Lyndsey Leech

 

 

I have the immense privilege of being Head of Religious Studies in a new school, which currently has years 7 to 9 and will have it’s first GCSE cohort in September. Whilst it is a Church of England school, the admissions criteria also supports those of other faiths and those in the local area, meaning that it is truly diverse in nature and is a microcosm of Oldham. Religious Studies is a core subject, with all students studying the subject at GCSE and therefore I am fortunate to have the full support of the Senior Leadership team which means we have equitable curriculum time to other subjects and a department full of specialists. The schools commitment to the subject means we also have a whole school culture day and are looking to add a Faith day in the next academic year. The curriculum has been well researched and mapped against all key markers such as the diocesan syllabus. The locally agreed syllabus and the best guidance in the field of Religious Studies. I have joined the school after it achieved the Sacre silver merit award and we are working towards applying for the RE Quality Mark in the future.

I applied for the Leadership Scholarship because, like many people in the RS community I have worked most of my career in schools where RS was not a priority and have had to take on other responsibilities to make my position tenable, diversifying into other subjects such as PSHE and Citizenship. Until moving to the Brian Clarke Academy I have not had the resources or the opportunity to focus solely on Religious Studies  and to put my learning into practice. I am now able to not only improve the RS experience in my own school, but to share that learning with others so that more students have an excellent experience in RS. I am looking forward to mentorship and guidance as I seek to become more involved in the RS community and contribute to improvements across the subject area.

I am passionate about ensuring that all students, regardless of their starting point or background have a high-quality Religious Studies experience which is equitable in rigour, challenge and outcome to other subjects across the curriculum. I want students to see that Religious Studies is academic, relevant and vital to their lives. I love to provide opportunities for students to learn outside of the curriculum and to support them with where their learning might lead to different careers. I love to network, share and celebrate good practise in order to support others in doing the same.