Inaugural BHA Religious Education Teachers’ Conference held in London

17 July, 2014

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Religious Education (RE) subject specialists, including practising RE teachers, headteachers, local authority advisors, and members of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs) gathered in central London yesterday for the British Humanist Association (BHA)’s inaugural Religious Education Teachers’ Conference. The event, which was geared towards improving teachers’ confidence in including Humanism in RE lessons, brought close to 100 teachers to the historic venue of Conway Hall in central London.

In the first half of the day, attendees heard a welcome address from Conway Hall Ethical Society CEO Jim Walsh, who spoke about the history of the building they were in, with listeners also learning about the history of Humanism and the role of non-religious ethical societies and the humanist movement in many of the social advances of the 19th and 20th centuries. Following this, humanist philosopher Dr Stephen Law set out what exactly Humanism was and wasn’t, and cleared up popular misconceptions about Humanism and its relationship with speciesism and scientism.

Dr Mark Chater, director of Culham St Gabriel’s, a Christian charity which pursues excellence in RE, was the next speaker. His talk focused on the current settlement for RE in law and how this has had a direct impact on the experience of teachers in the classroom. He also offered a retrospective on the four-year term of Michael Gove, who served as Secretary of State for Education until earlier this week, and argued for radical reform of the law on RE in school. Looking at Ofsted statistics which showed that more than half of RE lessons were ‘less than good’, he argued for RE to be included in the National Curriculum, in line with the recommendations in the Religious Education Council of England and Wales’ A Review of Religious Education in England, as this would offer consistency for teachers and pupils across local authorities and ensure that RE is included in national initiatives.

Practising RE teacher Maxine Beech spoke about her research into including Humanism in RE, and flagged up conflicts between the non-statutory national framework for RE lessons provided by the RE Council for England and Wales and the varying and in many cases narrower syllabi in place throughout the country as determined by SACREs. Reflecting on statistics about belief and identity in modern Britain, she made a powerful case for the need to support non-religious pupils in being confident about their own beliefs and their own sense of moral values by adequately planning for including humanist perspectives in RE. First showing guests the 2011 census data which estimated that a quarter of the country was not affiliated to any religion, as well the British Social Attitudes Survey which showed slightly more than half were non-religious, she then drilled down to her own classroom, where three quarters of students said they identified either as atheists or agnostics. She spoke affectingly about how including Humanism in her lessons enlivened pupils who had been disaffected and not engaged by RE, and stimulated them to engage critically with the beliefs of others, as well as with topics such as symbolism, meaning, ritual, and community.

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Sara discusses ‘spiritual, moral, social and cultural development’ with RE teachers

After lunch, the gathered teachers and subject specialists were then divided into seven groups which travelled the corridors and stairwells of Conway Hall for a carousel of roundtable sessions. Maxine Beech’s session covered developing resources for schools, while humanist SACRE representative and school volunteer Dermot Bolton discussed the bespoke BHA-run Humanism for Schools humanist schools volunteer programme. For her session, BHA Head of Education and Promotion Sara Passmore delved into just what is meant by ‘spiritual, moral, social and cultural development’ as it appears in statutory guidance for RE teachers, including the various associations and possible meanings of the word ‘spiritual’. Additionally, BHA Head of Ceremonies Isabel Russo and Education Campaigner Richy Thompson held an ‘Ask any questions’ session, enlightening attendees about the BHA’s work, RE nationally, and the beliefs and values of humanists living in Britain. Siobhán Anderson of 3FF also presented on fostering classroom dialogue which is inclusive of non-religious perspectives, and Ealing Local Authority RE Advisor Nora Leonard discussed planning for Humanism in lessons.

The conference, which was made possible thanks to generous backing from Zelda Bailey and the Conway Hall Ethical Society, achieved its objectives, with a majority of attendees reporting through feedback forms that the conference filled them with the confidence to begin incorporating Humanism and non-religious perspectives on moral and ethical issues in RE lessons.

Notes

See the Humanism for Schools website for easy-to-use resources for including Humanism in RE lessons, as well as helpful videos, and information concerning how to request a humanist volunteer for your school: humanismforschools.org.uk

The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.