At Notley High School (Braintree, Essex) RE, PSHE and ICT teachers worked together to develop and deliver a new, cross-curricular module of study to enable students to achieve greater positive awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity - particularly in relation to understanding how religious values and beliefs impact on people's behaviour.

The predominately monocultural nature of Notley High School's catchment area means that many of the students tend to have little experience of religious or cultural diversity within their immediate locality. However, as the ethnic make-up of the town is changing, particularly with a growing Nigerian and Muslim presence, it was hoped that through a study of a variety of examples of prejudice and discrimination the students' positive appreciation of difference would be fortified.

The module of study was devised for use with Year 9 - specifically built around RE concepts of ‘identity, diversity and belonging' (attainment target 2) and ‘practices and ways of life' (attainment target 1) and the corresponding PSHE concepts of ‘diversity' and ‘personal identities'.

The key question, ‘How do people practise their faith, even in the face of adversity?' was devised to address attainment target 1 and a series of research tasks were devised to help the students explore how forgiveness can affect people's lives. These included asking Year 9 students to produce a leaflet for Year 6 pupils that focused on the life, beliefs and actions of one of a selection of people engaged in activities to counter racism or inequality.

To address the attainment target 2 concept of ‘identity, diversity and belonging' the key question ‘How do people respond to difference?' was used to enable students to consider issues associated with mental health, gender discrimination and refugees. The English concept of Critical Understanding' (1.4) was incorporated into the module planning by using poetry and children's diary entries as stimulus material for discursive activities.

The work also linked to the cross-curricular dimensions of ‘identity and cultural diversity', ‘healthy lifestyles', and ‘creativity and critical thinking' as the students were encouraged to form positive relationships with others and make connections between ideas.

By the end of the unit of work the students were responding to situations with more empathy and using the terms introduced during the work with confidence. They had become more aware of how their attitudes and actions could be discriminatory and the influence this may well have on other people. They developed collaborative working skills through role play and presentations. Additionally, this enhanced their awareness of themselves, their own identity and how their ideas and behaviour impact on others. Their independent learning skills were developed in research tasks and time management of a project.

For further information, please visit the NATRE (National Association of Teachers of Religious Education) website at www.natre.org.uk to read the full-text of this case study, written by Susan Thompson. © NATRE, 2007.