More learner webinars to support GCSE and A-level Religious Studies!

Learners and teachers in Wrexham now have access to another set of pre-recorded webinar material, led by Dr Greg Barker and provided by the St Giles’ Centre.

In this latest suite of learner resources, the focus is on:

  • GCSE Religious Studies Unit 2 (Part 1 – general issues, part a questions and key terms, sources of wisdom and part b questions. Part 2 – Influence of religion and part c questions. Evaluative d questions);
  • AS-level content and AO1 / AO2 exercises (Otto’s Concept of the Numinous, Stirner’s Ethical Egoism);
  • A2 content and AO1 / AO2 exercises (Ayer’s Criticisms of Religious Language, Finnis’s Views of Natural Law);
  • AS / A2 AO1 and AO2 assessment qualities overview.

All these materials are in response to the live teacher webinars hosted by the St Giles’ Centre in February 2021 and are available until 30 September 2021.

Find out more about our learner webinars series here.

Hate Hurts Wales Campaign

The Welsh Government has recently launched a social media campaign against hate crime called ‘Hate Hurts Wales’.

The campaign material includes five very short video clips portraying hate crime relating to:

• Religion
• Race
• Sexual orientation
• Disability
• Transgender

There is also a British Sign Language general video clip.

Teachers and schools may find some of this material helpful as a stimulus for aspects of religious education such as prejudice and discrimination, for example.

You can access the campaign materials here.

Learner webinars for GCSE Religious Studies (Unit 1)

News for teachers in Wrexham! Over two hours of pre-recorded webinar material is now available for GCSE learners. Led by Dr Greg Barker and provided by the St Giles’ Centre, the Religious Studies webinars focus on skills and content relevant to Unit 1.

  • Part 1 (approx. 1 hour) can be used in two parts and includes: (1) general revision issues, part (a) questions and the importance of key terms for all questions; (2) sources of wisdom and part (b) questions.
  • Part 2 (approx. 1 hour) can also be used in two parts and includes: (1) influence of religion, part (c) questions; (2) Evaluative (d) questions and revision insights.

Unit 2 webinar material for learners in Wrexham will be available very soon. Both the Unit 1 and Units 2 resources can be accessed until 30 September 2021. The learner webinars complement the teachers’ professional learning webinar for GCSE that was delivered at the beginning of February this year.

The St Giles’ Centre hopes that these webinars will be helpful to both teachers and learners during this very challenging time.

Deadline approaches for Qualifications Wales consultation

The deadline for submitting your response to the Qualifications Wales consultation is 5pm, 9 April 2021. In this blog item, we revisit the main purpose of the consultation and raise some important questions to think about.

Purpose of the consultation

The consultation forms part of a process to ensure that GCSE qualifications in Wales are fit for purpose within the new Curriculum for Wales context.

This guides the three consultation questions, which are:

  1. How far do you agree or disagree with our proposals to review and reform GCSEs in Business, Geography, History and Religious Studies?
  2. How far do you agree or disagree with our proposal to create a new GCSE in Social Studies, if feasible?
  3. How far do you agree or disagree with our proposal to create a new integrated GCSE in Humanities, if feasible?

In responding to these questions, you may find helpful a Qualification Wales webinar recording which raises some of the considerations here.

Some questions to think about

You might also find some of the following questions helpful when considering your responses:

  • Is a review of the current Religious Studies (RS) GCSE required?
  • Would a new name/title for the new RS qualification be appropriate?
  • Is a short-course version of the new RS qualification important/necessary?
  • How will the requirements of the agreed syllabus for RVE be met by this new qualification?
  • How will the requirements of different local approaches i.e. denominational syllabi be met by this new qualification?
  • What might be the unintended consequences of a new social studies GCSE (including the impact on the new RS qualification and the impact on mandatory RVE at KS4)?
  • What might be the unintended consequences of a new Humanities GCSE (including the impact on the new RS qualification and the impact on mandatory RVE at KS4)?

If you want to talk to us about your views and/or want to offer any information to support your local authority’s response (Wrexham), please contact us by 8 April 2021.

Here is the documentation and consultation link.

Religion and non-religious world views in intercultural education seminar

The European Forum of Teachers of RE (EFTRE) is inviting people working in the field of religious education to a free Zoom seminar on ‘dealing with religion and non-religious world views in intercultural education’, which is being held on Friday, 19 March 2021 from 3pm to 7pm.

This is part of the major European ‘Signposts’ project. The original Signposts (edited by Robert Jackson) is a Council of Europe publication focusing on how the study of religions and non-religious world views can contribute to intercultural education in schools in Europe. It provides advice on tackling issues arising from the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)12 on the dimension of religions and non-religious convictions within intercultural education.

Since its publication, a teacher training module has been developed which builds on the key elements of the publication in a practical and engaging way and this seminar opportunity offers an introduction to that module.

Both the Signposts publication and the teacher training module can be downloaded from the ‘What’s happening in Europe?’ section of our ‘Curriculum matters’ webpage.

If any teachers in Wrexham are interested in attending this event, please contact us for the Zoom details. Please note: the Zoom venue can only accommodate a maximum of 100 participants, so priority will be given to the first 100 people who log in.

Bill ‘made in Wales for Wales’: Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill approved by Senedd

Last night the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill was approved by the Senedd with 32 votes in favour, 18 votes against, and one abstention.

You can watch here the presentation of the Bill to the Senedd by the Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, and other Members of the Senedd speaking for and against the Bill – Laura Jones, Siân Gwenllian, Lynne Neagle and Gareth Bennett. (The relevant section in the recording is 4hrs 53mins – 5hrs 19mins.)

Read our previous blog news reports, which have documented the progress of this Bill through the Senedd and its implications for Religion, values and ethics (RVE) as well as schools of a religious character.

Stage 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill

The progress of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill through the Senedd will reach an important milestone on 9 March 2021 when it is due to be passed in Plenary at Stage 4. You can watch this live on Senedd TV by following this link (The plenary starts at 13.30pm but the Stage 4 debate of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill is scheduled for the last 15 minutes prior to voting, which will be later afternoon / early evening – check the meeting papers for timings.)

Stage 3 of the Bill concluded on 2 March with the Senedd’s consideration and disposal of amendments. There were no surprises for Religion values and ethics (RVE) as the expected amendments were agreed. Additional amendments proposed by Darren Millar concerning the right to withdraw from RVE and the responsibility for costs incurred by the provision of two RVE syllabuses in voluntary aided schools with a religious character were not accepted.

Listen to the debate to hear the conversation about RVE by following this link (for a short relevant clip view: 5 hrs 41 mins – 6 hrs 8 mins).

You can also read the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill, as amended at Stage 3 by following this link. (Relevant sections include p. 27 for RVE in post compulsory education in maintained schools; pp. 42-44 for the main schedule 1 on RVE and pages 45-60 for schedule 2 relating to minor and consequential amendments and repeals in relation to RVE.)

Welsh Challenging Religious Issues returns

For a few years now, the bilingual journal Challenging Religious Issues has been available in the English language only. The St Giles’ Centre recognises the importance of making available high-quality Welsh-medium resources to support Welsh-speaking learners and teachers in the Wrexham area.

To make this possible, the St Giles’ Centre has now taken responsibility for the publication of the Welsh language version of this unique AS/A-level journal. We hope that this Wrexham initiative will also benefit others around Wales.

Visit our 16+ resources page to get free access to the latest journal issue in Welsh and also to read the English version of the journal.

Articles in the latest issue include:

  • Family Trees: Who Is Baby Jesus?
  • Religion Goes Viral: Faith and Belief in a Pandemic
  • Stephen Hawking and a Universe without God?
  • Does the Genetic Basis of Life on Earth make Life after Death an Impossibility?
  • On Buddhism and Violence
  • Some Trends in Ecotheology

Explore six different churches and chapels in Wales with Aled and Siân

The St Giles’ Centre is pleased to see a revised 2nd edition (online) of Exploring Christian Special Places available on Hwb.

In the bilingual Foundation Phase series, Aled and Siân explore six very different churches and chapels in Wales and learn about the Christian year, Christian life, and Christian service. The series includes a story book, pictures, and a teachers’ handbook for each title:

  • Baptism Service
  • The Big Chapel
  • Easter Family Service
  • Harvest Thanksgiving
  • Christmas Crib Service
  • Wedding Service

Originally published in 2003, Exploring Christian Special Places was the beginning of the Welsh Government sponsored Aled and Siân series. The St Giles’ Centre has been part of the development of two later Aled and Siân series also for the Foundation Phase – Exploring Why (2016) and Exploring Our World (2016). In Exploring Why and Exploring Our World, Aled and Siân explore the world around them with their friends from a variety of faith traditions in Wales, including Hindu, Jewish, Muslim as well as Christian. This month, with the publication of Exploring Christian Special Places, all the Aled and Siân resources are now available for free online.

Links:
Exploring Christian Special Places
Exploring Why
Exploring Our World

A new integrated GCSE in Humanities a possibility for Wales

The curriculum in Wales is changing which means that qualifications will need to change too in order to ensure they are fit for purpose.

From now until 9 April, Qualifications Wales is consulting on:

  • the GCSE subjects that should be available in the future;
  • the other made-for-Wales qualifications that should also be available.

The consultation is now live on the Qualifications Wales website and the proposals for the future range of GCSEs to be offered, including religious studies and others in the Humanities AoLE, can be accessed here:

Qualifications Wales / Qualified for the future – have your say

Section 3 of the consultation covers the Humanities proposals (starting on page 22) in which religious studies is placed.

Proposals at a glance

To shape the range of qualifications for Humanities, Qualifications Wales proposes to:

  1. Review and reform GCSEs in Business, Geography, History and Religious Studies.
  2. If feasible, create a new GCSE in Social Studies.
  3. If feasible, create a new integrated GCSE in Humanities.

The St Giles’ Centre encourages both you and your learners to have a say in this important consultation so that as many responses as possible are received by Qualifications Wales, in order to inform decision making on this crucial aspect of education, which directly impacts religious studies.

If you have any questions regarding this consultation or wish to discuss elements of the Humanities proposals with staff at the St Giles’ Centre, please get in touch.

English (UK)
English (UK) Cymraeg