The Missing Link

In this podcast, 2026 Farmington scholar Charlotte Lannigan critically examines the curriculum used in her local area, Ealing, and identifies some areas that need fundamental change.  This initial work led to an exploration into a range of curriculum models - a long and fascinating process, involving reading, interviewing curriculum writers and reflection into the meaning behind each approach. Cha...

Georgina Foxcroft shares her ideas and experiences developing disciplinary knowledge through a Worldviews approach. She is a 2024 Farmington scholar, and her report can be request here: Worldviews Approach in Primary Schools: EYFS & KS1 [Subscription required] A recent article can also be found here: Laying the foundations: DEVELOPING A KNOWLEDGE-RICH RELIGION AND WORLDVIEWS APPROACH » REtoday...

Ryan promotes and supports the delivery of RE and Collective Worship in the diocese of St Albans. He leads on training in these areas and is the author of resources such as ‘Heart for the Earth’. Further example of his work can be seen here: Primary pupils can! A richer encounter with parables - RE:ONLINE

In this episode, Nikki explains how she uses theologies to enable students to both study interpretations of sacred texts and also help develop their own stance and interpretative skills. Further reading on scholars referred to by Nikki can be found here: Cone, J. H. (2011). The cross and the lynching tree. Orbis Books. Williams, D. S. (1993). Sisters in the wilderness: The challenge of womanist Go...

In this episode, Mary Myatt challenges us all to look again at our teaching resources, asking the question, 'Could we improve the quality of how they look?' Links referred to in the podcast: VCS: Visual Commentary on Scripture  https://thevcs.org/about Museum With No Frontiers  https://www.museumwnf.org/results?q=islam

In this episode, Dave Francis introduces the work of the Big Ideas project, produced in conjunction with Denise Cush and Barbera Wintersgill. For further information, their website can be found here: https://bigideasforre.org/ https://sofn.uk/ https://www.solarity.org.uk/

  In this episode, Krys McInnis shares some excellent ideas on the use of AI in RE, redefining AI as a creative and reflective tool rather than just a short cut to complete tasks. Further reading can be found in these ebooks and articles that Krys offers for free:   Is AI a Threat or a Tool? Reframing the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Religious Education -  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-t...

In this episode, Carol explains the benefits and ideas of P4C in an extra-curricular philosophy club setting. Further details can be found here: https://p4c.com/ https://voice21.org/assessing-the-impact-of-oracy-on-your-students/ https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/philosophy-for-children-effectiveness-trial https://www.sapere.org.uk/   And Carol can be con...

In this episode, James talks about how he developed philosophy units alongside and within teaching RS, using elements of P4C with some distinct additions and amendments. Further links, and contact details are here: https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008355029 https://plato-philosophy.org/philosophy-toolkit/   jrrandall77@gmail.com  

In this episode, Emma talks about how she fosters an empathetic understanding of religions with her classes. For more information, she can be contacted here: Emma. Groves@hants.gov.uk

Current Farmington scholar Shazia Gleadall talks about her project, including approaches to teaching this sensitive and nuanced subject.

In this episode, Anastasia picks up on the 'messiness of religion' (see the James Holt podcast for more on this), and explores how the study of religion has been influenced by historical, cultural and colonial factors.

In this episode, teacher and writer Andy Lewis talks about the nature of RE as a unique, complex and challenging subject. Further reading suggested by Andy is below:   100 Ideas for Outstanding RE lessons by Andy Lewis Making Every RE Lesson Count by Dawn Cox and Louise Hutton Religious Education in the Secondary School: An Introduction to Teaching, Learning and the World Religions by James Holt

Ruth Marx talks about her Farmington scholarship project from 2015. Further information can be found here: https://aminawadud.com/ https://inclusivemosque.org/ https://www.reonline.org.uk/resources/the-lived-worldviews-of-tower-hamlets/ https://www.aprilonline.org/diversity-of-sexuality-in-islam-interview-with-imam-muhsin-hendricks/ Muslims for Progressive Values:  https://www.mpvusa.org/

In this episode, we talk about what helped Cerys through her ECT years, including tips for both ECTS, trainee teachers and mentors.

Chris references some online resources, links can be found here:   Socrative Quiz - Ontological Argument   Retrieval Grids-GCSE Relationships and Families   His website is www.chriseyreteaching.com with further resources. And Chris is on X (was Twitter) as: @chris_eyre 

RS lead Matt Pitcher shares his experiences of developing resources for teaching about the environment. More information can be found here: https://www.reonline.org.uk/research/reconnect-religion-belief-environment/

Paul Hopkins discusses some of the uses of AI in RS teaching. For more information, please visit www.mmiweb.org.uk, and Paul can be contacted at admin@mmiweb.org.uk  

In our first episode, James Holt introduces the idea of messiness, to reflect the diversity of belief and practice within religions. More information can be found on his website https://jamesdholt.com/ and he posts on Facebook/TikTok and Instagram as @drjamesdholt.

This first episode introduces our new podcast channel for RS teachers, offering advice from experts on good classroom practice.