Muslim Council of Britain Charitable Foundation
Grant Awarded 2019-20 £9,700
Visiting a Mosque: RE Teacher Resources
Culham St Gabriel’s partly-funded a pilot project by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) to produce resources to support and empower Religious Education (RE) Teachers in organising school visits to places of worship such as mosques.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, where in-person visits for pupils to places of worship were paused, resources for virtual tours were also explored to prepare teachers and pupils ahead of a real “in-person” visit to a place of worship.
How can I access the resources?
The resources produced can freely accessed on: www.visitmymosque.org/for-re-teachers, including:
- Teachers Introduction
- Guide to Organising a School Visit to a Mosque and Template Activity Sheets
- List of Mosques Offering School Tours
- Bespoke “360 degree virtual mosque tours” for a diverse range of 6 mosques in the UK, plus Teacher’s Guide
- Recorded video tours of a diverse range of further 6 mosques in the UK, plus Teacher’s Guide
Why visit Places of Worship?
The Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) (Religion and Worldviews: The Way Forward, September 2018) highlighted the importance of including lived experience in RE such as through visiting places of worship, stating “It is our view that learning about a worldview without reference to the lived experience of adherents, and where possible direct encounter with them is insufficient for effective learning in Religion and Worldviews.”
In addition, a YouGov survey commissioned by the Muslim Council of Britain in 2018 found that 70% of Britons hadn’t seen the inside of another faith’s place of worship. This indicates that visits to a mosque will for many pupils be a first and unique experience both for themselves, as well as their parents who teachers will be asking to complete a consent form ahead of their child’s visit.
What about other faith communities?
As part of the pilot project, a “Project Delivery Guide” was produced summarising the learnings from the production of these resources with the objective of supporting members of other minority faith communities in the UK to deliver similar projects for their places of worship.
For further information and resources, please visit www.visitmymosque.org or email visitmymosque@mcb.org.uk