Primary and secondary RE leads from across the Diocese of Northampton came together at St Thomas Centre in Northampton for a day of professional development exploring how creativity, Scripture and Christian vision can inspire children and young people in Religious Education.
Organised by the Diocese of Northampton’s Education Service, the training day brought together RE leads from both primary and secondary schools for a practical and reflective programme led by Lat Blaylock, Consultant RE Adviser with RE Today.
The day, Creativity: Using Scripture and Christian visions to inspire children to think about faith and RE (5–14s), explored how imaginative approaches can help pupils engage more deeply with questions of faith, meaning and Christian belief.
Lat Blaylock brings extensive experience of teaching and supporting Religious Education. A primary and secondary specialist, he taught RE, Humanities and PSHE in Leicester before joining RE Today, where he has advised teachers, schools, dioceses, SACREs and local authorities. He was formerly editor of REtoday magazine and continues to deliver professional development and consultancy for teachers across the country.
The training focused particularly on the relationship between creativity, imagination and spirituality in RE, considering how children can be encouraged not simply to acquire knowledge about Christianity but to think, question, interpret and respond.
A key theme was the importance of helping teachers and pupils to engage confidently with Scripture. The session explored the idea of Scripture as containing “100 little stories and one big story”, helping participants consider how individual biblical stories contribute to the wider story of God’s relationship with humanity and the Christian understanding of salvation.
The day also introduced practical approaches based around understand, discern and respond, giving RE leaders ideas for creating balanced and purposeful learning activities for pupils aged 5–14.
For teachers, this meant opportunities to explore practical strategies that could be taken directly back into their classrooms, while also stepping back to consider the deeper purpose of Religious Education: creating space for children and young people to encounter the richness of the Christian tradition, engage thoughtfully with faith and develop their own capacity to ask important questions.
The emphasis on creativity was particularly timely. Recent RE Today work has highlighted the value of approaches including art, poetry, storytelling and other creative activities in helping pupils develop deeper thinking and confident expression in RE.
For Catholic schools, this kind of professional development forms part of the Diocese’s commitment to supporting teachers in providing high-quality Religious Education that is intellectually rigorous, imaginative and rooted in the richness of the Christian faith.
The day also provided an opportunity for RE leaders from different schools and phases to share ideas, experiences and good practice, strengthening the professional community supporting Religious Education across the Diocese.
Through training such as this, the Diocesan Education Service continues to equip teachers with both the practical tools and the confidence to help children and young people encounter the Christian story, think deeply about faith and belief, and respond creatively to the questions that matter.
