BigQuestions inClassrooms
Impactreport
This project was established to embed a coherent, researchinformed approach to curriculum design across MultiAcademy Trusts, strengthening the relationship between Science and Religious Education subjects. Working at system level through MAT Curriculum Directors, subject leaders and teachers, the project set out to secure genuine, sustainable change in curriculum leadership and practice across schools
Through structured professional development, nationally recognised qualifications, university partnership, and a strong focus on effective implementation and quality assurance, the project supported and enhanced the professional learning cultures already present within MATs, creating new spaces for collaboration, enquiry and shared curriculum leadership.
Positioned within an increasingly academised education system, it intentionally focused on the MAT as the source of educational leadership, with the ambition of generating scalable approaches and resources capable of influencing practice well beyond the schools directly involved
ParticipatingMATs
Aletheia Academies Trust
Blue Coat Church of England Academy
Forward as One Church of England Multi-Academy Trust
Fosse Multi-Academy Trust
Learn Academy Trust
Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust
Minster Trust for Education (MiTRE)
Marches Academy Trust
Staffordshire University Academies Trust
Transform Trust
“BylinkingREandscience,weshowedthatthesesubjectscomplement eachother—scienceexplainshowtheplanetworksandwhatthreatensit, whileREexploreswhyweshouldcare,drawingonvaluessuchas compassion,justice,andstewardship.”
ProgrammeDelivery Summary
The project was delivered through a structured programme of curriculum development and leadership learning, designed to support coherent, researchinformed ways of connecting Science and Religious Education at system level.
System leaders worked alongside Canterbury Christ Church University to apply research-informed approaches, with leadership capacity further strengthened through engagement in nationally recognised professional qualifications (NPQLT). Oversight and quality assurance were provided by the National Society for Education team.
The programme engaged curriculum leaders and teachers across a diverse range of Multi-Academy Trusts Engagement focused on those with responsibility for curriculum leadership at trust and school level, with lead schools supporting wider participation across each MAT This approach enabled focused professional learning for Science and Religious Education leaders while supporting the spread and embedding of learning across each trust.
BigQuestionsformedby theMATs
Representatives from the Multi-Academy Trusts who attended the events in this project were given freedom to focus their project on the particular needs and interests of their schools and students Sustainability and Climate Change proved a popular choice, with three the MATs choosing this transdisciplinary focus to bring together ideas from the science curriculum and the RE curriculum
Forward as One CoE MAT, for example, chose How and why should we save our planet? Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust chose the similar, Why should we care for the Earth? And Transform MAT chose Why should we care for our world?
Some of the MATs moved away from a focus on sustainability SUAT, for example, asked their students the very direct question, Are science and RE compatible?
Aletheia and LearnAT MATs chose to include a variety of big questions including, Do we have to see or experience something for it to be real? How do we know all facts are true? And Are humans or animals more important?
Blue Coat Church of England Academy chose a slightly different approach, embedding a ‘big question’ in the start of all lessons, thereby focusing on their title of Inspiring awe and wonder in children, specifically through the use of metacognitive strategies in both RE and science
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Fosse MAT chose a variety of strategies to fit with the project, but, linking specifically to big questions, they made a shared ‘Big Questions’ book which contributed to a shared language around spirituality through the school. Minster Trust for Education (MiTRE), working with sixthformers, ran a variety of Big Question debates which addressed a range of scientific and religious topics
Storiesofchangeand success
Teachers, schools and MATs approached this project in a variety of ways, but the desire to change the curriculum, connecting science and religious education, united them all. The stories written by lead teachers describe a lack of connection between the subjects of science and Religious Education at the beginning of the project, which, by the end had moved towards connection in all the MATs in several different ways Blue Coat Church of England Academy, summarised this shift:
For those focusing on sustainability and caring for the planet, Forward as One CoE MAT summarised the connections between the subjects:
“By linking RE and science, we showed that these subjects complement each other – science explains how the planet works and whatthreatensit,whileREexplores why we should care, drawing on values such as compassion, justice andstewardship.”
While the unity of intention to bring subjects together was impressive, the diversity of ways to do this also stood out. Bluecoat chose to embed metacognitive strategies across RE and science creating thematic links on topics such as evolution and worldviews Forward as One linked the teaching of sustainability across 15 schools, creating high levels of pupil (and parent) participation through real-world issues such as Water Aid.
“Before this project began, conversations between leaders in departments were isolated, however richer conversations and cross-department collaboration arenowoccurringmorefrequently, whichisveryexciting!”
Fosse took a different approach, defining the Trust’s religious identity through shared language and worship practices, but also developing philosophical enquiry across their schools As a result, they raised RE’s profile far beyond lesson time. SUAT chose to map shared vocabulary and concepts across the two subjects in their schools.
The different MATs are clear about the impact of the project on their teachers, schools and students. LAAT emphasised the impact of changed learning on their students:
Thechildrennoticedthatpeoplewithallsortsofbeliefsandworldviewsdid similar things to look after the planet, but not necessarily for the same reasons.Thechildren’sunderstandingofsustainabilitycertainlyincreased andtheyarestillreferringbacktotheweek’slearningnow,severalmonths later.
This notion of understanding a variety of beliefs was supported in the words of a student from Transform Trust:
I liked looking at the same question from two different points of view. I founditinterestingtoseehowtheyworktogether.
MiTRE also emphasised the impact on their students:
These sessions have ensured that students have a wider knowledge of diversityandtheviewpointsofotherfaithsandsecularbeliefswhichhelps in developing the students as global citizens. It has also increased their understanding of scientific facts and laws surrounding the question areas addressed.
It can therefore be seen that, across the taught age ranges, and across the geographical spread of the trusts, teachers report a significant impact on the pupils from exploring different ways of knowing The impact was not only on pupils’ substantive knowledge in both subjects, but also, as Forward as One Trust summarised it:
developed their ability to think critically, ask meaningful questions, and understand that knowledge can be built in multiple, complementary ways. Pupils came to see that Science and RE are partners in exploring truth, purpose, and responsibility, both essential to answering today’s “big questions,”suchashowandwhyweshouldsaveourplanet.
Vital and naturally transdisciplinary issues, such as climate change and sustainability, were therefore given renewed impact in both subjects through the project Pupils gained a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the world by recognising that big questions require multiple lenses – scientific, ethical, philosophical and theological
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There were, however, other impacts worthy of note Forward as One noted impact in a change of attitude towards collaboration from their teaching staff:
“Now that the project is complete, we feel inspired and hopeful. It proved that collaborationcanovercomebarriers,and that education, rooted in both scientific understandingandethicalreflection,can empower young people to protect our planet.”
SUAT reported a change in the depth of conversations between their teaching staff which led to changes in curriculum mapping:
“Lots of rich conversations emerged from this and big questions that were identifiedarenowmappedacrossREand scienceinourcurriculumprogramme.”
Teachers benefited from cross-subject expertise and grew in confidence to help their students make links across curriculum boundaries
Examplesofhow curriculumdevelopedto makelastingconnections betweenwaysofknowing
Representatives from the trusts took different approaches to developing and connecting their curriculum, many of which came from the specific training and research funded by TWCF
Aletheia Trust reported being repeatedly drawn to the Epistemic Wheel They noted a feeling across the trust that children were missing the opportunity to focus on more thematic learning. While retaining discrete subjects, teachers were helped through shared planning to understand how the perspective of a theologian might be different to the perspective of a scientist. As the Trust say, ‘at the start of the project, subjects stood separately, but we have created opportunities for thinking and formation of ideas in each subject to sit alongside each other’
Several of the trusts started the process of connection through auditing existing schemes of work, identifying cross-over areas between subjects, considering when topics were taught and enabling teachers to make cross-curricular references during lessons Bluecoat reported building teachers’ subject knowledge by having an open dialogue between departments with shared resources. Thematic connections were made, connecting science topics like evolution, cloning and adaptation to RE themes such as creation and worldview. Pupils were therefore empowered to transfer and integrate knowledge across subjects, enabling knowledge to become more embedded as regularly revisited
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Forward as One Trust reported science and RE moving from being taught as isolated subjects to now interacting through shared themes that encourage pupils to think deeply about humanity’s relationship with the world Examples include RE units on Creation where pupils also consider scientific theories and science topics on climate change where pupils are introduced to religious perspectives on stewardship Disciplinary knowledge in particular was developed in each subject by teaching pupils how scientists and theologians know what they know Joint discussions allowed pupils to compare disciplinary methods, asking, how does a scientist find out the truth? How does a person of faith find truth? What might each learn from the other?
Fosse Academy Trust focused on intentionally raising the profile of RE across the school, while also making purposeful links to the science curriculum For the schools in the Trust that used them, ways of knowing were made explicit on the pupils’ knowledge organisers, so that they could better understand how they should approach an RE lesson as a theologian, for example Lesson delivery now introduced pupils to the kinds of questions scholars might pose – questions that invite exploration rather than definitive answers.
For MiTRE, working with sixth-form students, collaborative work between members of the RE and science departments led to a shared curriculum being jointly developed. This involved collaboration in both specific subject knowledge and pedagogy to ensure that joint topics were not superficial but really stretched students to understand both curriculum areas and the links between them The chosen big questions focused on themes such as genetic modification, artificial intelligence and assisted suicide were deliberately selected firstly, to show the links between science and religion, but also, to have a clear grounding in significant real-world issues, relevant to the students today The work was aimed at developing students’ debating skills as well as maintaining a culture of respect and tolerance while increasing students’ confidence in defending their personal opinions The project therefore supported students to become more open to the opinions of others.
UsingtheEEF Implementation Considerations
This work was in evidence in the project reports across the trusts The language of ‘explore, prepare, deliver, sustain’ underwrote the development of each project and ensured that the planning was slow, methodical and sustained rather than rushed or limited Transform Trust were very clear about how their ‘structured, but flexible implementation process’ fitted with this model:
Once we had identified a question to develop, we prepared both resources and leaders across the Trust from Trustees to Headteachers to subject leaders of RE and Science. The delivery phase saw us rolling out the resources to schools who had chosen to take part in the project Taking part was purely voluntary. Indeed, some schools attended the training but decided for a number of reasons not to continue with using the resources in school. Once schools had trialled the resources, they were encouraged to complete a feedback form with pupil voice and suggestions for improvements for the resources. We are now entering the sustain phase whereby we will be encouraging schools to develop similar connections between other Big Questions. The resources will also be made available to all schools across Transform Throughout the process, we aimed to be reflective in order to monitor and adapt our plans for implementation.
MiTRE, for example, reported that they were currently in the ‘delivery’ stage of the project, ensuring that staff shared purpose and felt supported:
The project and its core aims have been introduced to all staff delivering the statutory religious education curriculum to ensure there is a purposeful delivery and engagement The structured resources provide support for staff who may be delivering outside of their subject specialism. Staff have also been supported through follow-up meetings to ensure they are confident in their delivery of the sessions and we are constantly tweaking the curriculum in response to teacher and student feedback. For example, overview sheets have been created to support the teachers delivering the sessions. These will enable them to guide the students more effectively if and when they require it. We are continually reflecting on the project as we progress This will include a full review at the end of the academic year so that improvements can be made as required prior to embarking on the project in 2026-27, when we will move firmly into the sustain stage.
Aletheia agreed on the importance of shared vocabulary and vision for all participating practitioners:
Carefully planning each stage has allowed us to build incrementally, ensuring that the change can be sustained The NPQs have supported the knowledge of the team working on this project, allowing them to plan and share ideas and resources confidently with the wider staff in all schools
Fosse Academy Trust emphasised the importance of regular communication and clearly defined roles in implementing the project:
All of the four schools within our MAT were in a slightly different place in terms of their implementation of the new curriculum and in developing their school’s individual religious identity We worked hard to share ideals and bring the four schools into closer alignment whilst always recognising the individual contexts of each of the schools. As a result, staff felt genuinely engaged in the process and were more invested in supporting the project’s success. These regular meetings between our schools have provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on progress, celebrate successes, and evaluate impact on both staff and pupils.
Learn AT emphasised the importance of taking time over various stages of the implementation:
We spent quite a large amount of time in the ‘prepare’ stage of this project and also in the ‘deliver’ stage Based on our findings we then chose to repeat the two stages to take our learning one step further We are not yet in the ‘sustain’ phase as we are deciding how best to move forwards to ensure practice in this area is manageable, impactful and useful in each of our schools our intention was to develop something we felt we could roll out to other staff confidently in the future, to be able to share with them both the realities and challenges of what this could look like in the classroom.
It can therefore be seen that, across the Trusts, implementation followed a phased and reflective process –supporting staff, refining resources through feedback and strengthening shared vision and collaboration – to ensure the project could be sustained and developed in future iterations
Deeperprofessionaldialogue
The research on science and religion encounters from Canterbury Christ Church University emphasised the importance of professional discourse and, specifically, the need for deep dialogue between teachers about the content taught before collaborating over planning and teaching. Reports from MATs provided rich evidence of deeper disciplinary and interdisciplinary dialogue, particularly between teachers of science and RE or conversations that would not have taken place before the implementation of this project.
Some of the conversations reported were about reassurance during a process of change Aletheia reported:
Some teachers from the wider group were daunted and nervous about being led by questions children would raise rather than a pre-written plan with pre-planned resources
A variety of people within the project team were able to reassure and coach teachers to understand the longer-term benefits of working in this way and ensuring that they felt safe in allowing the learning to be led by children rather than themselves
A teacher from Fosse needed similar reassurance:
A teacher within my school approached me concerned with how to embed philosophical questioning into her RE lessons, worrying that the children were a little too young to be able to pose these ‘big questions’. We talked about how to reframe, focusing on an enquiry-based approach, looking at individual worldviews rather than risking stereotyping how all people following a certain religion might worship. We discussed how young children can respond really well to a stimulus like a short story or video to explore some of these bigger questions, fostering a philosophical classroom culture where questions are praised, not just answers.
Not all of the conversations were easy and sometimes substantial reassurance was necessary to alleviate concerns Bluecoat provided one such example:
At the start of the project, a conversation occurred between one of the project leaders and a member of the science department, where the staff member identified their concerns with the project occurring, as science and RE are different subjects. During the conversation, the project leader identified the crossover areas between the subjects, and the project leader and member of the science department concluded that although some topics are taught by both subjects, students struggle to retrieve and understand the difference between subject-specific vocabulary Through this conversation, the reluctant staff member identified that through collaboration, we could improve the student’s disciplinary knowledge
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Some schools and MATs reported an increase in professional dialogue related to the project LAAT for example:
As a result of this project, we all had several interesting conversations, often being stopped in corridors to discuss something the children had said or noticed during the week.
Others reported seminal, empowering conversations between teachers that moved the project forward. Learn AT, for example, said:
A conversation was held between two teachers about their differing experiences of delivering the Big Question sessions Both teachers described the challenges and successes These different experiences then lead to changing the action plan and deciding on new next steps to the previously planned ones. This then sent us down a slightly different route and we ended in a different place to what we had expected, but in a more confident place due to the extra evidence acquired and the extended feedback process
SUAT described a similar empowering conversation, this time between teaching staff from across the Trust:
During a discussion between staff from parallel classes across our Federation, we explored how both RE and science encourage curiosity and questioning, rather than simply providing answers. Teachers shared how pupils linked the idea of “evidence” in science with “faith” in RE as different ways of knowing This conversation helped shape our next phase focusing less on resolving tension between the subjects and more on helping pupils appreciate how both contribute to a fuller understanding of the world The project can therefore be seen to have promoted deeper professional dialogue, as teachers required reassurance during change or as teachers across the trusts engaged in innovative practice The conversations strengthened confidence, clarifying the complementary nature of science and RE and ultimately contributed to reshaping practice through embedding shared enquiry and planning approaches
Sustainingtheprojectaims inthefuture
The Trust reports are united in their sense of the importance of this project and their desire to continue and develop the work into the future Across the trusts, the next priorities include embedding and expanding cross-curricular links between science and RE, through deeper curriculum integration, shared planning and professional development, so that enquiry, ethical thinking, and interdisciplinary learning become sustained, Trust-wide practice that grows in depth, confidence, and reach.
Some of the trusts want to expand their projects to work with a wider range of schools in their trusts Aletheia, for example, wants to work with secondary colleagues, partners in faith and STEM partners across the community. Forward as One want to see each school implementing their sustainability action plans and embedding future Trust-wide science weeks
Several reports pointed out the need to continue professional development for staff. Fosse want to use such development to ensure that science and RE are not seen as separate or conflicting disciplines. LAAT want to spread the project across their trust using network meetings for RE and science subject leaders. As SUAT put it, “Support from subject specialists and opportunities for cross-school collaboration will be key to maintaining momentum and deepening teachers’ confidence in leading these discussions.”
Conclusionsandnext steps
This project demonstrates that purposeful collaboration between science and religious education can act as a powerful lever for curriculum renewal, professional learning and pupil flourishing when undertaken at Multi-Academy Trust level. Across a diverse range of trusts, schools and phases, the project successfully shifted practice from isolated subject delivery towards more connected, enquiryled curriculum design rooted in authentic “big questions” These questions provided a shared language through which scientific, ethical, philosophical and theological perspectives could be explored together without collapsing disciplinary integrity.
A consistent conclusion across trusts was that impact was strongest where curriculum development was led strategically, supported by structured professional learning and underpinned by time for deep professional dialogue. The combination of research input from Canterbury Christ Church University, leadership development through NPQLT, and phased implementation aligned to the EEF model enabled schools to move beyond short-term innovation towards sustainable change. Teachers reported increased confidence, richer collaboration and improved clarity about disciplinary knowledge and ways of knowing, while pupils demonstrated deeper understanding, critical thinking and respect for diverse perspectives
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Importantly, the project highlights that transdisciplinary curriculum work is not a single model or template, but a set of shared principles that can be enacted in different ways depending on context Whether through sustainability enquiries, epistemological questioning, metacognitive strategies or shared vocabulary and worship practices, trusts found approaches that reflected their identity, their pupils and their strategic priorities This flexibility, combined with clear leadership and shared vision, proved central to success.
The project also evidences the value of working at MAT level as an effective vehicle for sustained curriculum change in an increasingly academised system. By engaging curriculum leaders, subject specialists and senior leaders together, the work was able to influence both classroom practice and Trust-wide culture, with clear potential for wider system impact beyond the schools directly involved
Nextsteps
Building on the strong foundations established through this project, participating trusts identified a shared set of priorities for sustaining and extending the work.
First, there is a clear intention to deepen and normalise curriculum connections between science and RE so that interdisciplinary enquiry becomes an embedded feature of Trust-wide practice rather than a discrete initiative. This includes further curriculum mapping, shared planning time and the refinement of resources based on pupil and teacher feedback
Second, trusts identified the need to continue investing in professional development. Ongoing subject-specific and cross-subject CPD, network meetings for science and RE leaders, and opportunities for coaching and collaboration will be essential to maintain confidence, address staff turnover and support new colleagues engaging with the approach
Third, several trusts plan to expand the work to additional schools and phases within their organisations, including greater engagement with secondary schools, sixth forms and external partners such as diocesan teams, faith communities and STEM organisations. This reflects a growing ambition to embed the principles of the project across whole Trust curricula and wider communities.
Fourth, trusts expressed a desire to strengthen the role of pupil voice and realworld engagement, particularly around issues such as sustainability, ethics and emerging technologies This includes further student leadership opportunities, community action projects and debates that connect curriculum learning to lived experience and global challenges.
Finally, there is strong potential for wider system influence The resources, case studies and implementation learning generated through this project provide a robust foundation for sharing practice more widely across the Church of England education system and beyond Future phases of work could focus on dissemination, evaluation of longer-term impact, and contribution to national conversations about curriculum, disciplinary knowledge and human flourishing
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