Christian Heritage Conference 2016

Aims Purpose of the National Curriculum Outline the changes in the new RE agreed Syllabus How places can help schools to deliver the new curriculum

1992 DFE Report “ The special status of RE as part of the basic but not the National Curriculum is important. It ensures that RE has equal standing in relation to the core and other foundation subjects within a school’s curriculum, but is not subject to nationally prescribed attainment targets, programmes of study and assessment arrangements.”

Level descriptors for RE in 1999 stated that this was a “statutory subject supported by non- statutory level descriptions.” “When we taught RE back then it was an entirely separate subject. We knew it was important as it was a core subject, but it didn’t appear in the National Curriculum and that took away its importance really. It was a lesson we had to do every week. It was a discreet subject and did not relate to any other teaching.”

Why? What? When? How do you feel? What do you think?

What is education for?

“It’s not about just facts, it’s about relating to stories. For example in the story of Noah’s Ark, younger children would be asked to think about how Noah felt, how his family felt, what it would have been like to be there? What would they have done in Noah’s situation and why?”

I Wonder? Big Questions! The ‘I wonder’ questions are fully embedded and teaching is helped through Godly Play. Lessons start with a question rather that a learning intention as the lesson may go to places that the teacher had not envisaged.

Religions are taught together and similarities are explored.

We now look more at the spiritual side of all religions – not just facts about religions but real exploration in depth. Stories are related to what is going on in the world at the moment, for example before thinking about the Feeding of the 5,000 the class looked at sharing, hunger, how unfair systems in the world could be changed.

There is much more of an emphasis on talk, but also different ways to communicate learning, through art, poetry and dance.

“The new syllabus underpins and embeds other areas of the curriculum and our beliefs in teaching the whole child. It is no longer a separate subject but an underpinning of all we do and all we want for our children.” Assistant Headteacher at Harworth Church of England Academy.”

Copper and Newton MuseumEpworth Old Rectory

William Booth Birthplace Museum Nottingham

Christian Heritage Edinburgh, Cambridge, London

Great British Trips The Bunyan Meeting House Scottish Reformation Tours The Churches Visitor and Tourism Association England’s Christian HeritageChurches Conservation Trust

Cross Curricular Learning

We visit places

Children experience awe and wonder

People can come to us

What can places do for us in an interesting question and to summarise I asked my staff that very question. Here are the things they said: “Give us things for free!” “Provide INSET opportunities for staff training” “Come out to us with artefacts, your knowledge, and work with the children and provide workshops” “Be aware of what is current in education. For example British Values is high on our agenda. Contact us and tell us what you can provide to help us fulfil that.” “Come in and give us demonstrations.”

“Provide free resources, like lesson plans and teaching resources.” “Write to us (or ). Look on our website and find out what topic we are doing in each class and contact the class teachers individually with what you can provide for us.” “Keep correspondence going when we have visited you. Have 2 way communication.” “Have a local Fayre to advertise what you can provide for us.” “Provide a Roadshow – come to us.”

“Free entrance or discounted entrance.” “Subsidising bus costs in exchange for free advertising on our website and newsletters. Think how many people we are in contact with. School websites gain a lot of traffic and good publicity for places. We could keep the communications ongoing and advertise for places if/when they have special events taking place.” “Teacher days – teachers visit for free and there is someone for us to talk to when we are there. “It would be better if places sought us out rather than the other way around.”

“It would be great if museums and art galleries loaned collections to local buildings, so that a community could access them, including the school of course!” “Think of as many curriculum areas as possible that we can cover when we come to you or when you come to us. For example, even if the main focus of the visit is History based provide links to other curriculum areas. For example, if we are learning about the Victorians and your place is helping the children to experience that ensure that there is an emphasis on Geography (plotting factories on a map of the UK), an emphasis on Science (medical and scientific discoveries of the day), and inbuilt activities and questions which help children to develop their maths and English skills (word problems related to the amount of coal that was produced in the country at the time, etc). Don’t give children the answers, give them opportunities to think.”

“The new curriculum is about depth of learning. Provide for us space to think, questions, give the children time to form their own views. Don’t just give them the answers. For example, in a museum looking at an exhibit and then a placard at the side of it which gives the facts isn’t what is required of children any more. They need questions about the exhibit, use of their own exploration and then an opportunity to find out facts for themselves. Some places now do this with questions and multiple choice. You then look under the plaque to find the correct answer.”

Be part of our Collective Worship

In conclusion the National Curriculum and the RE agreed syllabus are documents which support how we structure the curriculum. They do not prescribe how we deliver it and that leaves us open to explore creatively how we can immerse children in their learning and provide that depth of learning that we would like all children to accomplish. A deeper understanding, an exploration of learning. A love of learning.

Kerrie L Clowes