Self-evaluation in RE

A Toolkit for Subject Leaders

How do you know that you are doing a good job in leading religious education in your school? And how do you convince pupils, parents, colleagues and inspectors that RE is a great subject?

The Association of RE Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants (AREIAC) has produced a self-evaluation toolkit for RE subject leaders that should help you answer these questions. And thanks to the support of the Culham Institute the Toolkit is being made freely available on this website!

The Toolkit will help you make a realistic assessment of the state of RE in your school, and illustrate the evidence you need to demonstrate success to others. It will also help you find out what you need to do next to improve the contribution of RE to learners' overall educational experience.

There are a lot of ideas in the Toolkit to support your self-evaluation of RE, and you may like to enlist the support of a colleague or adviser to help you build your evidence base. Don't be put off by the size of the document; there is a brief guide on how to make best use of it, and a useful checklist of materials you might have ready for an inspection or to show senior managers. The largest part of the Toolkit is Section 8, which contains lists of questions and examples of the sort of evidence you might be able to provide. Remember, you don't need all the items listed here! It will be enough that you can demonstrate your response to the key questions through one or two pieces of evidence.

Finally, make use of the evidence you already have. Don't try to build up a separate folder of paper which gathers dust on a shelf! The Toolkit encourages engagement with materials you already use and points out the working documents you need to help learners succeed in their RE. The intention is to keep it real and practical, to help you showcase the value of RE in your school and to build ideas for further development.

Download the full Toolkit here >>
(PDF file, approx 457Kb)
(NOW CONTAINS AN EXAMPLE FOR SPECIAL SCHOOLS)

Download Blank Primary Self-evaluation Form >>
(RTF file, approx 694Kb - use it to fill in the questionnaire in your word processor)

Download Blank Secondary Self-evaluation Form >>
(RTF file, approx 694Kb - use it to fill in the questionnaire in your word processor)

Download Blank Special Self-evaluation Form >>
(RTF file, approx 256Kb - use it to fill in the questionnaire in your word processor)