Run an RE Day

Resources

There are some resources available for anyone planning to run an RE Day:

Organisations providing RE Days:

These organisations may offer to run a complete RE Day for a school. They often have prepared themes and topics and use experienced presenters. However they also normally charge for their services. Expect to pay between £400 and £700 for one day.

RE Today (secondary and sixth form) http://www.retoday.org.uk
Damaris (mainly sixth form) http://www.damaris.org
Barnabus (primary) http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk
Saltmine (primary and secondary) http://www.saltmine.org
dare2engage (secondary and 16+) http://www.dare2engage.org

Published resources:

Spiritual Engagement: Inspiring 16-19’s in RE Day Conferences (published by RE Today for £23.00)
This is an essential resource for anyone planning an RE Day, whether for 16-19’s or younger. It includes a planning guide, ideas for themes and three ready-to-use Day Conferences with DVD material.

Man Dancin’ (available to download for free from schoolswork.co.uk)
An RE Day based on ‘Man Dancin’ by Norman Stone, this guide includes detailed material on how to run a day around this film.

Websites:

http://www.schoolswork.co.uk advice, resources and links to other useful sites
http://www.teachers.tv/video/4963 video showing a sixth form RE Day on body theology
http://www.dare2engage.org resource site for Christians working in 16-19 education

A sample resource: breathe

breathe has been developed by a team from dare2engage and, although it’s principally targeted at 16+ education, it also works well in a secondary setting.

The resource consists of a large multi-coloured mat, around 30 feet wide, with 12 different sections. In each section is a reflection on a Christian perspective of the self, others, the world and God. Each section has an activity guided by instructions that students listen to on an mp3 player.

breathe works by allowing students to explore any sections of their choice. They can visit all, some or even just one of the sections in the allotted time. The experience works well as part of an RE day, allowing students the chance to explore the Christian faith in a very different and unusual context. more details can be found on the date2engage website at http://www.dare2engage.org.

Final tips

Go and watch an organisation run an RE Day: schoolswork.co.uk can link you to other organisations running RE Days who might be willing for you to come an observe a day in progress. If you’re organising a day for the first time, this could be an essential help.

Be adventurous and fun: The RE Day should be something special for the students, so make sure things are fun, well organised and give plenty of opportunity for them to contribute. Choose a topic that you might have wanted to hear when you were a young person!

Remember the day should be a chance for self reflection: students should learn about a topic and find out new information, but above all they should have the space to respond to the topic personally and explore their own ideas about faith. Make sure the programme includes plenty of opportunity for them to do this!

Double check practical arrangements: Schools are notorious for confusion in communications. Just because you’ve booked the school hall for the day with the main office, doesn’t mean you won’t find a drama class in full swing when you arrive! Make sure the school is clear about the rooms and resources you’ll need to use during the day.

Be adaptable: Sometimes it’s hard to predict what will work and what won’t when you’re running an RE Day. Be prepared to let successful activities run over if students are really engaged, and think about cutting those that don’t seem to be working. Share you’re experiences of your day with other schools workers through schoolswork.co.uk.

Feel free to use and distribute this guide but please acknowledge schoolswork.co.uk as the source.