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Bringing teachers and researchers together

We are launching an initial research seminar series this Summer 2020, with a view to continuing them in the future.

This first initial series will each take place 3-4.15pm.

This timing will be reviewed once schools reopen.

 

Tuesday 19^th May: Religious Literacy

Your hosts: Kathryn Wright and Kate Christopher

The research being discussed: Religious Literacy: A way forward for religious education?

The researchers in conversation will be: Dr Pat Hannam and Dr Sean Whittle

The research can be found here

Register here

 

Wednesday 17^th June: Teachers and Texts

Your hosts: Ben Wood (NATRE) and Matt Vince (TRS-UK)

The research being discussed: Opening the door to hermeneutical RE

The researcher in conversation will be: Dr Robert Bowie

The research can be found here and here

A quick read: A summary is available through www.researchforre.reonline.org.uk

Register here

 

Thursday 16^th July: Theme TBC

Please check back for more details nearer the time.

For more information about any of these seminars please email enquiries@cstg.org.uk

 

 

 

We are delighted to announce that AULRE and Culham St Gabriel’s Trust are hosting the following event:

A Religion and Worldviews Research Seminar: Teachers’ engagement in and with research

Date and Time: Thursday 14^th May 2-4pm

***Thursday 14th May ‘sold out’ in a couple of hours.***

***An additional date of Friday 15th May 2-4pm has been added***

Registration: The event is free. Please register for Friday 15th May through Eventbrite here. Once you have registered you will be sent the joining details for the virtual seminar a few days before the event. Presentations will also be sent to participants before/after the event.

Registration closes on 12^th May.

Seminar Outline: 

2pm: Setting the context: Culham St Gabriel’s vision and mission

Kathryn Wright, CEO, CSTG

2.15pm The Culham St Gabriel’s Research 7 Projects: An Update

Kevin O’Grady, Lead Consultant for Research, CSTG

2.30pm: Teachers and Texts in the RE Classroom

Robert Bowie, Director, National Institute of Christian Education Research

Chaired by Stephen McKinney (AULRE)

3pm: Emergent Technologies and RE

Paul Hopkins, Lecturer, University of Hull

Chaired by Sean Whittle (AULRE)

3.30pm: Plenary Discussion: Engaging teachers in and with research

Chaired by Kathryn Wright (CSTG)

For more information please email enquires@cstg.org.uk

 

Following on from my previous blog about empowering collaboration, I thought it appropriate to focus on how we can keep connected and support one another at this difficult and challenging time. The word ‘connect ‘comes from the Latin conectere, to join together and in the 19^th Century was particularly applied to establishing relationships.

At Culham St Gabriel’s, part of our mission is to support and empower teachers and leaders, as well as establishing and building networks and partnerships. Relationships and connectivity lie at the heart of who we are and what we do.

We have put together some resources and ideas to help teachers and leaders of RE through our RE:ONLINE website. You can find these here  There are being updated regularly over the coming few weeks. If you have any ideas about what you would like to us to provide, please get in touch.

We are working hard to maintain and build relationships during this time. We are exploring ways of bringing teachers of RE together virtually to help each other, utilising our virtual meeting platforms and social media. I’d encourage you to sign up to our RE:ONLINE newsletter as we will be increasing our issues over the next few months. You can sign up here

We are keen to promote and share free resources and support available from all our strategic partners. We are therefore delighted to share these free resources from RE Today/NATRE: https://www.natre.org.uk/about-natre/free-resources-for-you-and-your-pupils/

As a team we are all working from home and are still here to help you. If you would like to contact us we suggest emailing enquries@cstg.org.uk and we will arrange a call with you.

 

Culham St Gabriel’s Trust welcomes the announcement of Dr Richard Kueh as the new Ofsted Subject Lead for Religious Education. Richard is well-known to the Trust through his work on curriculum ( https://www.cstg.org.uk/programmes/research-for-re/) and as a keynote speaker and workshop leader at national conferences for RE over the last few years. Culham St Gabriel’s looks forward to working with Richard in his new role to continue to promote excellence in the study of religion and worldviews.

Many of you will know Culham St Gabriel’s through its programmes such as RE:ONLINE, the Teach:RE Courses, Email a Believer and ResearchforRE. However, I wonder if you have ever thought about applying for a grant? We have recently changed our grant giving approach to focus more on seed corn funding and supporting groups of teachers who wish to collaborate on a small-scale project, as well as giving large-scale grants. https://www.cstg.org.uk/grant-giving/grants/

The Trust aims to empower you. Through both our programmes and grant making we promote approaches which enable and facilitate teachers and educationalists to grow in confidence and bring about change in classrooms and beyond. We are particularly keen to support collaborative working. Could you bring a group of teachers together to work on an innovative project through a local group or hub? Could you connect with a university department to focus on a specific piece of subject knowledge research and apply it to your curriculum?

Some of our recent grant awards have exemplified this collaborative approach. For example, the University of Cambridge plans to bring researchers and teachers together to create resources for GCSE Religious Studies, whilst the Diocese of Bristol and South Gloucestershire Local Authority are working together to provide peer to peer support for teachers of RE. You can find out more about recent grant awards here https://www.cstg.org.uk/grant-giving/grants/grants-awarded/

Some teachers and educationalists I have spoken to are hesitant to apply for a grant as they have never done it before. In my career, I have sat on both ‘sides’ of the process. In my previous roles I fairly regularly applied for grants, so I know what it is like to be an applicant! I now have the privilege of being able to support those who apply. I can talk you through the process, the forms that need to be completed and provide advice. Please do get in touch, I’d be delighted to have a conversation.

Our next grant application deadline for small-scale and large-scale grants is Tuesday 28^th April 2020.

It was a delight to attend and give the keynote at NATRE’s Strictly RE Conference on Saturday. I enjoyed talking about the various jewels in our treasure boxes – our own worldviews, our pupils’ worldviews, our context, the intent of our school curriculum, our subject of religion and worldviews, and our curriculum content. I talked about falling in love with our subject all over again! If you are interested, you can find a link to my keynote at the end of this blog.

It was wonderful to be with so many dedicated teachers and other RE professionals all sharing their love for our great subject. The enthusiasm of so many teachers to develop their expertise and subject knowledge was evident throughout the day, and it was a pleasure to chat with so many. A few stand-out conversations for me included…. One with a Primary teacher who was so thrilled to be undertaking action research in her classroom with the University of Huddersfield, a Secondary PGCE student who wanted to immerse herself in the RE community from the beginning of her career, a secondary teacher who was now leading RE across a large MAT of over 30 primary and secondary schools, and a University tutor who is passionate about teachers undertaking their own research through Masters study.

Something I noticed this year was teachers’ desire to engage more with and in research i.e. finding out about and applying research and/or doing their own research. The presentations by Emma Raven (MSc), Anne Moseley (PhD) and Jennifer Juniper (Action research) highlighted this. We have recently published an introduction to Theologies of Reading which I spoke about in my keynote https://www.reonline.org.uk/resources/theologies-of-reading-new-perspectives-on-pupil-engagement-with-texts-an-introduction/ and some examples of application of this by Jennifer which she used in her seminar https://www.reonline.org.uk/teaching-resources/theologies-of-reading/

We are also delighted to be partnering with all the main RE Organisations and with Templeton World Charity Foundation to host a conference on Saturday 3^rd October which will bring together researchers and teachers in an exchange of knowledge and expertise. The booking for RExChange 2020 is now open https://www.cstg.org.uk/programmes/rexchange/

We look forward to continuing to resource and reimagine RE by opening up our treasure boxes together.

Download a pdf of the keynote below:

Looking back….

At the start of a new year it is good to reflect on things, to review and evaluate. I’ve now been in post as CEO of Culham St Gabriel’s for eight months. It seems to have flown by! I love my job! In those eight months I have met and worked with some amazing people who are passionate about the study of religion and worldviews. I’ve met teachers who want to see the subject valued and taught well in their schools. I’ve debated and discussed with advisers who spend time and energy supporting quality curriculum and pedagogical choices. I’ve attended meetings of various stakeholders who want to see the importance of the study of religion and worldviews promoted not only in schools, but more generally in public life. I’ve enjoyed getting to know other funders and exploring new ways of engaging with our grantees. The last eight months have been rewarding and fulfilling.

Looking forward…

Culham St Gabriel’s began a strategic review at the end of 2019 and will complete this ready for a new strategic plan to begin in September this year. It is evident that not only is society changing but also the lived reality of religion and worldviews is fluid. The world of education is changing too. These contextual factors are important for everyone, but particularly for a Trust like ours. Over this coming year we will be reviewing our programmes (Teach:RE, RE:ONLINE, Leadership Pilot and Research) and grants, as well as our work with stakeholders and funders in order to ensure they are fully aligned with our new strategy.

We look forward to working with you all in 2020.

I recently attended a seminar where Andrew Copson (Chief Executive of Humanist UK) and Michael Reiss (Professor of Science Education at University College London) were ‘in conversation’ about ‘meaning’. The topic was fascinating. They talked about different understandings of meaning and meaningful. They even asked, ‘How does a giraffe find meaning? Or perhaps what is a meaningful life for a giraffe?! However, what interested me even more than the topic, was the format. The format of holding a conversation.

The etymology of the word conversation comes from the Latin conversatio which means to live with or keep company with. There is a sense of longevity where conversation takes time. In addition, the Old French word means ‘manner of conducting oneself in the world’ or ‘a way of life’. It shows that conversation is about interacting with others, it is more than presenting a position.

Conversation is about exchange; an exchange of ideas and knowledge. Conversation necessities listening and learning from the other person. Andrew and Michael honoured one another, they responded and truly exchanged ideas rather than just waiting for the other person to finish. The conversation was not about winning an argument, it was about understanding, becoming more informed. There is a sense of vulnerability when holding a conversation, particularly in front of others.  You can’t prepare much beforehand; you have to be willing to respond to the unexpected. In conversation you step into the unknown, it requires courage. This is very powerful.

Another occasion this week where conversation was utilised was at a seminar for funders of religious education. At this event grantees and funders took part in facilitated conversations to show why projects had been funded and the impact they had. Grantees and funders openly talked about the value of joint funding, the challenges and successes of particular projects and what they had learnt. Conversation facilitates sharing, relationship building and connectivity. It seems to me that we need more conversation, particularly in the RE community. Conversations about how we can work together better; how we can support each other. This I believe will lead to collegiality. My PhD thesis talked about creating space, encountering others and listening for wisdom in terms of pedagogic principles for RE, but what if we were to use these principles in the wider RE professional community to underpin conversation? What might that look like?

For some time, I have advocated an understanding of the highly contentious phrase ‘being religiously literate’ as the ability to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews. Thankyou Andrew and Michael for exemplifying this for me. If the study of religion and worldviews led to this kind of conversation in classrooms what a transformative step that would be. Imagine what potential impact there might be on our communities and society.

With thanks to:

Andrew Copson
Michael Reiss
Independent Schools Religious Studies Association 2019 Conference
Horizons Reimagined Funders Seminar 2019

My PhD thesis ‘A Pedagogy of Embrace’ is available here: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/index.html

 

Yesterday I attended the RE Council SRGM in London at the East London Mosque and Muslim Centre. Culham St Gabriel’s are one of RE Council member organisations, and I also sit on the RE Council Board as a Trustee. Firstly, I’d like to express my thanks to our hosts who welcomed us warmly and shared their work so openly with us.

The meeting was particularly encouraging as it shared the different ways in which the Commission on RE recommendations are being taken forward by the Council, but also by individual member organisations. I had the privilege to share the Primary Initial Teacher Training project which Culham St Gabriel’s have funded over the last 12 months. The powerpoint I used can be found below. 

Deborah Weston showcased a range of ways in which the new language of ‘religion and worldviews’ is being used in the RE community. This included special issues of academic and teacher publications, the Culham St Gabriel’s Teach:RE courses and RE:ONLINE, the new Norfolk Agreed Syllabus, the Big Ideas project and revised RE Quality Mark criteria. She reminded us that increased bursaries and subject knowledge enhancement funding had been introduced, and that Ofsted are now beginning to call schools to account in relation to RE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. She talked about positive conversations with ministers about a model curriculum, and the beginnings of a pilot Local Advisory Network project with NASACRE.

The most interesting development for me was the proposed religion and worldviews project for which the Council are currently seeking funding. The project will bring together academics and other stakeholders to consider the concepts of ‘religion’ and ‘worldviews’. The aim is then to develop a shared understanding as a Council about what we mean by religion and worldviews education. To me this is a very important step in shaping the future implementation work, and Culham St Gabriel’s fully support this initiative.

Some people have asked me recently if I think the Commission’s recommendations have been put on the shelf. My answer has been categorically ‘no’. I think the last year has been a time of positive reflection, but clearly there has been much action too! I think the showcasing yesterday provided the evidence to back up my answer! The Commission on RE is alive and well, and if we (the RE Community) are to bring about change, we have to accept that we are in it for the long haul. As Trevor Cooling reminded us, when the last game changer report was published in 1971 it was 17 years later that the law finally changed.

 

For further information see:

https://www.cstg.org.uk/2018/12/the-commission-on-re-and-re-policy-issues/ – Culham St Gabriel’s statement fully endorsing the vision of the Commission on RE.

www.commissiononre.org.uk

https://www.religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/

Last week I spoke at the Learn Teach Lead RE Area 1 conference in Cornwall. It was a delight to meet so many teachers and hear their stories from the classroom. I heard about the challenges of leading RE whilst also being an NQT, the love of subject, the diversity of practice, the creative approaches taken in special education and inevitably some worry about the questions Ofsted will ask. Listening to teachers’ stories is invaluable for us as a Trust. As we enter a strategic review over the coming months, it is essential for us to hear the teacher voice; to learn what is of concern, what challenges they face, but also where they are being successful in shaping really effective study of religion and worldviews.

One of the other highlights for me was Katy Staples’ keynote where she explored the notion of worldviews from a very personal perspective. It was captivating and showed the power of sharing story. It confirmed to me the importance of being open and honest about our own worldviews; acknowledging our own positioning. Katy demonstrated so perfectly what I went on to say in my keynote the following morning. That is, that we bring our prior knowledge, our experience and beliefs to whatever we encounter in life, including the study of religion and worldviews. Hearing others’ stories, learning about the positioning of others is vital. Sharing our own stories also becomes even more important if we are to truly to begin to understand others.

My keynote is available here to download: https://www.ltlre.org/resources/ltlre-conference-area-1-oct-2019/