Randalph the Wise sat in his chair, scratched his old grey head, and thought about the very big question.
“What really matters?” he asked the empty room in a deep, booming voice.
What is the series about?
The stories revolve around a character called Randalph the Wise, who is searching for answers to the very big question. He wants to know, ‘What really matters?’ This question takes Randalph the Wise on a journey through Wales. On his travels, he finds some special places and people to help him with his quest. In many ways, this is only the beginning of a journey, as Randalph the Wise challenges his readers to engage with the very big question themselves, and to start new journeys of their own.
Randalph’s Spiritual Quest and Search for Meaning is an exciting religious education series for 8 to 11-year-old learners sponsored by the Welsh Government and published by Bear Lands Publishing in 2019. The series has been created and produced by religious education experts with many years of experience at the interface between academic research and educational practice, devising religious education resources for learners and teachers.
This series takes the importance of place (cynefin) seriously and is therefore based upon extensive research into how children learn about themselves, others, and the world in which they live. These books are influenced by the Prayer and Sacred Place Research Project and developed in association with Lincoln Bishop University.
Supporting religious education for a changing curriculum
The series has been carefully designed to support approaches to religious education that stimulate natural connections with other disciplines in the humanities as well as other areas of learning and experience in the wider curriculum. Firmly embedded in the spirit of ongoing respectful enquiry, the resources have an openness and flexibility, making them relevant to different learning contexts.
The resources include:
- six storybooks, each exploring a “What really matters?” theme through engagement with places and people in Wales;
- six films set to music, one for each storybook, connecting learners more closely with place and stimulating further reflection arising from the “What really matters?” theme;
- six music soundtracks so learners and teachers can make their own films about their own local places;
- teachers’ guide, supporting confident and creative school-level and class-level design and planning for religious education / religion, values and ethics.
Accessing the resources
To access the resources, visit Randalph’s website!
https://randalphthewise.com/
The resources are also available on the Welsh Government Hwb:
The following titles are available: