A key event on the 15th September was the launch of the REsilience Advisory Group(AG).  This group, chaired by Brian Gates, includes members from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives, all of whom have interests in the areas of RE, citizenship and community cohesion.

The meeting included a presentation by Hermione Gough (DCSF) who reinforced the DCSF’s commitment to the project and explored some of the complex issues around the Preventing Violent Extremism agenda.  Geoffrey Penzer (Project Manager) spoke about the progress being made and possible ways that the AG could be a key source of advice and a conduit of information about the project to the groups each represents.  

Current project activities are focused on:
•    Completing the survey of existing materials of potential value for CPD and preparing an interim report for DCSF.
•    Developing a self evaluation questionnaire (SEQ), to be completed either by an individual teacher or by a school, designed to assess the current level of confidence to address controversial issues in RE lessons.
•    Contacting  a small number of school RE departments to trial the SEQ and review resources and materials.
•    Drafting the first components of the planned CPD, the aim being to develop  a flexible programme  which will benefit any teacher, whatever their current knowledge and skills.
•    Establishing REsilience’s web presence and exploring the networking and virtual classroom environments that might be used.

Wendy Harrison
Project Officer