Resource 2

NATRE - National Association of Teachers of Religious Education Religious Education

Community cohesion and the prevention of violent extremism
A resource for teachers to use in the classroom


Resource title
Multi Faith Event for children
Source: www.natre.org.uk/cc/#1 – See below for details
Outline
This web-based pdf extract from REtoday magazine, with associated web links, describes how a primary school, working with some local faith community members, provided an opportunity for children (and teachers) to meet and get to know people from otherwise' hard to meet' faith communities.

The following materials give a rich insight into what happened, what was achieved and what the pupils and teachers thought of the Multi-faith event for children held in Herefordshire. This event has since been repeated, with equal success, with several other cohorts of children, and in several different parts of the country.

The following resources are downloadable from the NATRE website: www.natre.org.uk/cc/#1
  • An article describing the background, activities and outcomes of a multi-faith conference for 160 primary age pupils from 16 schools, together with organising tips for schools.
  • Further details of the event from the Herefordshire Local Authority website, together with clips of children's video conferencing interviews with faith community workshop leaders during the event.
  • 'Primary: What is RE?', a downloadable film about Primary RE from NATRE includes clips from a multi-faith event for primary schools and gives a feel for the day.
A multi-faith event for children is a practical, creative and fun way of helping children engage with members of faith communities. Encounter with faith communities is central to good RE and contributes to community cohesion by enabling children to:
  • 'understand, meet and engage with people from different religious and cultural groups in ways which promote common values and helps them recognise diversity within communities' (Learning to be safe together: toolkit for schools, DCSF 2008)
  • 'evaluate their own and others beliefs about why people belong to faith communities and what challenges and tensions might be caused by belonging to a faith' (Curriculum approaches to the promotion of community cohesion, see last link below)
Links across other subjects within resource
Citizenship, Art, Drama, Dance, Music
Additional support