RE Council Newsletter December 2010

CELEBRATING RE

Thirty seven events for the month long Celebration of RE across England and Wales in March 2011 are already listed on the online calendar and other plans are described in the monthly newsletter, for which anyone can sign up via the website at www.celebratingre.org  . There are new website articles this month on Celebrating RE 16 - 19, Celebrating RE with initial teacher trainees, Celebrating RE  with other schools, and Fundraising for your Celebrating RE events. Celebrating RE gives a major opportunity for all involved in schools, SACREs, local authorities, dioceses and faith, belief and professional organisations to help to raise public awareness and understanding about the value of RE - the website gives a wealth of ideas on how to plan for this.

 RE-SILIENCE

 The REsilience project, designed to build secondary teachers' confidence to handle contentious issues in RE,  is now been given rolled out to schools across England and Wales. Feedback from schools which took part in the pilot scheme has been very positive.  Schools are invited to register interest in taking part by signing up on the website at www.re-silience.org.uk  Those interested in following the development of the project can also sign up for the newsletter via the website.

INTER FAITH WEEK REPORTING

Inter Faith Week in England has just drawn to a close. The Week was a big success, with a large number of events taking place throughout the country. If you know of any schools that chose to mark the Week in some way, whether through special focus RE classes or in some other way, we would be very grateful if you would encourage them to get in touch through the website at http://www.interfaithweek.org/index.php/events/your-school-event   

JAINPEDIA

In November, JAINpedia celebrated Diwali at the Victoria and Albert Museum with a range of events and activities attracting almost 5000 visitors between the different activities. Thereafter, at the official launch of the exhibition and website, His Royal Highness Prince Charles visited the display and website. The JAINpedia exhibition at the Nehru Gallery, in the Victoria and Albert Museum is on-going until December 2012 and a display at the John Ritblat Gallery in the British Library has also just opened until April 2011. For further information on the project please see www.jainpedia.org or contact us at

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT

A conference on ‘Education in a Post-Secular Society' will take place at Canterbury Christ Church University on Saturday January 29th. See http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/conferences-events/home.aspx.

TRANSFORMING LIVES PROJECT

The Transforming Lives Project has recently published a report in partnership with the Christian Think Tank Theos called ‘Doing God in Education'. Written by REC Treasurer Professor Trevor Cooling, this provocative pamphlet argues for the positive contribution that people of religious faith can make to public education. Copies are available from The Stapleford Centre ( ).

HINDU ACADEMY

In the last couple of weeks the Hindu Academy has been actively promoting the idea of reconciling science with religion at many venues including:  Clarendon Laboratory Oxford University; King's college London; Shire Hall Cambridge; University of East Anglia. Some of these sessions were arranged by science societies, some by faith groups. The last session at Cambridge was arranged by East of England Faith Forum. The presentations were received warmly by most of the participants.

CITIZENSHIP, IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE

An interactive CD-Rom with Teachers' Pack including supporting worksheets for Key Stage 2-3.  This flexible new resource explores different strands of religious and non-religious traditions in British society today, and has been produced in response to requests from RE teachers for materials enabling discussion of citizenship and identity.  Regional workshops to introduce the materials are being planned; contact Fiona Hulbert at the Council of Christians and Jews for details:

CHALLENGING RE CONFERENCE

Challenging RE is an exciting conference opportunity from NATRE for all teachers of RE - primary, secondary and special. It takes place in York on 7 and 8 May 2011, and costs £100. Further details are available from www.retoday.org.uk/courses.

CLIMATE WEEK

Climate Week, on 21-27 March 2011, is a national occasion that offers an annual renewal of our ambition and confidence to combat climate change. It is for everyone wanting to do their bit to protect our planet and create a secure future.  Thousands of organisations will run events and activities highlighting solutions. They will use the power of real, practical examples to encourage thousands more to act during the rest of the year.  The REC will be supporting Climate Week by making links through Celebrating RE Month.  For further information on all aspects of Climate Week, see the website at www.climateweek.com

THE BEST OF BRITISH ISLAM: SISTERS IN FAITH

A screening of this film followed by discussion will take place at the Rio Cinema, Kingsland High Road, Dalston on 7^th December from 10.30 - 12 midday (free of charge). The key message of the documentary is to celebrate the positive relationship between Islam and Britain, looking at some of the 800,000 Muslim women living in Britain today and showing the diversity in their lives and experiences and the ways they interpret their beliefs. The film covers a number of themes relevant to KS 3 and 4 RE, including ideas about integration, identities, diversity within Islam, hijab wearing and living as a Muslim in the UK.  Secondary age classes and their teachers welcome; please fill in the attached Booking Form and email to

INSTED CONSULTANCY

Insted has recently updated ITS website to include a wide selection of resources on equalities in education that you may find useful.  They are available free of charge to download and include, for example, a model policy on Equalities, ways of dealing with prejudice related bullying and many other topics.   See the website http://www.insted.co.uk/equalities.html for further information.