Southwark SACRE Newsletter for RE Coordinators

Southwark Award for RE

This year’s theme is Living in Harmony. Schools are encouraged to submit pupils’ RE work on this theme. The work can be in the format that is chosen by teachers and pupils: written, visual art, drama … so you may find yourselves getting creative!

The closing date will be 10^th June 2021 and judging will take place on 17^th June 2021.

Please send any electronic entries to julia@retoday.org.uk . If entries cannot be sent electronically, please contact Julia at the same email address so that suitable arrangements can be made.

Farmington Scholarships

Farmington Scholarships provide exceptionally good CPD for RE. They allow teachers to study any aspect of RE that they wish. A Farmington scholarship covers the cost of tuition, essential local travel and, by negotiation with the school, the salary of a replacement teacher up to point 6 of the main pay scale.

The Scholarships are divided into two types: university-based and school/home-based. Teachers who live within a reasonable distance of one of the selected universities or colleges may be awarded a university-based Scholarship. The academic facilities of the colleges and universities are available for Scholars.

Scholarships for Academic Year 2021-2022 are now open to

UK secondary and primary school teachers 

Teachers of RE to children with Special Educational           

NeedsHead teachers

The closing date for applications is 31^st January 2021.

Find out more here.

Annual RE Conference for Teachers

At tonight’s meeting, I also mentioned Strictly RE – NATRE’s annual conference. This year, there is more choice than ever and can be attended from the comfort of your own home. The conference will have 4 keynotes and teachers can choose from a wide range of seminars attend in order to gain CPD in RE. Strictly RE @home will take place during the weekend of 30^th and 31^st January, with additional twilight webinars running in the fortnight leading up to the conference itself. For more information, please follow this link:

https://www.natre.org.uk/courses-events/strictlyRE-2021/

Complaint about lack of RE in a school

The minister for schools; Nick Gibb MP has repeatedly suggested that people concerned about the level and quality of provision for RE to use the statutory school and academy complaints process. NATRE was approached by a parent who was dismayed that discrete lessons in RE were being replaced by a combined life skills style programme and wanted to challenge the school about it. The document below sets out the two-year journey towards the re-establishment on RE at the school.

Read about the complaint How a parental complaint resulted in improved provision for RE at an Academy (natre.org.uk)