RE teachers will be able to access a new series of RE resources from 10 October.
The “Deep Dive” RE classes will be delivered via 60 videos, each five to eight minutes long, each exploring theological topics.
The programme aims to help primary and secondary school teachers to deliver content included in the 2023 Religious Education Directory for Catholic schools, colleges and academies in England and Wales.
“Up to now, teachers have not had this kind of flexible and accessible resource directly available to them” said Rod Isaacs, director of Ethos for Ten Ten Resources which produced the series.
Formation lacking
Many RE teachers in primary school have had almost no formation in Catholic RE before starting to teach” Isaacs told The Tablet.
Nonetheless, they had to teach the content in the RE directory. That directory is potentially overwhelming, Isaacs said.
“This [Deep Dive] is to give them confidence.
“For new staff at a Catholic school, Deep Dive can be part of continuing professional development about Catholic life.
“Our hope is that Deep Dive will be one tool among many that will help teachers be led to a deeper understanding of the subject that is at ‘the core of the core’ of every Catholic school curriculum.”
Subject matter experts
Each subject covered in the Deep Dive videos is delivered by a well-known Catholic speaker.
They include theologians, the chief executive of the Caritas social action network, a Catholic academic who will present Catholic teaching on creation and the fall, and a Benedictine who will explain the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity.
Another video explores the dignity of the human person and Catholic Social Teaching, while yet another – led by the charity Aid to the Church in Need – will discuss Catholic teaching about the Virgin Mary.
The amount each school will pay for the series will vary according to their size, Isaacs said.
The price tags will range from approximately £150 (about NZ$320) for a small primary school, to £250 (about NZ$530) for a larger secondary school.
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