Diversity of Religion and Belief: A guidance and resource pack for primary schools in England and Wales

In recent years, diversity of religion and belief has been increasingly recognised within educational and social policy debates, as a strand of social difference distinct from ethnicity and culture, and worthy of attention in its own right. However, primary schools in England and Wales have not always had easy access to clear guidance on how to approach this topic. It seemed to us that there was a need to bring together relevant policy frameworks, academic research, and good practice into one
single document, which would also provide signposts to helpful resources in the field.

This is what Diversity of Religion and Belief: A guidance and resource pack for primary schools in England and Wales sets out to achieve.

The guidance and resource pack forms part of a wider engagement, impact and knowledge-exchange project that aims to build on the research of Dr Peter Hemming, which has explored the role of religion in primary schools in both urban and rural contexts (Hemming 2015, Hemming 2018). To date, the project has
included a seminar and workshop event at Cardiff University in March 2017 for researchers, teaching professionals and educational organisations. The event attracted over 30 attendees, who participated in presentations and discussions about
research and good practice in the field of diversity of religion and belief, and accompanied a wider email consultation with relevant experts and educational bodies. These activities were important for informing the guidance on good practice that makes up a significant part of this document.

The pack begins with a section on the various policy contexts and frameworks that inform our focus on diversity of religion and belief in primary schools. Next, it includes substantial sections providing guidance to schools, drawing on research and good practice, on how to approach this issue in everyday school life. Following
this, we have included a section listing a range of resources that we hope may prove useful in exploring this topic further. Finally, the pack contains sections listing references to cited academic and policy sources, as well as acknowledgements to individuals whose ideas have contributed to the pack, including attendees of the
original seminar and workshop event, and the wider email consultation.