Interfaith Education

Bradford Interfaith and Diversity Education

Promoting religious literacy by understanding and celebrating diversity

How can we help?

How can we help?

The six major world faiths are represented by a team of faith tutors able to offer a range of interfaith and diversity services to schools and organisations which help promote respect, tolerance, equality and understanding, by dispelling myths and misunderstandings.

The Proposed Ofsted Education Inspection Framework 2019 makes specific reference to “developing understanding and appreciation of diversity; celebrating what we have in common and promoting respect for the different protected characteristics.” Our service strives to help schools to fulfil this requirement by celebrating diversity and promoting critical thinking. Schools have reported a change in children’s behaviour following our visits or assemblies, feeling they appear calmer and more peaceful with an enhanced spiritual awareness.

Thank you to all who took the time to complete our recent customer satisfaction survey. Your responses have been really instrumental in developing our new offer. We have reacted to your feedback and created a service offer which is hopefully more flexible and responsive to the needs of schools and other organisations. Below is an outline of the services we can offer, however, if there is anything else you would like to purchase please drop us an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we would be happy to discuss your requirements.

Meet the team

Meet the team

The team comprises of trained faith tutors who are able to bring personal experience to religious education, visits to places of worship and collective worship. The team can also provide access to a collection of modern resources and books to support RE, collective worship and SMSC development.

Seema Buttoo: Faith Tutor Co-ordinator / Hindu Faith Tutor

I have been part of the Interfaith Education Centre team since 2001. I work as a full time Hindu Faith Tutor, conducting visits to the Mandir as well as leading RE and Collective worship sessions in schools for Bradford and other local authorities. I am expert at engaging very young children at EYFS through hands-on workshops, but also work with all different age groups in primary and secondary education. I am the Team Leader for the other Faith Tutors and manage the team on daily basis.

Manjit Kaur: Sikh Faith Tutor

I have been part of the Interfaith Education Centre for over 25 years. I lead visits in Gurdwaras across Bradford as well as visiting schools to conduct RE lessons and themed assemblies. I can also conduct adult visits. I bring my passion of religion, spirituality and equality into my work to engage with the whole age range from early years to adults.

Narinder: Sikh Faith Tutor

My primary role as a Sikh Faith Tutor is to explore the teachings and traditions of the Sikh Faith to promote Religious Literacy amongst children and adults. As part of my work I regularly conduct school visits to the Gurdwara and support RE in schools. For over 20 years I worked in the voluntary sector for some leading charities, working with some of the most vulnerable children, young people and families. I have a wealth of experience and an insight to the challenges that children and young people face in society and this informs the way that I work. I also hold a BA (Hons) degree in Community Studies (Youth Work) and most recently a BTEC level 3 in education

Saleem: Muslim Team Co-ordinator / Muslim Faith Tutor

Over the last 25 years, I have worked across different sectors of the Education and Training profession. I have gained a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills of working with adults and children delivering various educational programmes and assessing NVQs. I began my career as a qualified Adult Teacher/Trainer and I have worked with schools and colleges across Bradford supporting children and adults in their learning and development. My new role as a Muslim Faith Tutor Team Leader has given me an opportunity to share my Islamic knowledge and practice with schools across the Bradford district and beyond.

Fatima: Muslim Faith Tutor

I have been a specialised Muslim Faith Tutor for 17 years in Bradford. I lead Mosque visits, deliver separate faith and collective worship and support RE in schools. I also lead on planning for teachers to deliver faith worship on Islam. I am very dedicated and committed to supporting SMSC in schools. I am very passionate about promoting a better understanding, respect and tolerance of religions in schools and in my community. This will help us to create a better world and help us to live alongside each other cohesively.

Nadeem: Muslim Faith Tutor

Since graduating from art school I have worked in a variety of professions from film to the games industry. Each step I have had a desire to give something back, finally in 2000 I came across the Interfaith Education Centre and have worked there since. My creative work continues as a Faith Tutor, with a deeper meaning giving it a spiritual dimension. Working with different age groups and professions to break down barriers and promote peace and understanding has given my work a sense of virtue and substance. Over the years my professional work and studies in education and learning has equipped me with tools to promote a greater understanding and educational need to the many clients I encounter.

What people say about us

What people say about us

We receive consistently positive feedback from our visits and other services. Here are just a few of the comments from current clients:

“Life changing. We wanted the children to compare their Christian distinctiveness with another religion in a positive way and this completely ticked the boxes. We wanted to develop the children's mutual tolerance of other religions which we cannot do at school. The experience did this perfectly.”

Holy Trinity, Ripon, February 2019

“The whole experience was valuable to the children’s learning and understanding of other faiths”

Keighley St Andrew’s Primary School, February 2019

“The interactive elements of the session were excellent – the children were engaged and using enquiry/question based learning, promoting a real sense of involvement”.

Baildon CE, February 2019

Visits

Guided visits to faith settings

Meeting a real Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, or Sikh person makes a significant difference to pupils’ understanding of the impact of religion and belief. Visiting a place of worship can further strengthen this impact. The team has been leading visits to places of worship for almost 30 years and have built up good working relationships with sacred places representing the six major world faiths. Visiting a place of worship supports the development of knowledge & understanding in religious education by enabling learners to explore: · beliefs in action including multi-faith day packages with visits to several settings. · teachings and authority. · worship, pilgrimage and sacred places. · symbols and religious expression. · religion, family and community.

All aspects of the visit are co-ordinated by a member of the team who will send you an information pack with clear guidance on dress-code / protocols and a detailed risk assessment for each place to be visited. Prior to the visit you will have the opportunity to discuss the visit with the faith tutor involved, identifying learning objectives & appropriate outcomes. If parents are interested in accompanying the children on the visit they can do so FREE OF CHARGE.

Coming Soon – If the cost of travel for the visits is proving prohibitive we are planning to offer a virtual experience in the form of a webinar schools will be able to access on-line. Watch this space for more details to follow

Workshops

Faith-Based Workshops

To consolidate the visit experience learners can participate in one of our workshops which will reinforce the pupils’ understanding and learning in an entertaining and engaging way via some initiative workshops including Hindu dance, Sikh music, Muslim prayer mat, Islamic Garden Lotus flower, story telling and drama. Through drama, music & art, pupils explore stories from faith & culture to discover the importance of our shared human values. All our workshops have clearly defined learning outcomes. They can also be booked as a stand-alone event without having been on a visit.

RE Lessons

RE lessons

Faith tutors will visit your school to support learning in religious education, citizenship and related curriculum areas using a variety of media and resources to support effective learning. Each session can be planned to suit your school’s needs but a typical duration is one hour. The faith tutor will liaise with the class teacher to ensure that learning objectives are met and appropriate teaching strategies are used.

Worship

Collective Worship

A daily act of collective worship, as well as being a legal requirement, offers a special and important time in the school day in which pupils and staff can experience and celebrate the combination of qualities and values that create the ethos of their school. It makes an important contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and also offers opportunities to develop an appreciation of shared human values whilst providing a vehicle through which pupils can understand and respond to local and global events.

The Interfaith Education Team can support schools in meeting the statutory requirement to deliver a daily act of collective worship by:

share in or lead Collective Worship
celebrate a festival
lead ‘Inclusive’ worship
lead Separate Faith Worship
advise and support school staff leading worship
ready-to-deliver plans for Muslim Worship for use by your staff

The team is experienced in planning and delivering collective worship to all group sizes from a whole school to a small group. They currently lead Faith Worship in around 30 schools a week. Materials have been developed to promote Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural outcomes through collective worship and Faith Tutors are happy to discuss your requirements with you.

Bespoke Training

Bespoke group training for staff

We are able to offer bespoke training for your staff which can cover any area of faith-based work according to your requirements for any type of staff including Teaching Assistants. This may be for the whole school, phase or year group. This could be curriculum based or on a wider issue for example support for settling in new year 7 pupils into a diverse school community. Bespoke group training is a cost effective way of ensuring all staff are up-to-speed with this area of work and are delivering in a consistent way. It can be delivered for an individual school or group of schools as part of a MAT, federation, LAP, cluster etc.

Advice & Guidance

Email Helpline

An annual subscription to this new service will allow you to contact the team by email any time and as often as you need to with any faith-based questions. We will then be able to provide you with a timely response to your query.

One-to-one Support for staff

Alternatively one-to one support for the subject leader can be provided in a way which best suits the school. This will identify strengths and areas for development and can cover issues pertinent to your individual school.

Resource Packs

Faith starter resource packs to keep

Resource boxes provide the stimulus for the development of critical thinking in RE, they may be used to create a classroom display or as a source of information and exploration. Resource boxes contain a range of items which may include artefacts, audio visual materials, posters, books. They are designed to support the Bradford Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and to meet the requirements of local Diocesan Syllabus.

Pricing

Pricing

Pay as You Go Service:	Duration	Price
Guided Visits to Faith Settings	1 hour	£4.35 per child (£120 minimum charge)
Workshops	1 hour	£120
RE Lessons	1 hour	£120
Single Faith Worship*	half hour	£115 per tutor
Assembly Planning	Per half term	£65
Bespoke Training	2.5 hours	£295
One-to-one support	1 hour	£95
Faith Starter Resource Pack	N/A	£100
Advice & Guidance - Email Helpline	Annual	£150

*If you would like to book Collective Worship please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as the nature of this service varies according to each individual school's needs.

* If you would like a venue for lunch, spaces are available at National Science and Media Museum. There is a large area that seats 80 & other smaller ones that seat a class of 30-40. These can be booked for free for 20 min slots through the booking form: Educational booking form | National Science and Media Museum

Visits & Workshops - Any combination - Total No. Hours	Price
4 hours	£455
5 hours	£565
6 hours	£680
7 hours	£790
8 hours	£905
9 hours	£1,020
10 hours	£1,125

If you are interested in any other combination of hours please email us for a quote. Please note that in order to ensure all pupils have the best experience during a visit to a place of worship with the greatest impact on their learning, group sizes are limited to 35.

Please note : If your school / organisation is outside Bradford and interested in booking support to take place in your school / organisation rather than visit a faith setting in Bradford, please email us for the additional travel costs involved.

Discounts & Offers

Opt for a flexible visit and workshop subscription package and you will SAVE UP TO £75 on the Pay as You Go minimum individual visit price.

Hurry while stocks last!! Purchase a subscription package and you will receive a FREE faith starter resource pack worth £100.

Book one-to-one support and a bespoke training session and receive a 10% discount on both – SAVING YOU ALMOST £40.
Combine a One-to-One Support session with an annual Email Helpline subscription to answer any follow-up queries and receive both service for £195, SAVING YOU £50