“The Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership programme gave me an insight into a whole new world – one that I knew I wanted to be part of! It was certainly one of the most instrumental parts of raising my levels of confidence as an RE professional and opening doors for me.” – Saima Saleh.

This programme is designed to help you to find your voice as a leader within the religion and worldviews education community and to help you to shape a leadership community for the future. Through tailored mentoring, structured challenges, research insights and inspirational networking events, we aim to provide opportunities for emerging RE/RVE/RME leaders to take the next step in their careers.

“The two-year Culham St Gabriel leadership programme has been the most invaluable training programme I have participated in in my teaching career. It has given me unparalleled bespoke mentoring from leading practitioners in Religious Education that has enabled me to make a notable impact and champion significant changes on a local and national level.” – Lorna John.

If you teach pupils from ages 4-18, lead RE/RME/RVE and are already working across a MAT, local area, region or in a national capacity, then this is the programme for you! The programme is focused on leadership of RE regionally and nationally, not on leading RE within a school.

We welcome applicants from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mentorship

“I found it really fruitful to have a mentor who could share from their own experiences in RE leadership and how current developments in our subject sit alongside the history of the subject.” – Joe Kinnaird.

At the beginning of the programme, you’ll be allocated a mentor who you will meet with regularly. Mentors are drawn from across the community and are carefully matched to the needs of our participants. You will receive 12 hours of one-to-one support from your mentor for each year that you participate in the programme.

Community of practice & research reading group

“The reading, the discussion, the networking and creating great friendships all helped clarify my ideas about the place of RE in school (and the wider world) and enabled me to have a far bigger scope than just RE in my classroom and at school.” – Matt Pitcher

“You are provided with opportunities to network, develop as a RE lead and become an insightful classroom practitioner. Being a part of the leadership programme means becoming part of a community where others help you to explore, excite and excel.” – Nadia Nadeem

Community is key to your journey as a leader. Through collaboration, shared experiences and diverse perspectives, you’ll gain the support and insight needed to grow into a more effective and inclusive leader.

Participants in this programme will come together to form a Community of Practice, connecting you with like-minded professionals, providing the network and resources to help you to thrive. Being a part of our Community of Practice involves taking part in four virtual meetings per year (which typically take place as twilights) and contributing to discussion in a WhatsApp group.

You will also be expected to take part in a virtual research reading group, which will take place over one term in Year 1, and over two terms in Year 2. Again, these sessions will be as twilights or evenings.

When you apply for the programme, you’ll be doing so with the intention to committing to two years, but you will be able to leave after the first year if you make the decision to do so. You may also decide to defer a year or apply for a doctoral or masters programme.

What is expected of me in Year 1?

• Complete actions against bespoke development plan
• Complete Culham St Gabriel’s short course on curriculum
• Complete Culham St Gabriel’s short course on research
• Complete one other Culham St Gabriel’s short course of own choosing
• Blog about one of the four areas of leadership (curriculum, pedagogy, policy, research) for RE:ONLINE or another website such as NATRE/STARME
• Share new knowledge with a least two different professional groups e.g. a local network, SACRE, AREIAC group, conference
• Attend at least one SACRE, RE Council or other meeting which is policy related
• Join in with the WhatsApp group to help colleagues and deepen learning opportunities
• Participate in at least 75% at community of practice sessions and reading group sessions
• Report to Culham St Gabriel’s about the impact of the programme on your leadership development.

What is expected of me in Year 2?

• Complete actions against bespoke development plan
• Shadow your mentor (or other national leader) for a day and work with them
• Complete a small-scale action research project
• Present at a national conference on your research or other new learning
• Write for a national publication or journal e.g. RE Today, Professional Reflection, Chartered College Impact magazine
• Join in with the WhatsApp group to help colleagues and deepen learning opportunities
• Participate in at least 75% at community of practice sessions and reading group sessions
• Report to Culham St Gabriel’s about the impact of the programme on your leadership development.

“The leadership programme introduced me to a whole new world of RE beyond my school and trust. I was encouraged to join my local SACRE and eventually to put myself forward for the NATRE national executive. I was supported to read and engage with academic research through the reading groups and to think about the ‘bigger picture’ of national RE policy. It encouraged me to find my voice as a passionate advocate for high-quality RE for all and I’ve made some amazing friends along the way. I’m now doing a job I love, focusing on supporting others in the subject I love.” – Katie Gooch