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A fifth series of NATRE/BJRE Westhill Seminars has been planned for teachers and researchers in RE, thanks to a generous grant from the Westhill Endowment Trust. This enables the series of residential 48-hour seminars to go ahead, each for 25 participants, at the cost of only £120 to delegates.

The seminars are:
1. Knowledge in RE:  what, why and how should pupils know in RE?
            Date: 4 – 6 October 2013, London
            Speakers: Prof Michael Young; Dr Mark Chater; David Hampshire

2. Achievement in RE: what matters and can it be assessed?
              Date: 15 – 17 November 2013 Leicester
              Speakers: Prof Vivienne Baumfield; Dilwyn Hunt; Deborah Weston

3. Effective learning methods for children’s spiritual development for 4 – 11s
              Date: 14 – 16 March 2014, Liverpool
              Speakers: Dr Rebecca Nye; Dr Anna Strhan; Lat Blaylock

What do the Seminars offer?
For teachers and researchers, this is a chance to deepen their engagement with RE by exploring recent research from within and beyond the classroom. Hearing from leading experts in the field and meeting with practitioners from around the country makes for stimulating and challenging discussions, with an emphasis on applying what has been heard.

How do I apply?
Application forms are available below.
Westhill_Seminar_Series_5_Flyer.pdf
W: http://www.retoday.org.uk/courses
E: courses@retoday.org.uk
T: 0121 472 4242

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The Jubilee Centre for Character and Values (School of Education, University of Birmingham) is keen to find out teachers’ views on moral education in British schools and what they think works well in developing young peoples’ character.

Through the ‘Character and Virtue Education in British Schools’ project, the research Centre is exploring if education could focus more on who students are and the person they most want to become, rather than just on exams and tests. The results from the research will inform future educational policy.

Teachers’ responses - especially RE teachers who have a special interest in the area of character, moral development and wellbeing - are essential to helping consider how this kind of education could be possible.

The Centre would like to invite teachers to take part in a short interview, which will last no more than 30 minutes (at a place and time convenient to you). . If possible, they would also like to survey the year 10 students in your school to gauge their moral awareness. This survey should not take more than 30 minutes to complete. All responses will be anonymised and kept completely confidential so that individuals cannot be identified.

If you are interested in taking part in the project and sharing your views and/or those of your students, or would like more information, then please contact Michael Roberts on 0121 414 4851 or at m.p.roberts@bham.ac.uk.

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Science and Religion: Two Paths to Truth? is a one-week summer course from The Faraday Institute. What can the interaction between science and religion tell us about truth and meaning? Does the universe have a purpose? This course provides opportunity to consider these, and many other, questions.

Details of speakers are found in the following course flyer:
Faraday_Course_July_2013.pdf

Dates: 7 - 13 July 2013
Venue: Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge

Bursaries to cover the course fee (including food and accommodation) are available for RE teachers and trainee teachers of RE.

To find out more and to book your place contact www.faraday-institute.org or 01223 741 281

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RE Today and the John Templeton Foundation are pleased to announce the list of winners in the Science and Belief Evaluation Competition, 2013.

The three first prize winners, who will receive £300 each are:
Max Baker, Adam’s Grammar School, Shropshire
Matthew Herbert, Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School
Bede Kelly,  Southend High School for Boys

The ten winners of the £100 runner-up prizes are:
Catherine Tran, King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham
Daniella Read, Ashton Community Science College, Lancashire
Caitlin French, King Edward VI Handsworth School, Birmingham
Tommy Heath, Stradbroke High School, Suffolk
Imogen Gosling, Cheltenham Ladies College
Sarah Strickland, Manchester High School for Girls
Emma Kensett, King’s High School for Girls, Warwick
Rachel Moran, William Farr C of E School, Lincoln
Adam Ruiz, King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon
Hayleigh Todd, Parkside Sports College, Durham

The judging, done by Professor Russell Stannard, used criteria which were part of the competition from the start, and all students who entered essays will receive certificates of commendation. Schools who entered the competition will shortly receive our mailing of certificates and prizes for the winners.

RE Today and Professor Stannard would like to thank all teachers and students for their participation: we were very impressed by the overall quality of the work done in the competition, which shows that considering big issues through RE is alive and well in our schools. We will be reporting the competition’s successes in a feature in September’s RE Today magazine, and in an official report to the John…

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AQA is looking to recruit two senior posts to its A Level Religious Studies team.

Details of the posts are below. If you are interested, please email email examine@aqa.org.uk for an application pack, quoting reference number RS314080 for the Chair of Examiners and RSP314080 for the Principal Examiner.

Closing date: 05/05/2013

Chair of Examiners / Principal Examiner - A-level Religious Studies

We have two vacancies to join our A-level Religious Studies senior examiner team. This is a unique opportunity for a Religious Studies professional with a genuine passion and expertise in this subject to join the UK’s largest awarding body.

The Chair of Examiners will have a strategic role overseeing the product development process and the Principal Examiner is responsible for setting the question paper and mark scheme. The appointments will be effective from late Spring 2013 and can be worked around other professional commitments, such as teaching or lecturing. The work is primarily home based, however, we do ask that you attend around ten meetings throughout the year.

What we are looking for:
The ideal candidate will have subject expertise in Religious Studies and familiarity with the A-level Religious Studies qualification. Your career history will include teaching experience of the subject and external examining experience. Applicants will be confident in leading a team and chairing meetings.  You will possess excellent communication skills and good IT skills.  Training for the role will be provided and further support will be given by the Qualifications Developer…

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