Schools - Parents, Teachers and Students
The Academy fully supports the current provision of RME/RMPS in Scotland as a form of helping children to become religion and ethics literate - we therefore disapprove of any 'opt-out' schemes for pupils as we view this as putting them at a disadvantage in their knowledge of a phenomenon that is world-wide. In this view we are joined by most educated secular-minded groups. For pupils who want to progress their education in ethics and prefer to do this from a secular platform, we have provided our NQ Unit in Humanism (discussed below).
Our Practitioners therefore are happy to continue to work alongside all the RME teachers and schools throughout Scotland, most of whom we believe are doing sterling work.
The Study of Humanism in Scotland's schools
The Scottish Qualifications Authority have approved two of the Academy's courses in Humanism at Intermediate levels 1 and 2 and added them as two Units to the National Qualifications Catalogue.
Starting in August 2008, these Units will be available as part of the core Religious and Moral Education (RME) programme in all schools across Scotland. Adults students can study the courses at Further Education colleges or other SQA educational outlets.
The conventional route of studying the six main religions remains open to all school pupils, but the addition of two Free-Standing Units in Humanism means that for the first time, any student who wants to investigate morality as part of their academic studies can choose to do so from in an entirely secular perspective.
Teacher and Student Guide to Humanism Units Intermediate 1 and 2 [PDF] [DOC]
To support teachers and help students achieve the Learning Outcomes of the new Units, the Academy has produced a Support Guide of material. The Guide closely follows the content and design of the Units and encourages students to make a critical appraisal of Humanism and carry out some independent research.
The Guide is available for download by clicking on the paragraph title. If you have any comments, or suggestions for improvements to it, please contact the Educational Resource Manager at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Morality in the Modern World: Humanism - LTS Support Pack
Our first Support Pack, (completed a few years ago) was produced for the MMW course and done in collaboration with Learning and Teaching Scotland. It remains available on their website (to download please click the title)
The Academy has produced its own version of this pack: MMW -Teacher and Student Guide. It covers exactly the same topics as the LTS version, only the design and content have been amended slightly to retain consistency with our range of educational literature. (To download the HA Guide for MMW, click here [PDF] [DOC]):
Personal Teacher/Student Support
Because Humanism is fairly new to the school RME programme, we can offer personal support to any teachers (including probationers) and students who would like more information or advice on any aspect of the Units. This service might be especially helpful for those students who undertake Intermediate 2 and as part of their studies and are required to carry out an 'investigation' (Please click paragraph title for a downloadable document). For further information on any aspect of the Units or to find some added resources for folio work, please contact us: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
School visits by HA Practitioners
Our Humanist Practitioners visit schools throughout Scotland and will be pleased to discuss any aspects of Humanism especially those related to the new Units.
Practitioners can also conduct inclusive primary school assemblies following the 'nurturing' model appropriate for the eary years.