge of religious artefacts in a challenging quiz, and show off their fitness in a demonstration of Indian dancing. As everyone enjoyed afternoon tea, members of the Council canvassed views on the importance of religious education in the curriculum. Outstanding entertainment was provided throughout by ‘Voices of Soul’, a gospel choir of students from Cannock Case High School led by teacher Katy Matthews. At three o’ clock, SACRE members, award winners, friends and family gathered in the conference hall for presentations, speeches and photographs. Student Councillors in Year 13 were thanked for their commitment and received certificates to mark their term of office, as did members of the SACRE who had served for ten years or more. There was laughter and not a few tears as citations were read out praising the hard work, courage and enthusiasm of the nominees. The celebrations marked a fitting end to a year of successes, and there was a real sense of pride that so many people had made an outstanding contribution to RE in Staffordshire.
Do you know someone who deserves a PRESSie in 2008? Nomination forms can be downloaded and returned at any time.
Winners of the special awards for 2007:
Student Tom Malbon, Alleyne's High School, Stone
Teacher Sue Jervis, Fulfen Primary School
Community Rev Sue Goodwin nominated by Cicely Haughton Community special School
Department Sylvia Merry and Pam Hart, Norton Canes High School
Special Award Jamie Gillan, Hagley Park Sports College
Staffordshire
SACRE's summer term meeting
This meeting, held at the
end of June, was busy and varied. To open, Bonita King from Articles of
Faith explained her role with this company which supplies high quality
religious items which enhance learning and bring faith practices alive
in schools. Members had the opportunity to look at some of the wide
ranging stock available, and heard of the excellent work done by Bonita
leading ‘artefacts days’ in Staffordshire schools. New member Terry
Wilkins was welcomed, and members were introduced to Emma Senior, the
newly appointed Advanced Skills Teacher for RE. For the first time
members were invited to share their experience of other SACREs, and on
this occasion Joan
Furlong spoke briefly of her involvement with Stoke. Discussions on the
Council’s terms of reference continued, and the development plan was
reviewed. Members received an update on key issues, on school
monitoring provision and on the work of NASACRE. Professional
development activities offered to teachers in 2006-2007 were reviewed,
and members were invited to attend events identified in the programme
for 2007-2008. The highlight of the meeting was the opportunity to read
nominations which had been made for the SACRE Awards 2007. Members were
please to note the positive contribution made to RE by the nominees and
approved the invitation of all those nominated to the ceremony in July,
the highlight of the year.
Congratulations to three new Farmington Fellows!
Congratulations to Ann Burton of Bishop Rawle CE (VA)
Primary School, Karen Knobbs of Ryecroft CE (C) Middle School and Sue
Gamble of St. Michael's CE (C) First School in Stone.
All have been awarded Farmington Fellowships for
2007-2008. Ann will be producing RE story sacks, Karen has chosen to develop
multi-faith approaches in a rural school and Sue will
be
developing an existing community club
linking church and school to create resources and promote links
between other schools and
churches.
Fellowships are available every year. Applications for the next round have to be submitted by February 2008. Visit the Farmington website to find out more.
'The best course I have ever attended'! Staffordshire RE Conference 2007
'Be
Creative!' was the title of the 2007 RE Conference and we were delighted
to welcome back Lat Blaylock, editor of RE Today, as our keynote
speaker. Over 50 teachers from primary, secondary and special
schools in the county were enthused by Lat's energy and enthusiasm.
'Fantastic, inspiring, realistic, creative' was the verdict. The
smiles on the faces of the delegates said it all - this was a day to
step back, reflect and enjoy!
Lat also offered a workshop which gave practical examples of ways to use poetry, music and art to stimulate excellence in RE. This was complemented by a second workshop led by Lesley Pollard, Curriculum Adviser for Religious Education in Northamptonshire. Carrying on the creative theme, Lesley focused on 'Dramatic RE'. The session was declared to be 'really good fun' and 'very atmospheric' with super practical ideas to try back in school.
Book now for the Conference, to be held on 21st February 2008, with guest speakers Dave Francis and Prof. Denise Cush.
Staffordshire Student Council goes from strength to strength
The autumn term session of the Student Council took place on January 11th at the Kingston Centre. A number of members were unable to attend because of examination commitments, nevertheless a packed agenda and some serious discussion made for a lively meeting.
Members gave feedback on
the Sixth Form Conference held in November and made some excellent
suggestions for the third conference to be held in 2007.
Councillors had been very effective in their work to ensure the smooth
running of the event, and were commended for their professionalism.
Early plans for the Council's contribution to the
SACRE Awards in July 2007 were developed further, with some exciting
ideas emerging for activities to ra
ise the profile of RE. Future
projects were discussed as were links with SACRE. Members made
suggestions about ways to record their own achievements with the
Council, and they were delighted to receive the first annual report
giving a detailed account of progress to date.
Thanks go to the chair of
SACRE,
Rev. Preb. Michael Metcalf for his support at this meeting - and for
helping to eat the flapjacks.
Explore Islam
Ten
schools and over 200 pupils from primary, secondary and special
education accepted the invitation to 'Explore Islam' at the Seabridge
Centre in November. Timed to follow on from the national 'Islam
Awareness Week', this was an opportunity for young people to meet with
local Muslims and to find out what life is life for members of the faith
community.Visitors were welcomed with a video outlining key events in the development of Islam. The session continued with an opportunity to experience a virtual pilgrimage, time to dress up in traditional Muslim clothes and a chance to learn about prayer in Islam. There was food to sample, games to play, and experts on hand to answer the most difficult questions. And students really enjoyed learning how to write their names in Arabic! Voted a great success by all, the only complaint was that the experience could have been longer.
'A great day!'
The Staffordshire Sixth Form Conference
'Brilliant! Make it longer. Make it a whole week'
This was one student's verdict on the second Staffordshire Sixth Form Conference which took place on November 15th 2006. The theme of the Conference, run jointly with Staffordshire University was 'Religion: source of conflict or agent of peace?' Over a hundred students from Year 12 in local schools converged on the Stafford campus of the University to explore, discuss, debate and become involved in heated arguments over the theme of war and peace. Staffordshire's Student Council made an invaluable contribution; meeting, greeting, stewarding, and generally ensuring the smooth running of events.
The
Conference began with a lively presentation from Rev. Rob Merchant,
lecturer in the department of Spirituality and Health at the University.
This included a thought-provoking study of the life of a bullet.
'Woke me up and got me thinking' was the verdict of one student,
'Broadened my ideas' said another. Participants then attended
three workshops based on the Conference theme, featuring a range of
speakers representing the views of Baha'is, Buddhists, Christians,
Humanists, Jews, Muslims and Quakers. A final session featured all
the speakers responding to questions submitted by the students
throughout the event. This drew the threads of the Conference together,
highlighting the similarities between perspectives and raising issues
for schools to debate further back in the classroom. 'Makes you
think outside the box' was one comment, indicating that the day had
fulfilled its aims!
Staffordshire Subject Research Programme 2004/2005
Following on from the Staffordshire Subject Research Programme 2004/2005 case studies highlighting examples of good practice in primary, middle and secondary schools are now available on the Staffordshire Learning Net.
National and International News
Stories and features with a link to religion and religious education
Stories that have featured in this section in the past can be found in the news archive.
Ofsted report: Making sense of religion
The most recent Ofsted report on religious education, entitled 'Making sense of religion' was published in June 2007. The report draws on evidence about religious education from whole-school inspections over the period 2001 to 2006. It also draws on the programme of subject visits by Her Majesty’s Inspectors and Additional Inspectors to 30 primary schools and 30 secondary schools each year over the period 2003 to 2006.
There is some positive news. The report indicates that the past few years have seen an overall improvement in RE. It seems that much greater consensus exists about the nature and purpose of the subject. Fewer schools fail to meet the statutory requirement to teach RE and in many schools the profile of RE is positive. Although there is some very good practice, including high quality teaching, Ofsted considers that standards overall are not high enough and there are wide variations in the quality of provision. The conclusion - achievement by pupils in RE has improved over the past five years but remains very inconsistent. There is a strong emphasis in the document on the role of the National Non-statutory Framework for Religious Education, and an indication that there is much support for this document although it remains non-statutory. The legal requirement for all county schools to follow the Staffordshire Agreed Syllabus remains.
GCSE Consultation
Along with all other subjects, the GCSE criteria for RE are being revised and new specifications will be in place by September 2009 for first examination in 2011.
The consultation phase lasts until September 14th. Have your say on the proposed criteria and the suggestions for controlled assessment which will replace coursework.
Towards a national strategy for religious education - Updated March 2007
The RE Council has called upon the Government to launch a bold national strategy for RE. The need for this initiative was acknowledged by Charles Clark when he was Secretary of State for Education,. The council stated that such a strategy is educationally necessary in its own right and is also crucial in direct response to the events of July 7th 2005. Key elements of a strategy have been identified in a first which recommends a partnership approach to implementation. The updated version of this document is now on the REC website.
QCA review of the curriculum Key Stages 3 and 4
The current QCA review of the curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 has now reached the consultation stage. Although the legal requirements for RE have not changed ( in Staffordshire, the locally agreed syllabus is the statutory requirement except for aided schools) QCA have included the Non-statutory National Framework as part of the review. The format has been revised to mirror the documentation in other subjects to promote consistency.
You may be interested to read the documentation which includes key concepts, key processes, range and content and curriculum opportunities. There is also an interesting section on values underpinning the curriculum to which RE would make a significant contribution.
Although QCA will not be consulting officially over RE next term, a series of meetings will be put in place with a wide range of stakeholders and to ensure that there will be consensus for the way ahead.
Recognition for action research from the General Teaching Council
Are you reviewing your schemes of work?
Are you involved in a project or initiative to raise standards or develop materials
Would you like national recognition for your work?
The General Teaching Council (GTC) launched its Teacher Learning Academy (TLA) three years ago. This initiative offers national recognition for developments that take place in the classroom as part of the everyday work of teachers. If you have identified a project to change the way you teach and raise standards for your pupils, then why not do it with the support of the TLA? The academy provides a structure with clear processes to support action research and encourage effective professional development. There is help from training leaders, and the opportunity to share with a network of colleagues. And once completed, there is national recognition for something you would have done anyway! Visit www.gtce.org.uk/tla for further details.
Short cuts to recent key documents
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QCA
Review of the curriculum
Key Stages 3 and 4 |
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Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief
Inspector of Schools 2004/2005: |
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QCA
Annual Report on
Curriculum and Assessment |
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RE Council
Draft National Strategy
for RE |
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Ofsted
subject conference report:
Religious education |
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Staffordshire SACRE's Seventeenth Annual Report |
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Questions or problems regarding this web site should be directed to
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