RE Council

In RE lessons, we reflect on our work in class and note our mistakes. We use phrases like ‘on the one hand… on the other hand’.

RS is so important for understanding life and our part in it.

The iPads are great! They are really useful for research – it is easier than going to a computer.  They are useful for revision – Sir makes voice recordings for the key topics.  There are apps for phones as well.

RE is about thinking hard as you have to really think about other peoples’ thoughts, and then help them to think even more about it – and that’s not easy!

We used the RE mark as a tool for our department development plan. In a time where departments are largely judged by outcomes our ‘department development meetings’ have now been re-named ‘department attainment meetings.’ While we recognise the importance of attainment – indeed the RE department at the Ifracombe Academy boasted the best GCSE results in the school and significantly above the national average – we recognise that there are limitations to examination and results cannot tell the whole story. There are always areas for development. The structure of the RE quality mark proved to be a useful tool for development. We worked through it together as a team. For the most part it was an encouragement. Lots of ‘oh yes…we do that…’ as well as suggested areas for development. This document continues to be a point of reference and is useful for setting targets for staff appraisals.

We had a Skype call to a school in Thailand and they told us all about Buddhism and showed us their Buddha statue.