This story is one of a collection of stories from RE Today. Each story is available as a one-page pdf downloadable at the point of sale, free of charge. Each story is accompanied by Key Questions for pupils, or Activities for working with the story in the classroom; main themes covered by each story are identified. THEMES: hope; freedom; standing up for your beliefs; God acting in history

As you read this book you will already have made lots of (hopefully small) decisions about what is right and wrong. Which bin should you place your recycling in? Should use your colleague’s mug in the staffroom as yours is still dirty? Everyone, whatever religion or worldview they hold – even if they choose not to identify themselves in this way – has to regularly decide what the right course of action is. For those who follow a religion or worldview there is guidance to help them make their decisions. Whilst these differ (see p. 33 for an overview), most people would say they follow the ‘golden rule’ (see p. 3 for some examples). For our youngest children we focus on three values: being grateful, compassion and caring for the world, exploring them through a series of teacher-led and continuous-provision activities. A secular story, a story from Islam and a story from Christianity explore whether people can be redeemed after bad behaviour; the good news is that all religions and worldviews think the answer is yes! There is a ‘journey of life’ board game for 7–9s that explores the beliefs of Hindu and Muslim people about right and wrong. Our unit for 7–11s uses body sculpture, thinking about dilemmas and interpreting scriptural texts from Christianity and Judaism to explore how religious people might go about solving different dilemmas. Our oldest pupils explore ideas around prejudice, discrimination, and direct and indirect violence, thinking deeply about situations – including some areas of controversy – regarding religion and belief in today’s world. Finally, there is a handy page looking at different sources of ethical guidance. Please let us know which of these activities you use in your school; we love to see examples of pupil work. Please note that members can now download a digital copy of each unit, allowing you to save it in year group or module files on your school’s internal electronic storage system

This book focuses on what it means to be one of the approximately 280,000 Jewish people in Britain today. We have tried to provide a small insight into the diversity within this community by including information on the attitudes to the Torah held by Orthodox, Reform and secular Jewish people. Many schools study Jewish people, and this book has tried to encompass key Jewish beliefs and ideas on the importance of belief in one God, the Torah, the community and the land. We open with ‘Ready Steady RE’, offering starter ideas encouraging pupils to explore diversity using a variety of sources, including music, food and art. It includes a signpost to other units in our publications that might be of use. The units in this book begin with concrete learning regarding artefacts and their use in Jewish homes, featuring the mezuzah, a charity box and a ketubah (marriage certificate). Being in the community and remembering significant events are incredibly important to many Jewish people, which is one of the reasons that there are multiple festivals celebrated by them. We focus on festivals through two different lenses: a historical lens helps pupils study the ‘foot’ or ‘pilgrimage’ festivals, and for younger pupils we also study the importance of food and its significance in festivals. We see lived religion as we follow how Beth, Evie and Charlie share Shabbat. Finally, we look at the significance of the Torah and how it is treated, with material for 9–11s. The book ends with one of our ever-popular progression grids. Please note that members can now download a digital copy of each unit, allowing you to save it in year-group or module files on your school’s internal electronic storage system. On the NATRE website you can now access many more resources from earlier curriculum publications using your membership log-in. Do let us know which of these activities you use in your school, as we love to see examples of pupil work

Welcome to the third book in our new curriculum series, Big Questions, Big Answers. This book focuses on the environment. The theme of the environment and sustainability is one that many young people are passionate about. This book provides clear, substantive content on what different religious people believe about how the environment should be treated, and uses key texts from several sources of authority. The units and resources focus on Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh worldviews, and for younger children we look at creation stories from indigenous cultures. There is one of our popular double-page pictures to support learning, as well as case studies and a variety of strategies to support pupils’ learning. Our multidisciplinary or, to use Ofsted language, ‘ways of working’ unit for 9–11s reintroduces theology and introduces natural science; more specifically, environmental science and its questions and methods, with our disciplinary experts Dr Simeon Zahl and Dr Alexander Hall. In this unit, pupils study what texts from Christianity, Islam and Sikhi say about the environment, make hypotheses, conduct experiments and apply their learning to a case study around the building of a dam. We continue to expand the digital offerings for our books – do go to the website and look for the many extras. We would love to see examples of pupil work to share with others – do send us some examples. The multidisciplinary section of the book comes with a pupil booklet, and we are keen to hear from teachers about whether this is useful and how we can improve it.

This opening book in the series focuses on Muslims, looking at what being a Muslim really means to some of the approximately 2.8 million Muslims living in Britain today. Our new section ‘Ready Steady RE’ suggests some starters for teaching about Muslims and the religion of Islam. For our youngest children we look at prayer mats and the key celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. The key concept of Ibadah - both worship and any action that is performed with the intention of obeying Allah - is the focus for 9 - 11s. Our final units focus on different aspects of sacred text, including the amazing story of the ‘Birmingham Qur’an’. Discovered in 2013, it is a manuscript of four truly ancient pages of the Qur’an, dating from the earliest decades of the Muslim religion and now given pride of place in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. For 9 - 11s there is a focus on Hadith related to both women and education, and they can also find out about the lives of certain Muslim women. The unit provides a mystery strategy on the life of educational activist Malala Yousafzai. This new series of nine curriculum books, Inspiring RE, was planned by a group of primary RE subject leaders. It is designed to be a series for classroom teachers and subject leaders to help them improve the teaching of RE in their classroom and across the school, and to improve pupils’ subject knowledge as well as their own. The publication aims to be considered, insightful, practical as well as engaging and encouraging.

Welcome to our new curriculum series, Big Questions, Big Answers. It is our vision to provide high-quality, supportive, knowledge-rich, creative teaching and learning resources and strategies for use in the primary classroom. This six-book series will investigate the following subjects: God, worldviews, religion and the environment, worship, how people live and good and evil. As well as the type of material you would normally see in our books, this series has a multidisciplinary section. There are more details of this elsewhere on the page. This has been kindly funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. The concept of God is an essential piece of substantive content to teach in RE. However, even the title of the book brings some ‘big questions’, as for some religious worldviews this is perhaps not appropriate language – as you can see from the title of our section on the Hindu religious tradition. This book aims to increase teacher and pupil subject knowledge, particularly focusing on four worldviews: nonreligious, Christian, Hindu and Muslim. The book provides a series of tried and tested strategies, high-quality images, key vocabulary and valuable information for teachers. This book also focuses on the concept of God through a psychological and a theological lens. We continue to expand the digital offerings for our books. For this series there will be a section of the website where you can download extra materials such as a digital copy of each unit, allowing you to save it in year-group or module files on your school’s system. There will also be short knowledge film clips, clips of our ‘lead investigators’ talking and samples of pupil work. Do let us know which sections of this series you use in your school, and we would love to see examples of pupil work to share with others.

For many years, RE teachers have included non-religious voices within the classroom, not least because many of the students we teach have no particular religious background or affiliation. More recently, the need to see non-religious beliefs as a focus of study has increased. The wider context includes a significant increase of ‘nones’ (those identifying with no religion); the ‘spiritual but not religious’; those signing up as humanists; and those who are indifferent to religion. This book offers ways of examining non-religious beliefs in the classroom. The book reflects on ways in which atheism is delineated by things in which atheists do not believe (see pp. 18–29). While there have probably been sceptical, naturalistic attitudes to religious beliefs throughout history, this ‘negative atheism’ has largely arisen as a reaction against traditional Western theism. However, the book also explores some of the positive ways of living that are embraced by people living ‘post-Christian’ or post-religious lives, such as those who are active humanists (pp. 12–15). The borders between different voices are not clear, however (pp. 2–3 and 4–5). There are religious people who would see themselves as both secular (not wishing to see religious beliefs privileged in the public sphere) and humanist (valuing humanity, reason and making this life count). As research shows, there are many who identify themselves as atheists or non-religious who maintain beliefs that would usually be regarded as religious (e.g. in heaven or the soul). Doctor Lois Lee’s research project (see pp. 6–7) talks about ‘hybrid configurations’, where an individual holds a mixture of materialist, agnostic and religious views. Original source material and contemporary voices are accompanied by thoughtful and creative ways of using the material, in order to enable students to extend their knowledge and understanding and to reflect deeply on their own ideas and responses

It’s always a privilege to look a little more deeply into a tradition. As always, the more you look, the more you realise there is to know. Religious education is a multidisciplinary subject, with scope for looking at social, psychological, philosophical, theological, historical, ethical dimensions (just for starters). To begin to do that with the richness of ‘Sanatan Dharma’ is absorbing but also a huge challenge. To an extent, we are constrained in a brief publication like this: we have to ask what teachers are teaching and how we can help to support that with authentic, accurate, engaging sources and resources. Our emphasis on texts and philosophy, therefore, reflects the current syllabus and examination specification demands teachers face. We do approach these from the perspective of Hindu living and thinking, however. We hear from teenage Hindus from various traditions (pp. 4—7) and from young ISKCON devotees running a café in Cardiff (pp. 18—23). We outline key Hindu texts (pp. 8—9) before going more deeply into two that are important in the lives of many Hindus – the Ramayana (pp. 10—13) and chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita (pp. 14—15). We have included progressively detailed explorations of Hindu philosophy – examining ideas of rita (cosmic order), karma and samsara (pp. 18—23), before connecting these philosophies to two major schools of thought about the nature of God – Advaita and Dvaita Vedanta (pp. 24—29). We then dig a little deeper into this with case studies on Shankara and Ramanuja (pp. 30—31). As always, we look to engage students with a deeper encounter with Hindus and Hindu ideas, and to offer opportunities for them to use this encounter to reflect on their own ways of thinking and being

This is the third in our series applying different disciplines to the content of RE. It examines theology and natural sciences, focusing on the contributions of both of those disciplines to our thinking about the natural world. The resource offers clear accounts of those two disciplines, with Investigator Files written by our experts, Dr Alexander Hall (environmental science, pp. 22–23) and Dr Simeon Zahl (theology – Resource 4.1 online). It provides case studies from four environmental charities, including secular and Sikh examples (pp. 4–7). The book includes eight perspectives on the relationship between humans and nature – voices from atheist Humanist via Buddhist and Pagan to ethical vegan (pp. 8–11 and Resource 3.3 online) The creation account in Genesis has been influential in western thought and we examine it in some detail, offering perspectives from the first to the twenty-first centuries (pp. 16–19), and exploring concepts of dominion and stewardship (pp. 14–15). Practical scenarios on rising sea levels alert students to the work of environmental science (pp. 28–31 and Resource 9.3 online). Students bring their theological learning to bear as they consider the extent that science can guide on what choices to take, once the data is in. Students use nature documentaries to analyse the potentially prophetic role of popular science and scientists (pp. 32–33) The focus on the environment is important, not least because climate change is such a pressing existential crisis, of great concern to students. This resource supports students’ learning about religious attitudes towards and responses to the environment; it offers clarity on how theological and scientific knowledge differ and relate; and it encourages students to reflect on how their own personal worldviews affect their ways of seeing and responding to the natural world.

This story is one of a collection of stories from RE Today. Each story is available as a one-page pdf downloadable at the point of sale, free of charge. Each story is accompanied by Key Questions for pupils, or Activities for working with the story in the classroom; main themes covered by each story are identified. THEMES: everyone matters; everyone is of equal value and worth

This story is one of a collection of stories from RE Today. Each story is available as a one-page pdf downloadable at the point of sale, free of charge. Each story is accompanied by Key Questions for pupils, or Activities for working with the story in the classroom; main themes covered by each story are identified. THEMES: good overcoming evil; Divali

This book is the first in our new series of practical and ready-to-use resources for the secondary RE classroom. Its focus is on providing original source material and contemporary voices, while recognising and identifying diversity of views, controversies and complexity. The series intends to put lively, relevant, authoritative, insightful information about religions and beliefs into the hands of teachers and students, alongside thoughtful and imaginative ways of using the material in the classroom. The title indicates something of the approach: we are examining religion and belief by focusing on Muslims rather than on the religion of Islam. The emphasis is on lived faith and practice, with an eye on requirements for examination RS but not solely driven by them. We include case studies and interviews, use artwork and text, and explore data on Muslim living and believing in today’s world. Of course, we cannot hope to capture the full range of Muslim diversity but we have tried to indicate representative examples of Muslim ways of living, recognising that there are dissenting voices within and outside Islam. In general, we present ways of exploring Muslim insider views rather than outsider descriptions. This doesn’t mean that we don’t encourage students to raise difficult or critical questions; activities enable students to think for themselves, developing their knowledge and understanding as well as their abilities to analyse, appraise and evaluate ideas. Through engaging with and encountering Muslim voices, students can deepen their understanding of the world and reflect on how they make sense of their own place within it. This kind of RE aims to enable personal thinking as well as develop religious literacy

This is the second volume of this series to explore Muslim believing, expressing and living. As with the first volume, we aim to provide authentic, first-hand resources to use in the classroom. Our focus on ‘Muslims’ rather than ‘Islam’ seeks to avoid any essentialising of Muslim belief and practice, allowing for a close examination of particular beliefs (e.g. angels, pp. 12–13) and attitudes (e.g. towards animals, pp. 14–15), and also opening up something of the diversity of Muslim voices (e.g. of teenagers, pp. 8–11; on being Sufi, pp. 6–7; and the vibrant art of Teakster, pp. 32–33). We are aware that certain topics present difficulties for students as they face examination demands. One of these areas is on the relationship between Sunni and Shi’a Islam. In the first book of this series we produced a resource on what is held in common and what is distinctively Sunni and Shi’a. In this book we have opened up the origins of the divide, rooted in the succession to Prophet Muhammad (see pp. 4–5). Each resource page offers some suggestions to get your students thinking. Two longer articles give ideas for more sustained study: examining what goes on at the mosque (for 11–14s, pp. 18–23) and how Muslims practise charity (for 14–16s, pp. 25–29). Through engaging with and encountering Muslim voices, students can deepen their understanding of the world and reflect on how they make sense of their own place within it. This resource aims to enable personal reflection as well as to develop religious literacy

Inspirational people can be named as such because of their actions, the effects they have had on their locality, people or the wider world, or just because of who they are. They are often motivated by beliefs, religious or otherwise. The people featured in this book are many and varied, religious and non-religious, contemporary and from long ago. When studying inspirational people we often look at three categories. We have included people from each of these categories in our book: Religious figures (leaders, messengers or prophets) connected with the origin of the religion, such as Jesus, Guru Nanak and the Prophet Muhammad. A religious leader – past or present, local, national or international, such as a local vicar, the Queen or Rabbi Julia Neuberger. People who put their beliefs into action in the way they live, from small things such as thanking God for sporting talent to letting those beliefs affect the direction their whole life has taken. In this category we have included vignettes of contemporary people such as Jo Cox, Christine Ohuruogu and Malala Yousafzai, and longer units on others such as Dr Hany El Banna, who began the British charity Islamic Aid. The units in this book provide resources for studying people from a range of religions and non-religious worldviews, with substantial teaching suggestions for work in teaching about Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Jewish people. In our new section ‘Ready Steady RE’ we offer some starters for teaching about inspirational people, and vignettes of a variety of people you may want to share with your pupils. At the end of the book we also suggest dos and don’ts when teaching about inspirational people. In putting together this book we have tried hard to show diversity in the people we have featured. Inevitably we have not managed to represent all groups, but it is important to look at the people you are suggesting who some find to be inspirational to ensure that they are not only old, white, male and dead! Please note that members can now download an electronic copy of each unit, allowing you to save it in year group or module files on your school’s internal electronic storage system

This is the third systematic book in this series, and it looks at what being a Christian really means to some of the approximately 33 million self-identified Christians* living in Britain today (59 per cent of Britons) and 2.3 billion Christians** around the world (31 per cent of the global population). The section ‘Ready Steady RE’ suggests an amazing variety of starters, resources and short ideas for teaching about Christians, involving everything from Christian diversity and the Reformation to spirited play. For our youngest children we look at the birth of Jesus and incarnation. The Lord’s Prayer is explored interactively through art, music, discussion and writing using one of our everpopular double-page pictures for 5–7s. The topic of Easter across the globe, focusing on the meaning of celebrations on three continents, provides teaching across the age range, but we come back to the UK to consider how Christians Dorothy, 10, and Jack, 8, decide how to live their lives. They focus on the Beatitudes and we see photos and snippets of their daily lives, looking at things that are important to them, such as prayer; actions that they have taken while looking after their friend; and decisions they have made, and why. For 9–11s we focus on kingdom parables, using strategies to explore three aspects of them: the world behind the stories, their text, and how they affect readers. We finish the book with a page of particular benefit for those at the beginning of their teaching about Christians: dos and don’ts. Please let us know which of these activities you use in your school; we love to see examples of pupil work. Please note that members can now download an electronic copy of each unit, allowing you to save it in year group or module files on your school’s internal electronic storage system

It is always a huge challenge to present a rich and diverse religious tradition in 33 pages. Inevitably much is omitted, and the selection has the potential to distort the reality. Here we have tried to present a broad and balanced picture of Jewish thinking and living, representative although not comprehensive, providing authentic, first-hand resources to use in the classroom. Our focus on Jews rather than Judaism seeks to avoid any essentialising of Jewish belief and practice. It enables us to show something of the diversity of voices within Jewish communities, e.g. the everyday lives of teenagers (pp. 10–13) and festival practice with representatives from Orthodox and Progressive communities (pp. 8–9 and 18–23). We deal with some essential knowledge on branches of Judaism (pp. 4–5), key texts (pp. 6–7) and prayer (pp. 8–9). It is important for students to have opportunities to consider the nuances around issues of controversy. Resources from the Jewish Museum London help teachers to identify how far students are susceptible to the myths and stereotypes around Jews and money (pp. 14–15). Students are helped to approach the political relationship between Israel and Palestine through the efforts by Jewish grandmothers to bring justice at the border wall (pp. 24–29). Our previous publication on Judaism was called Questions: Jewish people. We have considered the use of the term ‘Jew’ in the classroom context and recognise that for some it is a sensitive issue. We have decided to go with the title, Examining Religion and Belief: Jews as an attempt towards reclaiming the term for the classroom. Teachers will need to handle this with awareness and care. We hope that through encountering and engaging with Jewish voices, students can deepen their understanding of the world and reflect on how they make sense of their own place within it. This resource aims to enable personal reflection as well as to develop religious literacy

This book explores living without God, which is what millions of people in Britain do every day. In it we refer to these people as ‘non-religious’. Many of the terms used in this area are slightly awkward as some non-religious people don’t like to be referred to using a term like ‘atheist’, and don’t consider it a word that defines a way of life or worldview. We have given specific examples of practice focusing particularly on Humanists, but also use examples of people who would not categorise themselves as Humanists. The study of non-religious people often differs from the study of religions. It’s a worldview without a holy text or founding figure, with no religious festivals, compulsory rituals, places or objects of worship, prayers, hymns or structures of authority. Teaching about non-religious people means it’s important to look at philosophical questions. Some people take their non-religious views further and identify as Humanists. Many non-religious people consider their beliefs to be ‘lived beliefs’, affecting the way they live their life. The section ‘Ready Steady RE’ suggests starters, and at the end of the book we offer some dos and don’ts for teaching about non-religious worldviews. For our youngest children we look at a baby-welcoming ceremony, using photos, comments and readings from those involved, providing a unique insight into an authentic ceremony. Two stories exploring the non-religious values of rationality, courage and openheartedness form the second focus for 7-andunders. For 7–9s we use the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights to look at four non-religious charities. There are different reasons for not accepting the idea of God, and different levels of commitment to belief and nonbelief. We have provided a scale of belief and nonbelief for 8–11s, to help them see that the picture is complex. Fittingly perhaps, the book concludes with non-religious views about death, using a series of quotes and readings and strategies such as silent debate and talking circles to ensure this topic is dealt with sensitively

This book focuses on some of the things that are important to more than 800,000 Hindus in Britain today. Many Hindus use the term ‘Sanatan Dharma’ (‘eternal way’), to describe something of the all-encompassing nature of living a Hindu way of life. Hinduism is probably the oldest world religion, with its roots in the Indus Valley civilisation. Diversity plays a major part within Hinduism. Therefore, beliefs and practices vary according to the believer’s geographical links, cultural traditions, philosophy and foci for devotion. We open with ‘Ready Steady RE’, offering starter ideas on a variety of subjects, ranging from Hindu beliefs about a supreme being to festivals and charity. It includes a signpost to other units in our publications that might be of use. The units in this book begin with concrete learning on Aum or Om, the first sound of the universe according to Hindus. Next we look at rita, the concept of the natural order of everything in the universe. Hindus need to work out their dharma, religious duty, within this natural order. The ideas of dharma and rita are explored through story, a series of cogs and a look at environmental choices. One of our everpopular big pictures on worship at a home shrine and at a business shrine allows pupils to explore how, why and where Hindus worship. The story of Rama and Sita is often told in primary schools, but this unit looks at the multiple meanings of the epic tale and explores it from the point of view of different characters in the story, which features in two key Hindu festivals: Navratri and Diwali. Next, our oldest pupils explore Hindu ideas on the cycle of life and the purposes of life. The book ends with a progression grid on learning about Hindus. Please note that members can now download a digital copy of each unit, allowing you to save it in year-group or module files on your school’s internal electronic storage system. On the NATRE website you can now access many more resources from earlier curriculum publications using your membership log-in. Do let us know which of these activities you use in your school, as we love to see examples of pupil work

This compilation of over 40 vibrant, real-life examples of pupils’ achievement in RE is designed to give teachers and leaders of RE confidence in describing the impacts of their teaching and enable them to reflect on and refine their own practice. The examples are by pupils of vastly different ability, and we have taken much care to include a variety of themes and religions in the examples we have chosen. While some emphasise the development of disciplinary knowledge in RE, others are based around pupils personal engagement and creative expression. What all examples have in common is that they show how teachers can give all pupils opportunities for authentic engagement, deep thinking and genuine development of knowledge and skills in RE.

For many years, assessment in RE was fairly settled. As with other foundation and core curriculum subjects, we used levels to assess pupils’ progress. We reflected the developments of these subjects within our agreed syllabuses and other resources, using the same terms from ‘assessment gurus’ such as Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam.1 We tried not to stand outside the crowd, so that we did not cause problems for teachers. When levels were removed by the government, RE held onto them longer than other subjects in some places and school types. Now, for most schools, the time to find alternatives to assessment using the eight-level scale is long overdue. Schools have spent the last few years trying out different systems for core and foundation subjects, a search for clarity that has been paralleled in RE. This book is designed to support head teachers, senior leaders, heads of RE, subject leaders and classroom teachers in reflecting on the different practices that are being used around the country in the search for assessment solutions in RE. It starts with a brief look at the general issues around assessment in RE before focusing on assessing RE in primary and then secondary schools. The book presents examples of legitimate and viable practice, written in the main by classroom practitioners, supplemented with a few chapters by those who work closely with schools or have trialled ideas in schools. It is not presenting one of these as the correct model. Instead, it offers you some different teacher experiences so you can consider whether aspects of these would work in your school, or perhaps provide some alternative options. Everyone who has contributed to this book has suggested their ideas or practices for perusal – without claiming they are perfect – in the hope that they might be helpful. Assessment in general, and certainly in RE, is not ‘settled’ yet. There will undoubtedly be more changes in both RE and assessment, but we think the examples represented here will offer much to the teacher now and in the future.