1. L ESSON OBSERVATION IN RE Carol Fry

2. W ELCOME ! Sharing of experiences of RE provision for primary trainees Looking at issues surrounding their experience of RE in school Trying to define what we might be looking for in observation of trainees’ RE lessons Draw up a possible subject specific LOF. Ideas will be collated and e-mailed out.

3. E XPERIENCE OF RE IN U NIVERSITY -B ASED T RAINING – ALREADY SURVEYED AMONG PROVIDERS How many hours do BA/BEd trainees get? When does it come within their course? Is there any specialist route? How many hours for PGCEs? Is there any specialist route for them?

4. G ENERAL ISSUES OF LESSON OBSERVATIONS ACROSS SUBJECTS Who observes? How often are formal observations? What is observed (subject focus, whole lessons etc)? formal sequence of subjects to be observed? Are they assessed against the Standards in all stages and in every lesson? Generic or specific forms? Different forms for different year groups? Different approaches for PGCE and BA/BEd? Who completes these forms? Moderation and QA procedures?

5. W HERE DOES RE FIT IN ? What experience do trainees get of observing good RE? Any requirement for their RE teaching to be observed? Briefing of teachers/mentors on the RE expectations for the particular cohort of students? What of classes where the TA is teaching the RE? Do our partnership/placement co-ordinators take account of the needs of any RE specialists? Quality assurance of RE in our partnership schools? What of trainees who may be placed in a faith school where they are unable to teach RE? Is the planning the trainee’s or the school’s? Role of Agreed Syllabus?

6. W HAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR IN ASSESSING AN RE LESSON ? W HERE DO THE S TANDARDS FIT IN ?

7. W HAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR IN ASSESSING AN RE LESSON ? - D OES OFSTED HELP ? Is there sufficient high quality enquiry? Does it promote questioning of important religious concepts and practices? Are pupils engaged in their learning? Is there clarity over purposes of RE? Is there a clear focus on matters of belief and value within the religion being studied? Is there planning for meaningful assessment? Is the trainee’s subject knowledge secure?

8. H OW COULD WE DESIGN A SUBJECT SPECIFIC OBSERVATION FORM ? ( GROUP ACTIVITY )

9. D OES THIS WORK ? http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en- gb/Resources/Item/99348/ks1-2-re-experiential- approaches-to-hinduism#.UlwRO4xwbZ4 (This is not a trainee, but we might want to test our LOF on this!)

10. M OVING FORWARD How can we influence policy in our departments? How can we inform the thinking of our colleagues? How can we influence practice in the schools?