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Welcome to this latest edition of RE NEWS.

In this edition you will find essential information about the latest thinking on

assessment in RE

RE NEWS Spring 2017 EDITION

Assessment and

National Updates

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Contents

RE Conference: Encountering Faith in the RE Classroom .............. 3

Understanding Christianity ............................................................. 4

RE Network Meetings ..................................................................... 5

Assessment in RE: New Developments .......................................... 6

What’s new about the New Statement of Entitlement? ................ 7

Church of England Vision for Education ......................................... 8

The National Picture ....................................................................... 9

Exploring Christianity and the Bible .............................................. 11

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RE Conference: Encountering Faith in the RE Classroom

How do you engage children with religion as it is lived in this country, in all its many and varied forms?

How do you bring other faith experiences into your classroom in a meaningful and appropriate way?

17th March 9.30-3.30 Oxford Belfry Hotel, Milton Common, Thame, OX9 2JW Schools in Diocesan SLA: £125 + VAT Schools not in Diocesan SLA: £150 + VAT Recent national reports have emphasised the gap between traditional text book RE and actual religious faith, calling for a less stereotyped version of religion to be explored in schools. This one day RE conference, featuring national RE leaders, will explore these issues, focusing on the way religion is lived in the world around us. The keynote and discussion groups will explore activities and resources to facilitate genuine faith encounters in the classroom and in places of worship and raise religious literacy. Everyone will have the opportunity to attend each of the workshops, as well as the Keynote.

The Main Discussion/Workshops:

1. Promoting Religious Literacy though effective Religious Education Exploring how an enquiry based approach to religious education can support the development of religious literacy amongst children and young people and how a balanced curriculum for RE can ensure depth and breadth of understanding of religion and belief. Examples of practical teaching and learning activities to promote religious literacy will also be shared.

2. Big Questions and their relevance for spiritual development How important it is for children to explore big religious questions. What it is we gain by developing the skills to explore such questions. How we may by engaging with questions which are fundamental to our existence we become less likely to be subject to what others tell us and become more autonomous individuals able to think for ourselves.

3. The Power of Personal Testimony Encountering people of faith is important in the RE classroom to help pupils understand that RE reflects real people, their beliefs and lives. Explore ways to get the most out of encounters with those of other faiths. Think about ways in which ‘encounter’ can successfully happen in your RE classroom above and beyond inviting in visitors.

4. Crossing the Bridges

This will explore how to make the most of visits to a places of worship taking account of appropriate, purposeful learning intentions relevant to different age groups of children. It will work with a resource developed by advisers, teachers and SACRE members across Berkshire demonstrating its flexibility and its value in facilitating communication between schools and those who host visits.

This conference is for all teachers who wish to engage with the latest thinking in religious education and who

want to ensure that their classrooms are places where genuine encounters with faith and belief can take

place safely.

To book this training course, please contact Donna Finlay via E mail

training@oxford.anglican.org or 01865 208272

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Understanding Christianity

Supported by the Church of England Education Office and produced in conjunction

with RE Today, Understanding Christianity is the new resource to enable schools

to teach about Christianity in a coherent and informed fashion. Taking the

strapline “Text, Impact, Connections” the resource uses biblical material to

underpin enquiry into the practice and beliefs of Christianity.

Training Dates for 2017 (Cohort 1)

Group 1: 5th May 9 – 4; 22nd September 9 – 4; 17th November 9 – 12

Group 2: 23rd June 9 – 4; 29th September 9 – 4; 23rd November 2 – 5

Group 3: 3rd July 9 – 4; 3rd November 9 – 4; 1st December 9 – 12

The same person from each school should attend all the three dates. Full

access to the Understanding Christianity website and materials will only

be available to those who complete the course

Venue: Church House Oxford, Langford Locks, Kidlington, OX5 1GF

Funding from The Bayne Benefaction and the support of ODBE means

that this first cohort (Max 100 schools) will receive this training for

£30 instead of £235 – a saving of £205!

Schools in the SLA only – full price for other schools

More details are available on the Diocesan website:

http://www.oxford.anglican.org/schools/religious-education-

new/courses-and-training/

Venue: Church House Oxford, Langford Locks, Kidlington, OX5 1GF

To book this training course, please contact Donna Finlay via E mail training@oxford.anglican.org or 01865 208272

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RE Network Meetings The focus at each of these meetings will be on the latest developments in RE, resources, assessment and

we would particularly like people to share examples of good practice. These meetings are for you so if you

have ideas or requests for a particular topic, please let me Anne Andrews know and we will endeavour to

tackle all your requests. Please make sure that you book in plenty of time for the sessions you wish to

attend

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes: Meetings from 3.45pm-5.15pm Please book with: anne.andrews@oxford.anglican.org

Hazlemere School, Amersham Road, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, HP15 7PZ

Wednesday 18th January

Topic: Diversity within Christianity Weston Turville School, School Approach, Main Street, Weston Turville, HP22 5RW

Monday 6th February

Topic: Diversity within Christianity St Mary & St Giles CE Junior School, King George Crescent, Stony Stratford, MK11 1EF

Thursday 9th March Topic: Age-related expectation work sampling. Please bring work to share

Oxfordshire: Please book with: anne.andrews@oxford.anglican.org Meetings are from 3.45-5.15 St John the Evangelist CE Primary School, Bluebell Way, Carterton, Oxfordshire, OX18 1JF

Thursday 2nd February

Benson CE Primary School, Oxford Road, Benson, Oxfordshire, OX10 6LX

Tuesday 31st January

Church House Oxford, Langford Locks, Kidlington, OX5 1GF

Wednesday 25th January

Deddington CE Primary School, Earls Lane, Deddington, Nr Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX15 0TJ

Wednesday 8th February

Topic for all of the above: Diversity within Christianity

Berkshire * Please Book Through the Appropriate LA * - from 4.15pm-5.30pm Bracknell Forest – Easthampstead Park Education Centre, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 3DB

Spring: Wednesday 22nd February

RBWM: Trevelyan Middle School, Wood Close, Windsor, SL4 3LL (4.00pm – 5.30pm)

Spring: Tuesday 24th January

Topic for both these meetings: Open forum Discussion on the Locally Agreed Syllabus in preparation for the summer term syllabus review. Come and have your say!

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Assessment in RE: New Developments

The SIAMS schedule looks for schools to address the following issues regarding achievement in RE:

a. the standards attained by learners at the end of each key stage

b. the progress for individuals and groups of learners, considering their starting points

c. how well gaps in performance are narrowing for different groups of learners (where information is

available)

d. to what extent pupil achievement in RE is equal to or better than comparable subjects

Since the removal of the familiar eight level grid for assessing RE, it has been a real challenge to show the

evidence for these issues. There are many projects underway at the moment to help with assessment in RE

and previous issues of this newsletter have looked at two of them: Learn, Teach, Lead RE (www.ltlre.org) and

the Salisbury Diocese project ( http://www.salisbury.anglican.org/resources-library/schools1/re-

support/assessment). Both these projects have taken very different directions: one has used Blooms Revised

Taxonomy as a way of demonstrating progress within a unit; the other has focused on the core or expected

learning covered in a unit.

Within the Diocese, schools in the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust have worked together with the Diocesan

adviser to produce some end of year expectations. The draft document is included in this newsletter. The

areas to be assessed were broken into three, correlating loosely with Blooms revised taxonomy and the

assessment scheme in the new Understanding Christianity project. It focuses on “Knowing it” – looking at

the stories, texts and beliefs of a faith; “Living it” – focusing on the practice within religions and the impact

on believers; “Linking it” – reflecting on the implications for others and the differences and similarities

between faiths. The statements suggest certain expected areas of knowledge to be covered at particular

ages, while at the same time allowing schools and teachers to adapt the statements to their own scheme of

work.

With the emphasis on pupils achieving at the expected level, a common question has been around what

expected looks like in RE, and late last year a discussion document has been uploaded to RE online:

http://www.reonline.org.uk/news/new-guidance-assessment-in-re/

This document is in two parts: the first is a discussion about the purpose and principles of assessment in RE,

establishing definitions of the most commonly used language around assessment. It establishes the purposes

for assessment clearly as showing: firstly, how well the pupils are doing, then what they need to do next to

make progress and how effective the curriculum and teaching are.

The definitions of attainment, achievement, expectations and progression are useful too. There is agreement

that progression in RE is largely a matter of curriculum design, something that the Diocesan scheme of work

for RE incorporates, as do the RE Today teaching materials.

It focuses on three primary aims of RE: knowledge and understanding of a wide range of religions and world

views; the ability to express insights into the significance and impact of religions and world views and the

gaining of skills that enable pupils to engage seriously with religions and world views. It compares this to the

Assessment Objectives of the new RE GCSE:

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of religion and beliefs including:

• beliefs, practices and sources of authority

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• influence on individuals, communities and societies

• similarities and differences within and/or between religions and beliefs.

AO2: Analyse and evaluate aspects of religion and belief, including their significance and influence

The remainder of the first document compares and contrasts assessment based largely on knowledge, with

that based largely on skills and encourages schools to have that debate to determine which model best fits

for their context.

The second document offers more practical advice and contains a useful list of religion specific concepts,

useful in planning for progression. It gives an analysis of Big Questions and enquiry RE and then sets out

some benchmark standards for pupils at seven, nine, eleven, fourteen and sixteen which are generic rather

than syllabus or pedagogy based and the suggestion is that these will be used as a basis for planning and

creating more specific end of Phase expectations that link to particular content.

A careful reader, familiar with the old eight level scale of attainment will notice that there is a certain

commonality between them.

Among the many interesting “coincidences” the new Understanding Christianity project is taking three areas

of study entitled “Text, Impact, Connections” which while not exactly the same, mirror the areas in AO1 of

the GCSE and the three aims of RE (knowledge, impact and skills!)

Spend a bit of time with other members of your staff, looking through the suggested expectations. How well

do they match with what you are teaching? How would they help you with your planning? Will this help you

to know if your pupils are achieving at the expected level?

If any secondary school RE teachers would like to work on the year nine to eleven sections, following the

same pattern and send in their suggestions it would be much appreciated. Send your ideas to

anne.andrews@oxford.anglican.org

What’s new about the New Statement of Entitlement?

In June 2016, the Church of England Education Office issued a new statement of Entitlement for Religious

Education. The new statement, which has been widely shared within the Diocese at RE Subject leader

meetings, Heads’ meetings and via email. This article will draw attention to some of the key differences

between the two documents.

The new statement contains a much longer introduction, setting out more clearly the context in which this

document is placed. There is an increased emphasis on religious and theological literacy, picking up on some

of the latest national reports. It makes it much clearer that the statement applies to all types of Church of

England school – VA, VC, Academy and Free Schools. It thus reinforces the statutory nature of RE in all

schools and raises the expectations for high profile, high quality, enquiry based RE across the board. A direct

link is made between this document and the SIAMS inspection framework and recent inspections have

already been made with the expectations of this statement in mind.

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The call is for an RE curriculum that is rooted in the teaching of Christianity and the person and work of

Jesus, while also setting out the vision of a rich and varied Religious Education which should enable children

to know and understand about Christianity and other major world religions. Note that it now talks about

what pupils should know, not what they should learn. In general, the new statement requires a much more

engaged response from pupils: the key verbs are “know”, “show” and “engage” and look forward to pupils

being informed and respectful towards religions and world views.

The section on teaching and learning give much more specific guidance on what the curriculum should be

like (at least in general terms) and makes suggestions about pedagogy and theological enquiry. The

curriculum balance is still heavily weighted towards Christianity (two thirds of the programme of study) but

at Key Stage Five the requirement is now for “continuing study of religion and world views within the

provision of core RE”, rather than a continuing study of Christianity. RE must now have no less than five

percent of dedicated curriculum time; ten percent is viewed as the goal and the clarification is added that

this is in addition to Collective Worship. The expectation remains that pupil outcomes should be at least

equal to their attainment in comparable subjects, and that all pupils should take a qualification at Key Stage

Four.

Section six also raises the expectation of greater development of staff expertise and includes a reference to

the role of governors in this respect. Schools are encouraged to come to a common understanding of the

purpose and role of RE within church schools. Although not mentioned in the statement, the Church of

England has recently published a “Church of England Vision for Education – Deeply Christian, Serving the

Common Good” (May 2016). This document establishes vision, values and aspiration for education in Church

of England schools and this in turn influences the Statement of Entitlement.

The final sections (eight and nine) focus on the kind of support that is expected from all levels of the RE

world, particularly the Boards of Education, the clergy, SACRE and the Church of England Education Office.

Head teachers, governing bodies and teachers of RE need to be familiar with this statement, which can be

found in full on the Diocesan website: http://www.oxford.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/EIG-

REW-statement-of-entitlement-to-re-in-ce-schools-3.pdf

The Church of England Vision for Education can be found here: http://www.oxford.anglican.org/wp-

content/uploads/2016/12/gs_2039_-_church_of_england_vision_for_education-1.pdf

If you have not already done so, a staff meeting and or governing body meeting looking at these two

documents would be worthwhile.

If you have any comments on either document, Anne Andrews would love to receive your feedback to pass

on to the Education Office.

Here is the Executive summary from the Vision Document to give you a flavour of the content:

Church of England Vision for Education

Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good

Executive Summary

This is a fresh articulation of the Church of England’s vision for education as we launch the Foundation for

Educational Leadership in order to meet the challenges and take the opportunities offered by the present

situation. The Foundation will support educational leaders in church and other schools by networking,

sharing good understanding and practice, training, advocacy, and conducting research.

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The vision is deeply Christian, with the promise by Jesus of ‘life in all its fullness’ at its heart. In Church

schools the foundation for this vision will be seen explicitly in the teaching and learning both in RE and

across the curriculum, and also in worship and ethos. In other schools, which are not rooted in an explicit

Christian ethos, our vision for education can still be expressed and promoted as a vision of human flourishing

that can inspire what the school is and does.

Our vision embraces the spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, moral, ecological and social development

of children and young people. We offer a vision of human flourishing for all, one that embraces excellence

and academic rigour, but sets them in a wider framework. This is worked out theologically and educationally

through four basic elements: wisdom, knowledge and skills; hope and aspiration; community and living well

together; dignity and respect.

The vision, in line with the Church of England’s role as the established Church, is for the common good of the

whole human community and its environment, whether national, regional or local. It is hospitable to

diversity, respects freedom of religion and belief, and encourages others to contribute from the depths of

their own traditions and understandings. It invites collaboration, alliances, negotiation of differences, and

the forming of new settlements in order to serve the flourishing of a healthily plural society and democracy,

together with a healthily plural educational system. Inspired by this vision we are initiating the Foundation

for Educational Leadership as a Christian contribution to education for the good of our whole society.

© Church of England 2016 Page 3

The National Picture The All Party Parliamentary Group for RE has produced a document about religious

Literacy. It makes some bold claims about RE: School based RE must be a credible,

engaging and academically challenging subject in its own right (Foreword p1). Section 3

in the report is dedicated to Religious Education in schools and so this is undoubtedly

the most important part for teachers to read.

The report acknowledges that there are many positives with in the RE world, such as the

increase in the numbers of teachers being trained in RE, but they also report that in

spite of the recent reports (Realising the Potential – OFSTED 2013 and Making A Difference- Church of

England 2013) there are still many deficiencies in the teaching of RE in schools in England and Wales. They

identify that there is still little agreement about the purpose of RE and the role that it plays in promoting

religious literacy, particularly where much RE is focused on morals, ethics and values education rather than

on learning about religion.

The report raises the concern that many schools are failing to fulfil their statutory requirement to offer RE to

all pupils, particularly at Key Stage Four and that even where provided, insufficient time is dedicated to it.

This means that pupils do not have the opportunity to explore the big issues or gain deep knowledge about a

range of religions as stipulated in most Locally Agreed Syllabuses.

Among the other issues identified was inadequate initial training for teachers, coupled with poor religious

literacy among graduates and lack of CPD opportunities for serving teachers. They raise the issue of the

English Baccalaureate, lack of visits to places of worship, lack of inclusion of religious issues in other parts of

the curriculum and the reduction in the power of Local Authorities as contributory factors in the poor status

of RE and religious literacy.

Consequently, they make ten recommendations which are copied here from pp 23 -4.

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Recommendation 1: The Department for Education should reinforce the statutory requirement of all state-funded schools to provide RE for all pupils, including at Key Stage 4, and should monitor its effective delivery. Recommendation 2: The Department for Education should record and publish data about the proportion of RE classes taught by full-time equivalent RE teachers and the proportion taught by non-specialists. Recommendation 3: The Department for Education should place a high priority on stimulating recruitment of specialists to RE. It should be a vocal champion of the teaching of RE and should take steps to support independent initiatives working to increase recruitment. Recommendation 4: The Department for Education should ensure that all primary ITT programmes contain a suitable proportion of time dedicated to RE. Steps should be taken to ensure that all RE trainees can benefit from high quality subject experts informed by up-to-date pedagogical research. Recommendation 5: The Department for Education should encourage ITT providers to offer a core element of religious literacy training in all secondary teacher training programmes. Recommendation 6: The Department for Education should take steps to ensure that all teachers of RE, especially non-specialists, have access to high quality subject-specific CPD opportunities. Recommendation 7: The Department for Education should encourage the expansion of CPD opportunities for high quality religious literacy training, and should encourage all teachers to take part in them. Recommendation 8: The Department for Education should give renewed consideration to including RE as a Humanities subject in the English Baccalaureate. It should conduct a new review of the impact that the exclusion of RE from the English Baccalaureate has had on the subject. It should also conduct a review of the likely impact on RE provision of the expansion of the English Baccalaureate to 90% of pupils, and set out how it will protect RE from any adverse effects of this. Recommendation 9: The Department for Education should take steps to promote uptake of the GCSE Religious Studies short course. Recommendation 10: All relevant parties should participate in the ongoing discussions about the legal framework for RE in schools and other major issues, including the Department for Education and faith communities. There are other interesting aspects to this report – not least the recognition of the role that the public sector and the media need to play in increasing the religious literacy of the nation, which make it worth reading, if only the recommendation sections at the end. Take some time to discuss the purposes of RE and religious literacy in your staff meetings and governor meetings and send any comments to Anne Andrews to pass on in discussions on SACRE and with NATRE. Interestingly, recently OFSTED have made mention of the lack of provision for RE and deemed the curriculum in one school to be inadequate as a result. There is an article on the NATRE website giving more details:

http://www.natre.org.uk/news/latest-news/concerns-over-non-compliance-in-re/

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Exploring Christianity and the Bible

A professional development day for primary teachers at Christ Church Cathedral in

Oxford

Wednesday March 8th2017

With an exciting line-up of guest speakers, Primary Teachers and Head Teachers will explore how we

might effectively develop children’s understanding of Christian values and belief.

Colleagues will explore ways to explain and teach about the Bible and the life of Jesus. There will be a

chance to find out how we can use places of worship in the curriculum and in character education. We will

also consider the role and place of story, drama and prayer in both learning and worship.

Cost: £60 (incl. lunch in this historic College) 9.30 am- 2.30 pm

For further information: please contact the Cathedral Education Officer

jacqueline.holderness@chch.ox.ac.uk 01865-286003

www.chch.ox.ac.uk/schools

Appendix – ODST Draft Assessment Grid

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Enquiry

Focus

KS1 pupils will be able

to

Lower KS2 pupils will be

able to

Upper KS2 pupils will be

able to

KS3 pupils will be able

to

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8

Knowing it…

Core

knowledge and

understanding

of texts, stories

and key beliefs

Recognise the

core beliefs of

the religion(s)

studied e.g.

creation,

salvation

incarnation;

belief in one

God

(Christianity &

Judaism)

Recall a

variety of

religious

stories used

for different

purposes

Give a simple

account of

some of the

core beliefs

and symbols

of the

religions and

non-religious

world views

studied

Retell a

selection of

key stories,

making links

to the core

beliefs

Identify the

role of some

religious

figures in the

core beliefs

and stories

(Jesus, Moses,

Rama, Sita

etc.)

Identify

different

types of texts

within sacred

writings (laws,

narratives,

prayers,

poems, story)

Describe the

lives of the

most

important

religious

figures and

their place

within the

belief system

Suggest

meaning for

the various

kinds of

writing found

within sacred

texts

Identify and

describe the

role of sacred

texts in

establishing

belief systems

and

influencing

religious

leaders

Use technical

& religious

language to

identify the

different

writings

within sacred

texts

Recognise the

role of

inspiration in

the creation

of sacred texts

and the lives

of leaders

Explain the

connections

between

sacred texts

and beliefs

using

theological

terms

Explain the

relationship

between the

key concepts

studied across

a range of

religions and

non-religious

world views

Show whether

the key

concepts lead

to a coherent

faith narrative

and if so how

Suggest

meanings for

the concepts

making

reference to

key texts and

beliefs

Explain the

difference in

emphasis of

the different

types of texts

and their

relative

influence

Appendix – ODST Draft Assessment Grid

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Living it…

Practice and participation in faith communities; diversity of beliefs in action personally, locally and globally

Give simple

examples of

how the

stories and

beliefs

influence the

behaviour of

believers, with

reference to

the local area

Identify some

elements of

practice that

arise from

these beliefs

Give examples

of the

festivals/ritual

s that link to

key beliefs

(e.g.

Christmas,

Easter,

Passover,

Sukkot)

Give examples

of how beliefs

are linked to

worship and

prayer

Identify the

key practices

of a faith and

some of the

differences

between

denomination

or sect

Describe how

beliefs

influence

worship and

guide lifestyle

choices

Make links

between the

texts studied

and the

practice of

faith in the

community

and family

Describe the

beliefs that

have the

greatest

impact on

practice,

particularly in

relationship to

beliefs about

God

Make clear

links between

the texts and

concepts

studied and

common

practice

across

denomination

Describe the

actions of

believers in

their

communities,

locally and

globally that

demonstrate

commitment

Show how

believers put

their beliefs

into practice

in different

ways (e.g.

different

denomination

and sect)

particularly in

questions

about life and

death

Show how

inspiration

might play a

part in how

believers

interpret the

texts

Show how

religious ideas

help believers

to make moral

decisions

about a range

of issues

Show how the

interpretation

of religious

texts can vary

and lead to

different

practices and

beliefs

Explain why

different

believers

apply texts

differently

Give reasons

for the impact

that that has

on individuals,

the

community

and the wider

world

Appendix – ODST Draft Assessment Grid

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Linking it…

Comparing and

contrasting,

evaluating and

appraising and

making

connections to

their own and

others’ lives

Talk about their own

experiences in the light of the

religious knowledge gained

Express their own opinions

appropriately

Talk about the differences that

beliefs make to the way

believers live

Make simple comparisons to

their own lives

Ask questions about the beliefs

and practices of others

Raise questions and suggest

answers about the way that the

key beliefs studied influence

the attitudes and values of

wider society, especially in the

local area

Make links between the

teachings of religious figures

and current leaders

Suggest how the stories and

teachings studied might make a

difference to the way the pupils

think and behave

Identify the key ideas from the

faiths studied that believers

may find helpful or inspiring in

guiding them to live a good life

Weigh up the impact that

believers’ actions have on their

communities, locally and

globally and comment on how

positive this may be

Compare religious and non-

religious responses to the big

questions of life

Give coherent accounts of the

implications of the religious

ideas explored on the modern

world.

Evaluate how far these beliefs

help to make sense of the

world on a personal and an

impersonal level

Explain the challenges religious

ideas may present to the world

and how believers answer such

challenges.

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Thank you so much for reading RE News Spring 2017 edition. I hope you enjoyed it

and found it a useful tool.

Any comments or suggestions for inclusion in future editions; any other questions or

queries on RE, please email anne.andrews@oxford.anglican.org

Anne Andrews (RE Adviser)

Oxford Diocesan Board of Education Church House Oxford Langford Locks Kidlington OX5 1GF Tel: 01865 208238 Mob: 07884 655097