St Giles' Centre

Supporting non-statutory guidance published for Catholic schools in Wales

The St Giles’ Centre welcomes the publication of the document Curriculum for Wales: supporting non-statutory guidance for Catholic schools, which relates to statutory Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE). Also included in the document is guidance on ‘Relationships and Sexuality Education’ (RSE).

The aim of the document is to provide headteachers, governors, staff, parents and clergy ‘additional non-statutory guidance to Catholic schools on using Curriculum for Wales to design a curriculum which reflects their Catholic faith and values. It builds on the Curriculum for Wales guidance, providing contextual support for Catholic schools. It is not intended to duplicate or differ in principle from that guidance.’ (Page 3)

In addition to this development, a new version of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory is currently being written, which will ‘take into account all the statutory requirements for Welsh schools.’ (Page 6)

Within the context of Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE), it is recognised that:
‘We live in a society containing a range of religious and non-religious worldviews and these need to be studied to prepare our young people for life in Wales, the United Kingdom, and the wider world. This learning needs to be underpinned by mutual respect of everyone and tolerance of alternate views. Learning about religions and worldviews other than Catholicism is thus the result of deep respect for the human dignity of the persons that hold these views.’ (Page 6)

You can read the new guidance document in Welsh and English here (scroll down to the bottom of the web page).

Qatar, Football and Human Rights: ‘All Things Considered’ comes to Wrexham

On Thursday 10th November BBC Radio Wales’s award-winning ‘All Things Considered’ faith and ethics series will be recorded in front of a live audience at Wrexham Glyndŵr University. It is to mark the Wal Goch Festival of Football, being celebrated in Wrexham from 11-13 November.

Programme guests include:
Graham Daniels, General Director of Christians in Sport and a Director of Cambridge United Football Club. Jahangir Mohammad, Founder and Director of the Ayaan Institute Ewa Turczanska, Member of the Colwyn Bay Amnesty International group and contributor to the World Cup values statement made earlier this year with the Welsh Centre for International Affairs. Faisal Bode from the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

Many are looking forward to the Football World Cup. It’s the first time that Wales has qualified since 1958, and it’s also the first time the World Cup has been hosted by a Muslim nation, Qatar. However, the games have been shadowed by controversy, with a spotlight shone on the rights and working conditions of the migrant workers involved in building the infrastructure. Paris and other French cities are boycotting the games by not screening them in public spaces. Amnesty International has questioned their record on human rights and LGBT rights. In response, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has said that Qatar has faced unprecedented criticism since winning the bid. Roy Jenkins and guests discuss the issues.

You can listen to this important discussion 13th November on BBC Radio Wales at 9am, or you can find it on BBC Radio Sounds. Students from Coleg Cambria, Wrexham Glyndŵr University, and Bangor University will be in the audience.

Link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001f3cy

Sign up for webinar on the new Religious Studies GCSE proposals

As part of the consultation process, Qualifications Wales are holding an online webinar providing an overview of the new Religious Studies GCSE proposals on 19 October 2022, 16.00 – 17.00.

The event describes the new Religious Studies qualification as encouraging “learners to make sense of – and interpret – the human experience, the natural world, and their own place within it, awakening a sense of awe and wonder and firing the imagination. This qualification will inspire learners to face the future with curiosity and compassion, growing in knowledge, understanding and wisdom, by engaging with different religions, non-religious beliefs, contemporary ethical issues, and philosophical convictions locally, nationally and globally.”

There is still time to join the webinar by registering here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gcse-religious-studies-webinar-qualified-for-the-future-consultation-tickets-429346676467

Church in Wales Religion, Values and Ethics Guidance

The St Giles’ Centre welcomes the recent publication of the Church in Wales Religion, Values and Ethics Guidance.

Referring specifically to Religion, Values and Ethics, the Church in Wales Statement on Education comments that:
“Throughout its history Wales has welcomed people of different faiths and from different cultures, and via its teaching of the subject of religion, values and ethics, the Church in Wales supports an approach which promotes the understanding of and respect for all religions, beliefs and non-religious world views, thus reflecting the diversity that exists in our forward-looking Welsh society.”

The Church in Wales Guidance closely follows the structure of the statutory Welsh Government Religion, Values and Ethics Guidance (published in January 2022), while offering important interpretative notes, additions and example material relevant to Church in Wales schools.

You can read the Welsh and English Church in Wales Guidance here:

Welsh
English

WJEC professional learning programme for 2022/23

The WJEC has just introduced its new professional learning programme for 2022/23. There are over 600 face-to-face or online courses on offer, which will be run by the WJEC’s team of experts across the country.

The St Giles’ Centre will be funding places for Wrexham schools on the Religious Studies GCSE and Religious Studies AS/ A Level courses, to support its local RS practitioners on their professional learning and development journey.

If you are a teacher in Wrexham and you have not yet booked your place on the Religious Studies courses, please get in touch with Libby Jones at libby.jones@wrexham.gov.uk

WJEC GCSE Religious Studies: Assessment and Classroom Practice

Venue: Llandudno
Showing Date: December 14th, 2022
Start time: 09:00
Price (each): 210.00 GBP (Full day course)

Further details on the GCSE Religious Studies course and how to book can be found on the WJEC website here. https://wjec.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873636386

WJEC AS/A Level RS: Pedagogy and resources for new teachers

Venue: Online
Showing Date: October 12th, 2022
Start time: 16:00
Price (each): 100.00 GBP (Webinar)

Further details on the AS/A Level RS course and how to book can be found on the WJEC website here. https://wjec.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873636559

Wrexham Agreed Syllabus now published

The new Wrexham Agreed Syllabus for Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) 2022 is now available, and it was circulated to headteachers in the local authority last week. In the autumn term, the Agreed Syllabus will also be on the Wrexham local authority’s website.

You can read both the Welsh and English versions of the Agreed Syllabus on our Curriculum Matters page.

Exploring worldviews: a stimulus resource for religion, values and ethics in Wales

The St Giles’ Centre has published a new bilingual professional learning resource entitled Exploring worldviews: a stimulus resource for religion, values and ethics in Wales. The resource was launched at a special professional learning session provided by the St Giles’ Centre on 9 June 2022 for secondary practitioners in Wrexham.

The publication of Exploring worldviews: a stimulus resource for religion, values and ethics in Wales is timely. In the Curriculum for Wales, ‘worldviews’ is listed as one of RVE concepts in the RVE statutory guidance on Hwb, and ‘worldviews’ are also mentioned in the Humanities’ AoLE. In addition, Agored Cymru now has a new suite of qualifications called “Exploring Worldviews”, which uses a worldviews approach to provide for statutory RE or RVE for 14 to 16 year old learners. The St Giles’ Centre and Wrexham practitioners have been instrumental in developing these new qualifications.

The professional learning resource is designed to provide the basic knowledge that practitioners in Wales need to start thinking about worldviews within their own teaching and learning contexts. It also aims to stimulate critical engagement and can be used by individuals or by groups. In whatever way it is used, we hope that the resource will offer a helpful starting point for approaching worldviews in Wales, and we also hope that it is easily accessible to all. So, this means that we have taken care with both presentation and language to try to ensure that both specialist and non-specialist practitioners can access the resource easily and creatively. For those who want to read further, there are also live links to further material.

You can access this free resource on our ‘support material’ page.

Trailer for the new Wrexham Agreed Syllabus for Religion, Values and Ethics

At the beginning of June, primary and secondary practitioners in Wrexham local authority were given a preview of the new Wrexham Agreed Syllabus for Religion Values and Ethics. The preview was part of two professional learning sessions held by the St Giles’ Centre that were designed to support schools in preparing for the new curriculum.

The Agreed Syllabus will be officially available on the local authority website towards the end of this term.

Meanwhile, a trailer is available for those who could not attend the sessions. The 6-minute video gives a brief background to the process of creating the Agreed Syllabus, and it can viewed on our ‘Support material’ page.

New website page and resource for the learner voice in RVE

At the St Giles’ Centre we feel that learner voice is a vital aspect of a children’s human rights approach and we would encourage schools and settings to engage as much a possible with their learners with regard to Religion, Values and Ethics, to ensure that their provision is appropriate and that the views of learners have been heard and taken in to account.

To help support schools and settings in this process, the St Giles Centre has added a new website page and resource for the learner voice in RVE. Visit the new page by following this link.

(For related news on the learner voice, read our recent news article: Listening to young people in Wrexham – Senedd yr Ifanc discusses RVE in the Curriculum for Wales.)

Professional learning sessions to launch the Wrexham agreed syllabus for RVE

This summer term, the St Giles’ Centre is offering schools in Wrexham two professional learning sessions to launch the Wrexham agreed syllabus for RVE. The sessions are free and will take place on Microsoft Teams.

The session for PRIMARY schools will be held on Tuesday 7 June 2022, at 4pm – 5.30pm. As part of the agreed syllabus launch, the session will explore cynefin and RVE.

The session for SECONDARY schools will be held on Thursday 9 June 2022, at 4pm – 5.30pm. As part of the agreed syllabus launch, the session will explore worldviews and RVE.

If you would like to book a place for you and your staff, please contact us by Tuesday 24 May. We will need the name and email address of each member of staff so that the invite and resources can be sent directly to those wishing to attend.