National updates

British public values an understanding of worldviews and role of RE

Earlier this summer, Culham St Gabriel’s Trust conducted research among 2,000 UK adults, in partnership with Savanta, to find out to what extent the public values an understanding of religious and non-religious worldviews and people’s views on the role of religious education.

The results were surprising and very encouraging, with key findings including:

On understanding religious and non-religious worldviews:

· Around two-thirds of UK adults say it’s important to understand the beliefs of others in at least four contexts:

o In everyday life (69%)

o In relationships with friends and family (65%)

o In school (65%)

o In local communities (64%)

o In the workplace (61%)

· Two-thirds (64%) think that an understanding of their own beliefs is important to them, while over half (57%) agree that this understanding has a positive impact on their wellbeing

On the importance and role of Religious Education:

· Nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK adults think that it is important that RE is part of the school curriculum today

· Two-thirds (65%) of respondents agree that RE has an impact on people’s ability to understand each other in wider society

· 71% stated that RE should reflect the diversity of backgrounds and beliefs in the UK today

Our main conclusion is that:

Most UK adults think that RE should be taught in schools, with the majority agreeing that it helps young people understand and respect others’ beliefs, regarded by many as important in a variety of social and private contexts.

Regional training for Schools through LTLRE and NATRE Regional Ambassador role

As regional Ambassador for RE I am running the following training for teachers in the region this term (all online). 

Primary	Secondary
Designing an Effective RE Curriculum Gillian Georgiou	From conversation to implementation: constructing an RE curriculum  Ben Wood
Engaging in research in the primary RE classroom Emma Salter	Engaging in research in the secondary RE classroom Kathryn Wright
EYFS and the RE curriculum – Catriona Card		Developing a coherent curriculum for A-Level – Rachael Jackson-Royal
Anti-racist RE – Saima Saleh		Anti-racist RE – Ashish Kundi
Text and story – Fiona Moss		Diversity in Islam Zameer Hussain
		Developing a coherent curriculum for GCSE – Rachael Jackson-Royal

NASACRE Training programme 2021-22

 A new programme of virtual webinars has been planned for SACRE members. This started on 22 June with How can national data help SACREs speak with authority? which was a re-run of a conference workshop.

If you weren’t able to be there, here is the link to the recorded event. Access Passcode: %9ff2uHJ

Click here for the training programme for 2021-22 and to find out how to make a booking.

Inter Faith Week 2021

Inter Faith Week 2021 takes place from 14-21 November. SACREs play an important role in making schools and local authorities aware of Inter Faith Week and its importance for promoting mutual understanding and respect between those of different faiths and beliefs. Of more than 600 events in 2020, one of the most challenging years in living memory, around a sixth were school-based.

This year Inter Faith Week starts on Remembrance Sunday and ends the following Sunday. For details about the week, the best place to look is the Inter Faith Week website which contains a rich bank of resources for those wishing to hold events.
A new section has been created for schools. It contains bespoke materials for both Primary and Secondary schools that are designed to support the delivery of a locally agreed syllabus. There is also a Golden Rule poster on eleven different faith traditions, to download for display in a classroom or meeting room.

Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day is 27 January. SACREs, LAs and schools can find a wide variety of resources on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) website.

Resources were launched at a special online event on 9 September. The event provided an opportunity for participants to learn about the past through an exploration of the new resources and hear from two guest speakers, Vera Schaufeld and Lord Alf Dubs, who both came on the Kindertransport.

The Trust is aware that some SACREs are heavily involved in themselves holding an event, or encouraging schools to mark HMD, but others may not have done this regularly, so please consider increasing your local involvement, especially at a time when hate crime, intolerant/extremist views, anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hate is increasing.

The Trust also commends Generation to Generation (G2G), a charity that provides speakers to tell their family Holocaust stories online or face-to-face to a variety of audiences. Through these engaging and historically accurate presentations, integrating first-hand survivor testimony, G2G works to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are learned, promoting tolerance of all groups in society. 

To consider how G2G can support SACRE or your schools and to book a speaker, visit https://www.generation2generation.org.uk 
or book onto a free introductory event for educators:
https://www.generation2generation.org.uk/news/events/