One of the recurring topics of conversation within the RE Council is the
“RE community”. There has been some lively and constructive debate
recently about whether a homogeneous community actually exists but we
all seem to agree on one point: that all of us with an interest in
ensuring that children receive high quality religious education need to
act together. This edition of the newsletter details several
opportunities for us to do just that, with news of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on RE, the St Gabriel’s weekend for RE teachers and
the RE Council AGM – a unique occasion in the RE calendar and a great
chance for representatives of member bodies to enrich their
understanding of each other’s organisations and unite behind common
goals.
Whilst these continue to be challenging times for all of us in the RE
community, there are numerous signs that interest in the subject continues to
be strong across many different sections of society. The recent Religion and
Society Debate on Faith in Schools, for instance, encapsulated some important
questions about the future of RE and demonstrated the determination of a wide
variety of people to keep it on the public and political agenda; student
teachers, in particular, seemed to be in no mood to let their subject disappear
from the radar.
This edition of the newsletter, too, offers evidence that
there is a great deal happening in the way of discussion and constructive
thinking about the future. People from across different faiths, beliefs and
disciplines are coming together to share their views and ideas about the way
forward for RE and there is a real sense of urgency and common purpose. Last Friday
and Saturday, REC officers met with a representative each from RE professional
associations - NATRE, AULRE, NASACRE, AREIAC and the Shap Working Party, to
share ideas, concerns and approaches to the future of RE. Some areas were
easier to agree on than others, but overall it was a very positive, interesting
and fruitful weekend.
REC NEWS The REC is moving forward with its Strategic Plan, to be implemented by five committees, one each on Curriculum, Assessment and Qualifications, Public Relations, Professional Development, Resources and Governance. Details of committee membership and terms of reference will be on the website at www.religiouseducationcouncil.org during the first week in February. Through the CAQ committee, the REC has just appointed John and Linda Rudge to carry out a scoping exercise for a review of RE to run alongside the government's review of the National Curriculum. The PR committee is about to commission a YouGov survey on attitudes to RE to inform its campaigning and is also close to setting up an All Party Parliamentary Group on RE to bring together MPs and peers from all backgrounds who have an interest in supporting the subject. Other important developments are highlighted elsewhere in the newsletter, including the RE Quality Mark and the report on the REsilience phase 2 pilots (see below).
The Council has appointed a Communications Officer to bring
professional expertise and experience to the campaign to improve public
awareness and understanding of RE.
Tracey Gurr will take up her post on 1st January 2012 and will be
working with the Board and the PR Committee with a particular remit to improve
understanding of the value of RE amongst head teachers, governors and school
providers and also to strengthen relationships across the RE community through
better communication. Amongst other things, she will take on the production of
this newsletter.
The REC's Chair from 1st September is John Keast OBE. John is taking the helm at a time of considerable change for RE and for education generally and his breadth of experience and expertise will be invaluable. His first priority will be the implementation of the REC's Strategy Plan - for details see www.religiouseducationcouncil.org
After many years of service, Brian Gates will step down from
his role as Chair of the RE Council at the end of August. He has dedicated himself tirelessly to the task
of increasing public understanding of RE, especially amongst politicians,
of improving the teaching of RE by highlighting the need for comprehensive and
high quality training for all involved with the subject, and of building
relations with faith and belief groups to ensure their support for our
subject. All who have worked with Brian
over the years will wish him well in his academic and other enterprises in the
future and will be grateful to him for his unstinting commitment to achieving
wider recognition of RE's value.
The new Chair will be John Keast
OBE. John's experience and vision will be particularly welcome at this testing
time for RE and the REC and its member organisations look forward to working
with him.
At the REC's AGM in May, the REC's new Chair was elected unopposed. John Keast will take over as Chair from 1st September when Brian Gates steps
down at the end of August. Members expressed their tremendous gratitude to Brian for his untiring
and selfless commitment
to RE during some very challenging times.
He was presented with an album full of statements of appreciation by
many organisations and individuals who had worked with him over the years.
Brian will be very hard to replace, but members felt that if anybody was
capable of following adequately in his footsteps, John Keast was that person,
and those present were very pleased that he was willing to take on the arduous
role of Chair.
Celebrating
RE month saw a wealth of activities all over England and Wales, starting
with high profile launch events in London and Cardiff. The value of RE was
celebrated in schools and colleges, faith and belief community venues,
libraries, galleries and museums and involved children and young people but
also teachers and trainees, SACRE members, parents and many others with an
interest in RE.The website gives access
to the April newsletter with information about some of these but the
comprehensive Legacy Album will be available online from early May and will
illustrate the richness and range of what has been achieved – see www.celebratingre.org
Welcome to this issue of the REC
newsletter. If you have information about projects, conferences, reports
or developments you'd like included in the next one please email it to me by 21st March. It should be in the format of a heading, two or three sentences
giving the basics and a website or email address where readers can obtain
fuller details.
Best wishes,
Sarah Smalley, Executive Support Officer, RE Council of England and
Wales
Welcome to this issue of the REC newsletter. If you have
information about projects, conferences, reports or developments you'd like
included in the next one please email it to me by 21st November. It should be in the format of a heading, two or three sentences
giving the basics and a website or email address where readers can obtain
fuller details.
Best wishes,
Sarah Smalley,
Executive Support Officer, RE Council of England and Wales
The RE Council is a non-governmental organisation which relies on donations and grants from other organisations and individuals. You can donate money by sending a cheque to our office, or by securely transferring money via PayPal to info@recouncil.org.uk.
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