Post-16 Conference

Working closely with DCELLS, WASACRE organised the post-16 conference, Inspiring Religious Education: engaging young adults in the 21st century, which was held in a north Wales and a south Wales venue on 4 October, 2008.

The Conference aimed to:

• raise the profile of RE in post-16 education
• identify and promote the clear benefits of good and stimulating RE at this level
• offer to schools and colleges, resources, ideas and guidance to enable them to review their provision and to re-energise their determination to deliver quality RE.

Presentations were made by:

• Jane Hutt AM, Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills
• Lat Blaylock, Dare2Engage, on the resource Spiritual Engagement
• Pam Kelly, Detective Chief Inspector Dyfed-Powys Police, on the practical value of RE in the world of work with particular reference to the police force
• Emyr Williams and Alice Pyke, RS Graduate students, on their positive experiences of RE and its relevance in light of Funky Dragon research
• Professor Ian Russell, Professor of Public Health at Bangor University, on the relevance of RE in public health and the training of health professionals 

Delegates also attended workshops, which demonstrated the delivery of good RE through specific resources promoted at the Conference, including:

• DCELLS Guidance 14 – 19 RE
• Spiritual Engagement
• BBC e-clips

Free resource packs were presented to all those attending the Conference. Resources were also posted to schools which were unable to send a representative. A free downloadable Welsh version of the Spiritual Engagement resource is provided in the ‘download box’.

NOTE for the Spiritual Engagement resource download:
Dare To Engage is an initiative to promote RE and spiritual learning in 16-19 schools and colleges, through day conferences and many other means. More details on the Dare2engage web site. The Spiritual Engagement folder is published by RE Today, and copyright. Used by permission, 2010. Buy Spiritual Engagement in English here.

WASACRE is grateful for the support given by REMW and other charities for the translation of Spiritual Engagement to Welsh.

If you have any questions about any of this material, please contact us.