At the beginning of 2019 (I know, a really long time ago), we started the process of applying for St James’ to be awarded an REQM. This is a Religious Education Quality Mark and has been developed to celebrate quality RE. The Religious Education Council of England and Wales provides support and monitors the quality of the award. There are 3 awards available; Bronze, Silver and Gold.
At the end of February 2020 our visit took place and we were delighted to be notified a couple of weeks later (mid-covid madness) that we had been awarded the Silver award with a number of elements towards Gold. At this time St James’ was the first school in the BCP area to receive an REQM in over 3 years and we were also the first school out of 150 in the Winchester and Portsmouth dioceses to gain the RE Quality Mark.
We were awarded the Silver quality mark in acknowledgement of the work we have done to develop children’s enjoyment of the subject. This ranges from organising staff training on creative ways to teach RE, to developing their RE work in practical ways to support their local community. We were really proud that the assessor was impressed with the children’s enthusiasm for RE and their thoughtful comments.
It has taken us a little time to navigate our way through the pandemic but we are really excited to now be able to share this news with you!!
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