On Sunday, 14 September, Bishop Neil visited Christ Church Downend, where he spoke about what it means for there to be abundant life in our schools. We also interviewed Revd Dan Watts, Vicar of Christ Church, to learn about the Church’s engagement with education in its parish.
We have now run two Interfaith RE days online for South Gloucestershire schools, in association with the local SACREs.
The Annual Diocese of Bristol Religious Conference 2024 was held in January with the title 'Let's talk about race - the power of RE to make a change'
Goodness and Mercy, the new website and resources aimed primarily at Church of England Schools, is launching this week.
Please click the link below to download the latest Diocesan Board of Education newsletter for Term 3 (2019/20).The newsletter is for heads, teachers, governors, church school workers, clergy and anyone else who may benefit.
Case Study of Good PracticeSutton Benger and Langley Fitzurse in the Draycot Benefice, along with Kington St Michael who is part of the Chippenham Deanery, are schools which all have a school worship council.
Please click the link below to download the second Diocesan Board of Education newsletter of the year.
Pupils have been welcomed to the Deanery Church of England Academy as it opened its door for the first time. The school in Wichelstowe, Swindon, saw 120 Year 7 children arrive for their first lessons on Wednesday morning.
Churches from across the Swindon Deanery joined members of the wider community at the new Deanery CE Academy in Swindon to 'pray in' the school earlier in July.The school, which is due to open at the beginning of September, has already been welc
The Church of England has a vision for education so that all may have life in all its fullness. The vision describes:educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills.
Thirteen trained Inspire mentors are now available to support churches to explore the ways in which they might engage with, serve and support their local schools or colleges.
Liz Townend has been appointed as the next Diocesan Director of Education and will take up her post on 1 March 2019, following the retirement of John Swainston.
South Gloucestershire Council is asking for comments on plans to expand Frenchay CE VC Primary School and transfer it to a new site.There are currently proposals to increase the number of places available at the school from 140 to 420 with
Could you volunteer and become a school governor? Do you want to make a difference to the lives of children, young people and your local community? Do you enjoy working as part of a team? Are you willing to challenge and ask questions?
As thousands of children and young people across the Diocese begin a new academic year.
Children of Bristol, just like me,is a project that was initially conceived and inspired by PeterOverton, Head teacher at Easton CE Academy in conjunction with Bristol Schools Connection (a charity that is passionate about creating intentional spaces.
Archbishop Justin Welby recently addressed a conference of church school leaders and Chairs of governing bodies in the Diocese of Birmingham.
In August 2016 The Home Office published their Action Against Hate.
Are you an existing chaplain who needs to reflect on your role? Are you someone who might consider this an area of voluntary work which you could fulfil?
Please see the below document produced by The Church of England Education Office and endorsed by members of the House of Bishops.
Simply Collective Worship is a fully planned four year scheme of assemblies and thoughts for the day.
What is the CofEPQH?
Christmas Through The Keyhole
isay:usay:wesay is an interactive teaching resource for RE/Citizenship at Key Stage 3 & 4, which explores beliefs through art.
Church schools emphasise educating the whole child but need the support of Foundation governors can you help?
I had little idea that people became foundation governors outside their own parishes until a colleague asked me to replace him at St Michael's-on-the-Mount as he was moving away.
The Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust is opening a new primary school for the beginning of September 2016.
This is a guide, created by St. Peters CofE Primary School, to inform parents what to expect when sending their child to a church school and what they can get out of it.
Download and read our newest RE Newsletter.RE Newsletter, Spring 2016.
The new 'Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genitalmutilation' document is available to download.
To celebrate HM the Queens 90th birthday every parish church and Church school are being encouraged to organise some sort of celebration or event to mark the occasion.
Being a Foundation Governor at St Michael on the Mount Primary is, first of all, enjoyable and stimulating, above all through meeting and getting to know the staff and some of the pupils.
In my working life as a primary school teacher I had never expected or wanted to be a governor.
Following the highly successful conference 'From fear to belonging' run by Bristol and South Gloucestershire SACREs, resources are now available for you to use in school.
A lesson plan to support the teaching of the KS1 AMV unit 'Caring for Myself, Caring for Others'.
Mantle of the expert script to use with Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children on the subject of 'How and why do others celebrate?'
A skill-tool for thoughtful analysis of ideas, beliefs, concepts, practices and other stuff in primary and secondary RE.
Horfield Church of England Primary School in Bristol has been named as the 2016-17 UKLA Literacy School of the Year.
RE Coordinator Samantha Fletcher shows how an infant school in Oldham transformed a corner of a room into a reflective are and transformed the quality of children's reflection as well.
Peace education covers a range of work with young people, from inner peace and mindfulness to an understanding of issues of global justice, and is inextricably linked to the fundamental British values of the rule of law, mutual respect and tolerance.
Want to offer pupils a different way to engage with faith?
Ascension Day is one of the main Christian Holy Days. It celebrates the human body of Jesus (God the Son) going up to heaven to join God the Father 40 days after the Resurrection.
These are the Muslim celebrations of the Prophet Muhammad's 'night journey' from Mecca to Jerusalem on an amazing horse and then up to heaven.
Pentecost is celebrated 40 days after Easter when Christians remember the descent of the third person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit.
Shavuot, also called 'The Feast of Weeks', is the Jewish festival celebrating the time God gave Moses the Torah - the biblicalbooks ofGenesis, Exodus, Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy.Information on how Jews celebrate
The Trinity is the key idea of Christianity - that God is revealed in the three persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Teaching the Trinity Collective worship resources
Sally Sibley has been a Foundation Governor at St. Barnabas Church of England Primary School near Bristol for two years and explains the positive impact she makes to the development of the school and the education of its children.
I became a Foundation Governor for the first time when I became Vicar of St Mary's in Stoke Bishop.
This award winning resource is a creative, innovative way of opening up and applying Christian belief and teaching. The entry follows fictional 18-year-old Jim on his gap-year journey to Uganda.
A great way to engage a class at the same time as stilling the pupils.
The Christian Concepts Unpacked resources have been developed to support the teaching of Christianity in schools under three main themes: 'Prophecy', 'Salvation' and 'Trinity'.
These lesson plans for KS1 and KS2 are from Christian Concepts Unpacked' which has been developed by Sailsbury Diocese.
A collection of thirty ideas for teaching at Key Stages 1 and 2 about the distinctive Christian understanding of God.
The Loaves and Fishes project, run by The Sisters of the Church, is a well known food bank in inner-city Bristol.
In 2013, Archbishop Justin Welby stressed the centrality of schools to the Church's mission to the nation.
Bishop Mike and senior church leaders from across Bristol are encouraging congregations to form new links with their local schools through the Open the Book Bible stories programme
Archbishop Justin Welby asserted the centrality of schools to the Church's mission to the nation as he hosted a seminar called Church of England: Education and our Future.
Its not always easy to know how to make the Christian faith known and real to children and young people in their school context.
Awareness, Mystery and Value: Key Stage 2 Unit 9 How should we live and how can John Wesley inspire us? This series of approximately 7 lessons is intended to provide a set of learning activities in RE for a Year 5/6 class. It was written by Rev Dr Jack.
What does Christian education look like and how is it better?
These two fun exercises are useful starting points for many discussions about how we value different life-forms and how we decide which are better than others.
This unit explores how religious beliefs affect approaches to moral issues. This series of 9 or 10 lessons is intended to provide a set of learning activities for a Year 4 class (and may be adapted for a Y3 class).
The Department for Children and Young People is refreshing its initiative to encourage congregations across the Diocese to take the fruitful but sometimes neglected opportunity of engaging with schools in their communities.
This unit explores ideas of what it is to be human and relates them to religious and other beliefs.
This unit explores positive examples of how to live, values and commitments of faith founders, how actions of people of faith have changed the world.
This unit explores aspects of the person, life and teaching of Jesus and how they relate to Christian life, practices, celebrations and the pattern of Christian festivals.
This unit explores aspects of Sikh festivals, celebrations, practices and communities and the beliefs to which they relate.
This unit explores how the Christian religion and beliefs express values and commitments in written form and how value is attached to the writings.
This unit explores how religions and beliefs employ signs, symbols and the arts to express aspects of human nature.
This unit explores ideas about the natural world and our place in it, and relates them to religious and other beliefs.
This unit explores aspects of festivals, celebrations, practices and communities and the beliefs to which they relate.
Persona dolls are a great way to introduce young children to ideas like other religions.
Here you will find 37 fun and thoughtful assemblies that celebrate the multi-faith make-up of British schools today.
Poetry Emotion contains a treasure trove of original poems to stimulate a child's observation and deep thinking; to affirm individuality and a sense of belonging; to express a myriad of feelings; and to develop meaningful skills for living.
It is clear from this Ofsted report that there are areas of weakness at St Mary Redcliffe Primary School.
The MP for Bristol West, Stephen Williams, visited Bristol Cathedral Choir School in November at the invitation of teachers campaigning for a proper understanding of the value of RE.
A fantastic new resource, Home Schools Values helps schools communicate their Christian values to their parents or guardians and communities.
Download ten lesson plans to coverKS2 Unit 10:What does it mean to belong to a religion? HINDUISM for the Awareness, Mystery and Value agreed syllabus.
On Friday (23rd March) the Church of England called for church schools to robustly assert their Christian ethos and foundation.
Many teachers speak of the power of having familiar persona dolls in the classroom and the imaginative way in which young children can exercise their curiosity about difference.
In Westbury-on-Trym, the parish church and CofE primary school (the first in the diocese to convert to academy status) are working together to provide a distinctively Christian education and ethos for local families.
Persona dolls are a great way to introduce young children to ideas like other religions.
Persona dolls are a great way to introduce young children to ideas like other religions.
Persona dolls are a great way to introduce young children to ideas like other religions.
Persona dolls are a great way to introduce young children to ideas like other religions.
The attached document provides a brief overview of different ways of working in partnership with other schools to support, amongst other things, sustainability, school improvement and financial stability.
BRISTOL SCHOOLS COMPETITION WINNERS CELEBRATE 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
This article from the Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project looks at the practice of 'lectio divina' - a forever fresh way of reading scripture and praying.
On 2 September, the new Fishponds Church of England Academy in Bristol became the first Academy sponsored by the Diocese, opening its doors for the first year of its new status.
A Wet and Windy Harvest for Puddles is a must to support topic work on Harvest celebrations in school or nursery settings.
We are extremely proud to announce that St. Chad's Patchway C. of E. Primary School in South Gloucestershire has been named as Wales and West Regional Winner of the Church School Awards 2011!"
This Review was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Education in 2010. It was led by Sebastian James, the Director of Operations for Dixons plc.
This presentation was given by Revd Canon David Hoyle at the Diocese's Headteachers' Conference on 6 May 2011.
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School have launched anew website which includes a compelling summary and presentation about the role of faith and worship in their school life.
So, what is the nativity?
From the National Society: http://www.worshipworkshop.org.uk/
8 lesson plans to cover Key Stage 2 Unit 10
Inspectors also evaluate how well the school promotes the pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Six lesson plans to coverKS2 Unit 9:How should we live and who can inspire us?
This presentation by RE specialist Dilywn Hunt explores reasons and reasoning, and how to help pupils marshal an argument.