Here are the lyrics of another of Jill's songs from the aforementioned CD. I have used this a lot in teaching KS3 and KS4, it is funny and direct - engaging but very serious and quite soulful too. Please appreciate that my sister Jill has given me permission to share her songs - but only part of them. If she sees too many people downloading them free from here she may ask me to include only the first few lines of the music. She had to payva lot to get the recordings done. Once costs are covered all profits will go to charity. Contact - info@bluelotus.co (it is .co - not .com)

poem, with introduction composed in response to a year 10 contingent who were quite disaffected and atheist-exclusivist-closedmindedist. It was effective in engaging them with the God question. the poem is quite powerful for anyone to read as a meditation and you can omit the central section which is an exploration of evil/suffering, please give some reviews as this helps other readers find the resource.

I love using inspiring posters on my classroom walls – and indeed in my home. There are some wonderful combinations of photography with quotations from a vast range of cultures and inspiring people which I have used in the past – mostly from Argus. Argus is now part of ‘Trend’ so they may have stopped creating some of those I am familiar with. I was looking for these ‘old favourites’ but couldn’t find them. However I did find the following – and hope some may be useful. I will try to find out what happened to some of my favourites. Meanwhile – I hope you enjoy this sample.

the book - HAPPINESS and MINDFULNESS This is a practical book to reduce stress, build resilience and increase happiness. Includes masses of great quotations mounted on copyright-free photos. - 300 + pages - full of excellent strategies to stay on top of stress. **Part One **is about Happiness. Every chapter has an exercise, mostly taken from the three-day ‘Seven Steps to Happiness’ retreat that I was giving before Covid19 came along. Part Two is about Mindfulness. I’m an accredited Mindfulness Coach and run a great monthly workshop in London - Mindfulness-Joy Silk-Painting look for it on Eventbrite - last Sunday of the month. Every chapter is followed either by a Mindfulness Exercise or a Story, or Both. It’s available on Kindle where I want to tighten it up before I publish it as a physical book. I’d love your feedback and comments. The video is not linked to the book but shares an introductory breath-work exercise. I also give monthly workshops - see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mindfulness-joy-silk-painting-joyful-and-empowering-tickets-463561283277

Most of these relate to the conflict between Israel and Palestine - the 'Gaza Crisis&' of July-August 2014. A separate resource is being prepared relating to individuals and organisations which are working towards Peace and Reconciliation. please let me know of any resources you find that may help inform our classes about the conflict in the Middle East - aiming for a greater understanding of the issues underlying both sides of the conflict and pointing towards hope + enduring peace.

My approach aims to be practical and experimental. students who can be hostile towards other religions because of an atheist mentality are quite interested in Buddhism because it is such a practical faith which does not require belief in God. Buddha spoke of Truth and Nirvana. Many Hindus interpret this as God in the abstract form of qualities such as Truth, Peace and Bliss. I will add to the files in this folder

This is a resource for all my great colleagues - to explore practical strategies that we can use to make our lives stronger and more peaceful. The idea behind this is that if we can become spiritually stronger and more peaceful that will impact on our students, classes, colleagues and schools - to say nothing of its effect on our families and our own happiness. So I am asking you all to send me your own favourite 'weapons for peace' which we all can share and benefit from. As always please give feedback and a rating.

...taking part in a forum discussion with the tile Poor behaviour = poor teaching - or is it vice versa? ... inspired to look for good articles - I particularly like the ten points and 'The truth is, behaviour in schools is a complex issue that needs co-operation between classroom teachers, school managers, parents, outside agencies... and the pupils themselves to make it better.- Not solve the problem, just make it better. There is no quick fix or magical solution. Only if the Leadership Team supports the staff, can poor behaviour be changed,

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmeduc/writev/851/contents.htm Education Committee - Written Evidence English Baccalaureate On this page is the written evidence received and accepted by the Committee as evidence for the ongoing inquiry into the English Baccalaureate. Then there are links for over 200 documents Those I have uploaded here are all excellent but lots I've not looked at. Let me know if you have favourites not included. Don't stop the fight. Keep contacting MPs and anyone who is influential in the Education world.

I have copied the article from Independent and the letter from The Telegraph mentioned in a recent thread, adding some of the best submissions etc. I've highlighted important bits. Do keep up the pressure and forward these to Mr Gove, to your MP to chase Mr Gove with + anyone you know who may be willing to do the same, I think this time is really critical and a lot of people will be like me, up to the neck with other duties, so its hard to fit in the time. Good Luck and happy summer

My sister Jill Blackadder is a teacher in the Shetland Islands. She has been writing songs since childhood. They are spiritual and inspiring. You can contact Jill to obtain sheet music and the CD by emailing her directly - 'Jill Slee Blackadder' <Jill.blackadder@btinternet.com>, 'God's Colours&' is particularly popular, relates to Community Cohesion and RE good for all ages. All Shall Be Well is a more solemn meditation on life - all profits from CD sales go to charity. please give feedback and rating if you use this

This is from an article which the REToday featured in 2009. It is an outline of an assembly I organised when teaching in a small private school which had students and staff from many different religious communities. It was a very moving and successful assembly. The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah are posted as a Separate Resource This 'basic pattern' could be adapted for any festival - and I'm happy to work with any school interested in doing this as it really did make a positive difference. Contact me if interested in such a project - info@bluelotus.co see www.bluelotus.co

All the details from the Festival website - but in larger font - easier to read. All the 150 speakers + general info Timetable and blog. sounds interesting!

Shaam - boys musical group from Birmingham Great music for use in planning Interfaith Assemblies especially where Muslim students are a majority. see http://www.shaamgroup.com/12720.html 'These spiritually uplifting songs seek to praise Allah and His final Messenger. They are distinguished by their emphasis upon vocals and percussion only, with stringed and wind instruments being shunned in deference to orthodox Islamic precepts. It is this style of song that SHAAM have mastered over the past few years.

A thread I just stumbled on refers readers to an article about the way Teacher Suicide Rates have doubled recently. I have copied this article here and added a copy of my own contribution to this thread. I will also add any articles/posts related plus suggestions of ways to deal with stress. I can't imagine many more important topics to try to provode resources for. You may like to check out my website - www.bluelotus.co . I can give twilight sessions on meditation/reflective exercises and strategies for dealing with stress. I have been there so it's not just theory.

More reports submitted to parliament for the Ebacc Review. I have stated the number of pages in the documents and my impression of the quality of the argument regarding the position of RE in the English Bacc - as part of the file names. This section is a continuation of the previous resource as only 20 documents can be uploaded within one resource. As always I request that you give comments, feedback and ratings to guide me when producing resources and help others who may be interested in this resource.

Sue is an inspirational RE teacher who has found creative approaches to engage her students. Many of these are based on visualisation and role-play. They are all creative and deeply spiritual. I can not recommend them too highly. The attached information is just an introduction. If you can arrange to attend a workshop - or if you have done so in the past, you will know what I mean. BRILLIANT. Please add a comment if you have experience of Sue's work

This is the calendar from different sources with some words of caution and information about Navaratri, often called DurgaPuja. I will add to this resource when I get time and then prepare some similar overviews of festivals for the other religions. This is in response to a request for information so my aim here is to offer enough to give the enquirer a start with Hinduism and then they can use it as a 'pattern to follow' when researching the other festivals.

just the latest - sent yesterday. I typed out his letter replying to mine forwarded from my mP - and answer it point by point. It took most of the day and is a bit of a rant - but I hope sufficiently polite and accurate. We need to keep the pressure up so if you want to use this as a bais for something please do. All the best to everyone for a happy summer DurgaMata

An introduction to meditation with a great breathing exercise which helps de-stress and prepare for difficult encounters. Very versatile - and a link to find out more Give some feedback - then I can improve the resources and others can more easily find things that help. I will try to add more exercises to this resource.. Hope it is helpful. Meditation certainly helps me. I've been learning since 1973 but am still a real beginner.