responding to a request for help on this topic for a year 5 teacher, I have given an overview of Islam and Muhammad which is based on KS3 but can be adapted for younger pupils. It will also be a useful revision guide and starting place for KS4 students. - (now added a few dates and pictures) As always, please give feedback - and send me more stories and anything else you think would be useful to include, to make this resource as useful as possible.

This is a Slide-Show conversation about religion which starts with the answers that a Reception class, part of a workshop I gave in March. Here I explore Religion using models of Jigsaw, Kaleidoscope, Music and Dance and cover concepts of Theist, Atheist and Agnostic I conclude with a section which explores the concept of God. This makes the Slide Show useful for KS4 and older philosophy students as well as younger children. Please give feedback and ratings Thanks, durgamata

Part One with ten minute (reflections on life, part 1) lead-in. this is the first of four parts 1) Religion and Me - which explores religion as a universal subject made up of the beliefs and perspectives of each and everyone. This includes an exploration into what it means to be a human being.

A collection of good resources and references for this important topic

This is an approach to the subject of Religion which has evolved over about 20 years of teaching in a number of different schools. It is an approach which has evolved in response to a climate of general hostility towards RE, and it has been effective in making a difference, connecting with the students and developing a positive and enthusiastic attitude. I am intending eventually to publish it, including some worksheets I have created and examples of students work - but today I am inspired just to share it here as a free download in the hopes that you may find it interesting and helpful.

A 40 page document prepared for students attending 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions - an overview of 20 World Views - including many great World Religions plus Atheist and Agnostic perspectives. It is a good for reference and comparison. Appendix explores Interfaith work, outlines MOE (Minorities of Europe charity) gives a little history of the Parliament of the World's Religions and info about Sri Chinmoy who opened the last two PofWR with silent meditation and music + Swami Vivekananda (star of the first one.) Free to download here (usually pay for this.)

Rachel Kemp is the RE Coordinator working in several Primary Schools in Manchester. She is well-known for her passion for exploring the spiritual aspect of life and her skill with engaging children of all ages with this elusive subject. Here Rachel shares some recent work done with year 6 pupils about the subject of spirituality. This resource is being created by Rachel Kemp in collaboration with DurgaMata at Blue Lotus Enterprises.

This simple overview of Sikhism can be used to revise or consolidate a unit of KS3 work or to refresh and introduce a unit for further study in KS4. Including both a Word Search and Cross-Word Puzzle to reinforce Key Words, this resource will link with further ones which explore each area in more detail. Currently Under Construction.....

In response to a question about teaching Eid-ul-Adha to a year 5 class I have collected a range of articles which inlcude pictures and the web address of a BBC site which has a 3 minute video. I hope this is helpful for the year 5 teacher but it will also be very useful for Secondary RE teachers. It includes many perspectives. I will add to it if/ as and when/ time permits. (note - I have not yet read all this. It is not me who has to plan the lesson - but I have increased the text size to make it easier to read.

peaceful music for reflection and meditation - a wide range but nothing African yet. I will add to this if you suggest your own favourite youtube music videos. Use these for your own meditation and de-stress exercises at the end of the day - as well as with your classes. You may like to use some for starters or plenary reflection. Great for Religious Education and Music classes.

Responding to a question on a thread about this topic, an outline of the way that different schools of thought within Islam respond to the question of what sort of art is permissible. I hope to add the actual suras from the Qur'an which relate to art and the Hadiths to this plus a power point of examples of Islamic Art which can be used in both RE and Art lessons - but to start with, here is my response to the question on the thread.

Here are the lyrics of another of Jill's songs from the aforementioned CD. I have used this a lot in teaching KS3 and KS4, it is funny and direct - engaging but very serious and quite soulful too. Please appreciate that my sister Jill has given me permission to share her songs - but only part of them. If she sees too many people downloading them free from here she may ask me to include only the first few lines of the music. She had to payva lot to get the recordings done. Once costs are covered all profits will go to charity. Contact - info@bluelotus.co (it is .co - not .com)

this is a fairly comprehensive article about the 2911 Census with table of statistics - How Christianity rose in some regions but decreased overall but Hinduism Sikhism Islam and Buddhism all increased slightly. A great article from the Guardian with articular focus on the changing patterns of religious belief and practise.

An assortment of war poems which include some from Iraqi and American poets and one from a 15 year old girl written on reflecting her visit to Auschwitz. I researched this in relation to work on Remembrance Day but there are poems here which could be used in many other topics including The Holocaust and all topics related to suffering, good and evil, war and peace.

poem, with introduction composed in response to a year 10 contingent who were quite disaffected and atheist-exclusivist-closedmindedist. It was effective in engaging them with the God question. the poem is quite powerful for anyone to read as a meditation and you can omit the central section which is an exploration of evil/suffering, please give some reviews as this helps other readers find the resource.

Including the Second Vatican Council. At GCSE and beyond our students need to learn something about the way that Christians are working together more, particualrly since the Second World War. This outline includes material from Wikki, Catholic and other sources

This is a Power Point which explores the concept of Place of Worship and sets a reflective/mind-map exercise and research homework It explores the concepts of both place and worship encouraging reflection on what it means to be a human being, body, mind and spirit - where we go to find inner qualities such as peace and happiness - Very versatile introduction to the topic of places of worship but useful for more than that - including identity and meditation. Please give comments and ratings to help others.

A simple resource with endless applications. Do comment on how you use these Names.

How would Britain be a different country if it were Jewish. This was the brief I was given last term for an interview lesson which didn't materialise. (Because it was close to the end of term they decided they didn't have enough time to arrange it and will just use non-specialist cover.) Initially I planned a lesson using Christmas and reflecting on festivals - as that was topical - but they wanted me to include some info on synagogue. So this the result. Beginning by asking what does it mean to be a Christian country it ends with an overview of church and synagogue. not finished but still a useful resource. I'll polish it up if I have time. Love and Peace DurgaMata

the book - HAPPINESS and MINDFULNESS This is a practical book to reduce stress, build resilience and increase happiness. Includes masses of great quotations mounted on copyright-free photos. - 300 + pages - full of excellent strategies to stay on top of stress. **Part One **is about Happiness. Every chapter has an exercise, mostly taken from the three-day ‘Seven Steps to Happiness’ retreat that I was giving before Covid19 came along. Part Two is about Mindfulness. I’m an accredited Mindfulness Coach and run a great monthly workshop in London - Mindfulness-Joy Silk-Painting look for it on Eventbrite - last Sunday of the month. Every chapter is followed either by a Mindfulness Exercise or a Story, or Both. It’s available on Kindle where I want to tighten it up before I publish it as a physical book. I’d love your feedback and comments. The video is not linked to the book but shares an introductory breath-work exercise. I also give monthly workshops - see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mindfulness-joy-silk-painting-joyful-and-empowering-tickets-463561283277