Humanists UK's has extensive resources for teaching Humanism

School Visits

Dorset Humanists has a team of school speakers who can be invited to schools to conduct lessons, workshops and assemblies in which they teach the pupils about Humanism as part of Religious and Worldview Education (RE). The speakers have undergone training and are accredited by the Humanists UK education department.

Humanism is included in the Religious Education (RE) agreed syllabuses for Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset. It also features in GCSE syllabuses, particularly with the Eduqas Exam Board. We also offer free CPD support for teachers of RE in both primary and secondary schools to teach Humanism as a non-religious worldview.

We provide our services entirely free of charge. In the 2024-2025 school year we attended over 30 schools and addressed some 5,500 pupils across Dorset.

We also regularly attend schools with a Many Faiths team and with Christian school speakers to provide comparative lessons in which we demonstrate tolerance and respect for the views of others.

These unique lessons have been developed in partnership between PACE (Programme for Applied Christian Education) and Dorset Humanists.

They are available to all schools in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch free of charge. To learn more about these combined lessons, see youtube.com/watch

Some feedback from schools

  • As an academy, we have been fortunate to work closely with Dorset Humanists, whose thoughtful and engaging approach has greatly enriched our students’ understanding of Humanist beliefs and values. Their work has provided a meaningful platform for open discussion, encouraging critical thinking and respect for diverse worldviews. Students have also benefitted from workshops led by a representative from the Humanist Society alongside a Christian speaker, allowing them to explore and compare perspectives on important topics such as assisted dying and the existence of God. These experiences have enabled students to ask insightful questions, deepen their understanding, and begin to form their own considered viewpoints as they prepare for adult life.

Magna Academy (Teacher)

  • Barry has visited our school to deliver several assemblies to different year groups, calmly explaining humanism without ever preaching. He is also great at dealing with the tricky questions, which has really helped our pupils contextualise their own beliefs. Pupils have then been able to explain these beliefs and their reasoning in subsequent RE and philosophy lessons.We can't wait for our class-based ethics discussions between Barry and a Christian speaker from PACE Trust as each will be a great opportunity to model respectful dialogue between adults.

Broadstone Middle School (Teacher)

  • The speaker engaged the children brilliantly at their level and welcomed their questions and thoughts. It was great for them to hear first-hand about Humanism and really consolidated the learning from their RE lessons. He also handled the children's questions tactfully when they contemplated how their religious beliefs might differ from what he believed.

St Michael's CoE Primary School

  • Students understand Humanism in a lasting manner now due to the talk.

Cornertone Academy

  • Pitched brilliantly to the Y7 pupils. Explained key concepts and vocab and very willing to answer questions.

Emmanuel Middle CoE School

  • I just wanted to thank you again for spending the afternoon with us today. It really was very informative and fun, the children have left with a nice “buzz”!

Winton Primary

  • Thank you so much for your time and energy today. I have had numerous students come up to me throughout the day saying how they enjoyed hearing from a Humanist worldview. It was quite a novelty and an eye opening experience for a great many of them.

Winton and Glenmoor Academies

  • Very clear communication. Very age appropriate and respectful.

St Katharine's CoE Primary School

  • "I thought that when Barry came in, he had very good and well thought out opinions. He had calm responses when we had questions and always had a response ready. I also liked that he explained he didn't want to change our minds but wanted to show people what it is like being a Humanist which I find smart. I really enjoyed my afternoon and found it really interesting."

Ocean Academy Primary School (Student's comment)

  • "I really enjoyed it when Barry came to visit our school. This is because I thought he was really well spoken when explaining what Humanism is. As well as that, he even stated that he didn't want to change anyone's views on their own religions - which I thought was really cool. He also answered questions very clearly and explained his answers really well. Barry also told us about Humanism and said all of their values and how they come up with them. I really enjoyed learning about Humanism and took back lots of information."

Ocean Academy Primary School (Student's comment)

  • "Barry answered everyone's questions perfectly and helped us learn all about Humanism. He explained everything marvellously! An interesting fact about Humanism that I learned is that Humanists don't believe in any gods, they only believe in science and finding the truth. Barry also said how they don't believe in any supernatural things like unicorns. I would really recommend to other schools to have Barry come to visit them as we learned lots of new things about Humanists and how they choose to live their life. It was great to hear this from someone who is a Humanist as well."

Ocean Academy Primary School (Student's comment)

Request a visit to your school

To request a visit or a planning meeting, please contact via email - dhschoolspeakers@gmail.com