School Visits
Dorset Humanists has a team of school speakers who are invited to schools to conduct lessons, workshops and assemblies in which we teach the pupils about Humanism as part of Religious Education (RE). The speakers have undergone training by the Humanists UK education department and are part of a large national team of Humanist school speakers co-ordinated by Humanists UK.
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 support for teachers of RE in both primary and secondary schools to teach Humanism as a non-religious worldview.
We also regularly attend schools with a Many Faiths team and Christian school speakers to provide comparative lessons in which we demonstrate tolerance and respect for the views of others.
We offer our services free of charge and in the 2023/4 academic year were invited to the following Dorset schools, with a total of almost 2,000 children addessed:
Twynham School, Bourne Academy, St Peter's Catholic School, St Edwards School, St Aldhelms Academy, Magna Academy, Livingstone Academy, Highcliffe School, Glenmoor and Winton Academy, Ferndown Middle School, Emmanuel Middle School, Cornerstone Academy, Corfe Hills School, Stourfield Junior, Ocean Academy, St Michaels Middle School, Avonbourne Academy, Livingstone Academy, St Peter's Catholic School, Bournemouth Collegiate School, St Katharine's Junior School, St Michael's CoE Junior School, Bishop of Winchester School, Corfe Castle Junior School, Winton Primary, Broadstone Middle School, Bournemouth School, St Nicholas Primary Weymouth, Poulner Junior School, St Osmunds Middle School Dorchester.
Some feedback from schools
- 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
Resources
We have produced a Teaching Humanism supplement to the Bournemouth and Poole Agreed RE Syllabus which contains a wealth of stimulating information and lesson plans.
Joint Christianity and Humanism Lesson
This unique lesson has been developed in partnership between PACE (Programme for Applied Christian Education) and Dorset Humanists and is led by Dave Pegg (Schools Work Leader for PACE) and David Warden (Chair of Dorset Humanists). It is available to secondary schools in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch free of charge. Link to video. youtube.com/watch?v=Gn0eUj9eu_I
Request a visit to your school
To request a visit or a planning meeting, please either contact David Warden using the contact form on this website or visit understandinghumanism.org.uk/school-speakers/ and fill in the ‘Request a School Speaker’ form. This website also has an extensive range of teaching resources about Humanism to support teachers.
To request a visit or a planning meeting, please contact dhschoolspeakers@gmail.com