News
Review of RE
Posted by: Rosemary, 24 July 2012
The Religious Education Council’s initiative to review RE is well underway and a substantial amount of work will be undertaken during August and September.
The REC has appointed Dr Janet Orchard as Project Manager.
A four-person ‘expert panel has been appointed to consider the current strengths and weaknesses of RE, following a Scoping report which identified four foci of concern: aims; curriculum; exemplification of good practice; assessment and qualifications. The panel will produce a report by the end of October 2012.
The members of the expert panel are:
Dr Bill Gent,Chair (editor of REsource, NATRE’s professional journal; former RE Adviser in Redbridge)
Lat Blaylock (RE Today senior adviser, editor of REtoday magazine)
Dr Karen Walshe (Secondary PGCE Programme Director; RE Course Leader, University of Exeter)
Prof Julian Stern (Dean Faculty of Education and Theology, University of York St John)
During August the panel will be meeting with a series of ‘expert witnesses’, including primary and secondary teachers of RE. Two members of the NATRE Executive will be giving evidence - Julia Diamond Conway (Primary AST RE, Newbury Park Prinmary School, London Borough of Redbridge) and Deborah Weston (Director of Community Cohesion, Mulberry School, Tower Hamlets). Julia and Deborah take with them their own experience of teaching RE and also the views of teachers across the country through their work with NATRE.
RE Today and NATRE have full confidence in the expert panel and look forward to its report in due course.
