Religious Education crisis worsens as less than half of English secondary schools provide the subject at GCSE
Thursday, 22 August 2019 19:49
A new report conducted by academics at Liverpool Hope
University and released yesterday has found that the proportion of
secondary schools in England providing Religious Education (RE) at
GCSE decreased by 13% between 2017 and 2018, meaning that only 39%
of the schools were discovered to provide it. The gap in provision
between faith and non-faith schools also widened, with only 30% of
non-faith secondaries providing the GCSE, a drop of 18.1% from the
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A new
report conducted by
academics at Liverpool Hope University and released yesterday has
found that the proportion of secondary schools in England
providing Religious Education (RE) at GCSE decreased by 13%
between 2017 and 2018, meaning that only 39% of the schools were
discovered to provide it. The gap in provision between faith and
non-faith schools also widened, with only 30% of non-faith
secondaries providing the GCSE, a drop of 18.1% from the previous
year.
The research covers the period when the impact of revised subject
content criteria for RE were realised. The changes have meant
pupils have to learn about two religions for RE GCSE, meaning that
faith schools must teach about another faith. However,
non-religious beliefs may not comprise one of the two worldviews to
be systematically studied, while the subject has less focus on
philosophy and ethics and more on theology and textual
studies.
The report
has been followed today by the publication of this year's GCSE
results. They reveal that the
number of entries for RE GCSE has declined by 42.6% over the last
eight years, with 200,000 fewer pupils achieving a
qualification in the subject at the end of Key Stage
4.
In response the Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education has
urged the Government to enact the recommendations of the
Commission on Religious Education. The work of the two year long
Commission was conducted by a mix of national RE experts drawn
from a wide variety of backgrounds. They investigated and
extensively consulted on the legal and policy frameworks for the
subject in English schools.
The Commission released its recommendations in September 2018, warning that RE could soon
almost disappear in non-faith schools. Among its key
recommendations were that RE should become a nationally
determined subject. RE is currently in the anomalous position of
being the only compulsory subject in state funded schools in
England that is not part of the National Curriculum. The legal
structures and systems that support it have remained largely
unchanged since 1944.
Chair of the Accord Coalition, the Revd
Stephen Terry, said 'RE is being allowed to deteriorate and
suffer badly. This includes many faith schools giving limited
consideration to other beliefs, especially prior to GCSE, and
many non-faith schools cutting back on and, in some cases, even
ceasing provision of it. These latest findings are highly
alarming and should prompt an urgent review by
Government.'
'It is encouraging that a strong
consensus has already formed about how RE should change. This
includes a key recommendation of the prestigious 2018 Commission
on Religious Education, which urged that all pupils be provided
with a nationally prescribed entitlement to an education about
religious and non-religious beliefs. A
recent report from the
Lancaster University based Professor Linda Woodhead and former
Education Secretary has also recommended a
very similar way forward.'
'Learning about a range of religions and beliefs held in
society, and the values they uphold, is vital in education about
citizenship. At a time when our nation badly needs to grow in
mutual understanding and tolerance of different lifestyles and
worldviews, such teaching is a vital component of a broad and
balanced education. Government should implement this in all
schools as a matter of urgency.'
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