NATRE sent out an email with these attachments concerning the English Baccalaureate and its effect on RE. In case you missed the email or need to refer to the documents without going into email, here are the attachments plus the covering email. Please share ideas regarding continuing the fight to get RE included in the EBACC Thanks

My friend's two sons call me Grandma and I have known them for more than ten years, This is an account of the way the older son got into big trouble a few years ago. He is now in prison as a result. Get your students to work out all the different places where he made choices - which could have changed the course of that very sad evening, in which he was responsible for the death of his friend. I have now added another 'chapter&' three years on. I hope that by reflecting on this true story, they may be able to make wisher choices themselves. It might even save someone&';s life.

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

My son phoned late last night to say that there are major articles by Rowan Williams and Jonathan Sacks in the New Statesman out today 9th. I've found the article by RW in full and a bit about the JS one. Uploaded here. Great to link RE with our world, our society and the events in our nation. Can you photocopy one big and put it up on a notice-board surrounded by pertinent questions? Good for a corridor where many pass by. Competition for the best captions and answers to the questions?

chanel 5 at 8 pm on Thursday 27th Jan - in response to Holocaust memorial day a 45 minute programme about the Kindertransport which rescued Jewish children from Czechoslovakia this is an article about Nicholas Winton and the events around the kindertransport

This year is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. The BBC celebrated this event with a special day during which significant passages were read. I did my best to download them all as they can be used as a great resource when introducing the Bible or teaching Christianity - especially GCSE and A level These files relate to the Old Testament. Do make a comment or give some rating if you use any of my resources as it helps me to know what is useful and others to find the resources they need.

Imbolg is the first of many subjects I hope to explore under this heading. If there are others which you would like me to include, do send a PM. Imbolg is the festival which marks the beginning of spring, when the goddess Bride and her groom (the terms Bride and Groom originate here) get together and the year unfolds in all its glory. There are ceremonies to turn away winter and welcome spring - clear out the old and welcome the new ... It is celebrated around the 2nd February - which happens to be today, Happy Imbolg!

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

This is my account of what happened when we moved to London and my son (then aged 9) suffered some bullying. (He is now 31 and a professional actor. You may have seen him in the photos and video referred to on Siddhartha becomes the Buddha.) I wrote this years ago and found it when doing a computer search for Krishna - in relation to my recent Hinduism Day. I think it could encourage some good discussion on many aspects of RE, PSHE and Citizenship. I have now also uploaded the 'parent' file - Sunlight and Shadow parts 2 and 3

I've used this story in primary and secondary sectors. It's good if you want a story to adapt as a drama. It links with many aspects of the RE curriculum - good and evil, what happens when we die etc - it comes from 'the East' but has parallels with Christianity too. You may explore questions eg 'What's a saint' and 'Are angels real' - and thinking about what make heaven and hell in the lives and experiences of our students - at home, in the playground and in the classroom. inspired to explore this theme further, did a search on the CKG library and found the Akbar story and more.

this is an astonishingly brilliant collection of important quotations from Christian and Hindu sources for GCSE students. You will find it also at chartere23's site and I am not sharing it here to take any of the credit for it at all - simply because it is so good I want it to be seen by and used in class by as many of my colleagues in RE as possible. The only changes I have made to this version are - an introduction with thanks - and slight adjustments to formatting. Ideally I would then pdf it but no facility for that here. Thanks again chartere23

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.

Hi guys, I have been working with the Duke of Edinburgh team for the past two weeks, no access to computer or internet but a lot of great experiences with our fantastic students. We had three groups of four to six in a group and all succeeded in passing Silver - tremendous transcendence and experiences of going beyond despair, The weakest group ended up the best! This essay is an account of what I did when the minibus left, taking the students back to London. Hopefully inspire some discussion and reflection, As always, do give feedback. And have a great Summer Holiday.

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.

These articles cover many aspects of village life - including local democracy, provision of water, education and opportunities for women, caste problems etc. Useful in any international work, citizenship, community cohesion and Religious Education topics with KS3 KS4, GCSE etc.

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.

Begins by asking reception children 'What is Religion?' ‘conversation’ looks at personal identity, Awe and Wonder, the Dawn of Religion, Eternal Questions - including God, introduces the six Major Religions, leads to an exploration of Religious Identity. Ends with a reflective exercise on Loving Kindness. Aimed to engage yr 7 and give an overview of what Religion is all about, useful for KS4 &'the God Question&'; and the problem of generalisation. Will also give non-specialist teachers some insight into RE. see also other ppts in Exploring Religion Series (about 4 resources back)