Glo-Ed was created in 2017 by senior management from the educational travel industries & senior teachers from school, who shared a passion for education beyond the classroom, personal service and social responsibility.
Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious education in the UK is a prime subject in secular schools, as well as church schools. Christian beliefs, doctrines and rituals are central, but teaching about other religions is also part of the syllabus, as well as reference to not having a religion at all. And some schools are allowed to teach other religions as their prime object – Judaism, Islam, Hinduism being examples.
The teaching of Religious Education can benefit from a variety of different experiences outside the classroom. Each religion has its own traditions and schools will have their own needs and wants in terms of relating each religion to the other. Teachers should be aware that religion and particularly places of worship can be sensitive and taking a large group of noisy children into such an environment will take plenty of forethought and planning.
Some ideas and tips for planning such trips include...
Before you go:
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Make initial contact: find out if you can visit and when is the best time – both for you and the faith community concerned.
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Preliminary visit: Try to visit the faith community yourself to explore learning opportunities and to discuss your needs with the person who will be involved in the visit. Share with him/her what you hope pupils will get out of the visit. Clearly planned aims help to fit the visit into a scheme of work. A general ‘look around’ is the least likely activity to be successful. If possible try to arrange for the pupils to meet some believers other than the ordained leaders. Talk about how long you will stay. As a rule of thumb, under an hour is usually too short to make the most of the learning opportunity.
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Get parental permission: Schools should send a letter home with each pupil to make clear that this is an educational visit and that pupils will observe, not participate, in worship. Invite parents and other adults to help out on the visit.
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Prepare pupils: It is likely to be a completely new situation for them. Provide guidance about appropriate attitudes and any dress requirements such as removing shoes, covering heads. Encourage pupils to ask and respond to questions during the visit. Talk over, in advance, questions they may wish to ask during the visit. Identify ways in which the visit will be followed up back in the classroom.
Some key points to remember when visiting faith communities:
- Dress: in addition to any specific requirements, modest dress is the usual guideline. Shoes are removed before entering the prayer rooms of the Mosque, Mandir, Gurdwara and Buddhist Vihara. Check specific requirements when organising the visit – the following are the usual practice: Mosque: Female: Head, legs, arms covered. Male: Heads covered during prayer time. Gurdwara: Female: Head and legs covered. Male: Head covering. No cigarettes to be taken into the Gurdwara.
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Photographs: many places of worship will allow photographs to be taken at the appropriate time but prior permission should be sought.
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Behaviour: normal good behaviour standards are appropriate. In all places of worship it would be disrespectful to chew, talk loudly, run around or touch things without invitation. In places where sitting on a carpeted floor is usual, it is disrespectful to sit with legs open facing the focal point e.g. a deity, a holy book, Qibla wall etc.
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Hospitality: a number of places of worship will show hospitality to visitors by offering food or refreshment. It is important to prepare pupils for this: Hindu: prashad – this may take the form of crystal sugar, almonds, sweets or snack food. It is not sacred and should be accepted with thanks and eaten on the spot. Gurdwara: Kara prashad – a semi-solid cold food made from butter, semolina, sugar and milk, or a cup of tea boiled with milk. This is not a sacred food and should be accepted with thanks. Kara prashad can be kept for eating later.
- Donations: places of worship do not, as a rule, charge for visits, but a donation is recommended.
It is possible to arrange visits to local churches, chapels, mosques, temples and synagogues. Most of the cathedrals have education or visitor centres and resources for schools which can be viewed on their websites.
Main organisations:
The Religious Education Council
National Association of Teachers of Religious Education
Inclusion: NASEN
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Venues for this Curriculum
personal - tailored - ethical - reasonable - educational - travel
Birthplace of the Founder of the Salvation Army
A museum dedicated to telling the story of William Booth, his wife Catherine, their family and role they played in the formation of The Salvation Army.
The William Booth Birthplace Museum is open by appointment only, generally Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-4pm. Please telephone or email for appointments.
Stratford-upon-Avon's newest heritage site
Visit the great Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon's own classroom where William Shakespeare was taught and garnered inspiration for his plays and sonnets. Find out about Shakespeare's own childhood and education, including how he may have played female characters in class plays!
The Guildhall in Stratford was the administrative centre of the town and became the centre of its economic success.
Wander the corridors of power and pleasure
With its 500 years of royal history Hampton Court Palace has something to offer everyone. Set in sixty acres of world famous gardens the Palace is a living tapestry of history from Henry VIII to George II.
Explore. Discover. Become.
WorldStrides, formerly Casterbridge Tours, are an educational travel company specialising in customised educational group tours.
The Island Classroom
Education Destination is an Isle of Wight based business specialising in providing bespoke, curriculum-focused school trips to our lovely island. We help you create outstanding curriculum-led learning visits to the Isle of Wight and can provide a full door-to-door service, taking care of all your requirements, or simply support you in making your own arrangements.
Unlock your students imaginations with the trip of a lifetime, as only Topflight can do it.
Westminster Abbey is Britain's foremost religious building and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located next to the Houses of Parliament and a short distance away from Buckingham Palace, the Abbey has been the site of many coronations, royal weddings, state burials and services.
Coventry has had three Cathedrals in the past 1,000 years: the 12th century Priory Church of St Mary, the medieval Parish Church Cathedral of St Michael and the modern Coventry Cathedral, also named for St Michael. Coventry’s fortunes and story are closely associated to the story of its Cathedrals - a story of death and rebirth.
Learn how one girl’s journey transformed the lives of millions: Interactive displays, videos, exhibits and activities bring her fascinating story to life from 1800 to the present day.
Enjoy a great day out in Warwickshire at Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden. One of the largest historic attractions in the West Midlands, the whole family will enjoy exploring the spectacular castle ruins.
The ruins are best known as the home of Robert Dudley, the great love of Queen Elizabeth I. Dudley created an ornate palace here to impress his Queen in 1575.
Award-winning Highland Museum. Housed within a unique former Telford Parliamentary Church, it provides a stimulating insight into the life of a Highland parish. Large screen audiovisual presentation of Lochbroom. Local archives, records, genealogy and photos. Touchscreens. Exhibitions. Six European languages.
The Tarbat Discovery Centre is a museum, learning and activity centre dedicated to displaying and preserving the heritage of the Tarbat peninsula. Housed in the refurbished Old Parish Church, it is the site of the only Pictish monastic settlement excavated in Scotland to date.
Once a church, this highland museum contains a fine collection of objects depicting a past way of life in this remote but magnificent part of Scotland. One room contains Clan Mackay memorabilia. Posters painted by local children tell the story of the Strathnaver clearances. The churchyard contains the Farr Stone which dates from the 8th-9th centuries.
Local artefacts and photoraphs of Moulin and surrounding area
Moulin Kirk is situated in the centre of the conservation village of Moulin, near Pitlochry, Perthshire.
The present Kirk was rebuilt in 1875 after a devastating fire.
Its main features were an aisle which approached the Pulpit and Communion table from both sides, plus a superb area of galleried pews accessed from staircases by each of the two side entrances.
The museum, run on a voluntary basis by Friends of the Cathedral, incorporates a small visual exhibition and a separate History Centre Reading Room. A church and social history collection contains church, community and family memorabilia and records including The Scottish Horse regimental records. An audio guided tour of the museum and cathedral precincts is available.
Cradle of Christianity
The Royal Burgh of Whithorn has an important history which is immediately obvious from the medieval street layout. Even more significant is the hidden evidence of the early origins of a settlement on this site going back to the 5th century, Scotland’s first Christian community.
An unexpected treasure in its modern urban setting
All that remains of a mediaeval hospital and alms house, the Maison Dieu Chapel lies on Maisondieu Lane in central Brechin.
Restenneth is noted for its ruined priory, with its square tower with octagonal spire forming a prominent landmark.
The Royal Burgh of Brechin is famous for its tall 11th century round tower which is one of only two such towers surviving in Scotland. The tower originally stood alone but it now part of
Arbroath Abbey was originally founded for the grey-clad monks of the order of Tiron in 1178 by King William the Lion. It was St Thomas of Canterbury's apparent supernatural intervention in the capture of King William at Alnwick in 1174 that prompted him to establish the abbey after his return from imprisonment in Normandy.
The Trust aims to keep what was formerly St Peter’s Church in good repair and to house items and historical records relevant to Peterculter and the surrounding area, incorporating information on the Church, the Paper Mill (now closed), local organisations past and present, and local personalities.
The Museum of Scotland's Catholic Heritage
Blairs Museum contains spectacular collections spanning more than 500 years while the beauty of St. Mary’s Chapel never fails to make an impression.
Blairs Museum is home to a magnificent collection of paintings, church textiles, sacred and domestic silver and Jacobite memorabilia belonging to the Scottish Roman Catholic Church.
Schools
One of the most important examples of modernist architecture in Scotland
St Peter’s seminary, built to train priests on a windy hillside west of Glasgow following the burning down of its predecessor, opened in 1966 and closed in 1980. It is the most remarkable modern ruin in Britain and one of the best of any time. It is something to do with the combination of intended and accidental drama, the contest of forces of nature and of human creation and destruction.
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