Curriculum and Assessment Review has recognised the
importance of the subject for modern Britain, say subject leaders
amidst warnings over critical shortage of RE subject specialists
in schools
The Religious Education Policy Unit has welcomed the Curriculum
and Assessment Review panel's recommendation to recognise the
value of Religious Education by including it in the National
Curriculum.
The final report from the Curriculum and Assessment Review states
that “RE's importance is not currently reflected in its standing
in the curriculum,” and recommends moving it to the National
Curriculum in order to “improve access to high quality provision
and prevent further diminishment."
Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, Religious Education has been
a compulsory subject in the school curriculum but not part of the
National Curriculum. Each local authority instead has provided an
agreed syllabus to determine what is taught.
But the review now calls for a “staged approach to reform” to
have the subject adopted into the National Curriculum. It
recommends that the Government invites representatives from faith
bodies, secular groups and experts from the teaching and wider
education sector to develop an “independent task and finish
group” that will decide on how the subject is taught in the new
curriculum.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review also highlighted the
Religious Education Council's work to “improve and standardise
the RE curriculum” through its National Content Standard,
describing this initiative as a “catalyst for more substantial
reform.”
Last year's Ofsted subject report on RE praised the subject as
"intellectually challenging and personally enriching”. It stated
that “it helps young people develop beliefs and values, and
promotes the virtues of respect and empathy, which are important
in our diverse society.”
However, the subject has undergone decades of neglect, with both
a recruitment crisis alongside an ongoing problem with lessons
being taught by teachers who have had no specialist RE training.
Half of secondary teachers who deliver Religious Education
lessons spend most of their time teaching another subject, while
the total number of teachers has remained the same since 2011
despite a growth in entries for Religious Studies at GCSE.
Deborah Weston OBE, Chair of the Religious Education Policy Unit,
said:
“The recommendation by the Curriculum and Assessment Review that
RE be included in the National Curriculum is the most important
opportunity for the subject in decades. After years of neglect,
RE is adrift. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of
students do not receive an academic, specialist study of the
different religious and non-religious worldviews that make up
modern Britain. This is now an opportunity to end that.
“Following the panel's recommendation, the Government, school
leaders and the RE community must come together and build on the
broad consensus already secured around the RE Council's National
Content Standard for RE in England. It will not be an easy task,
but the prize is now in sight, and that will be to ensure every
young person has the opportunity to discuss the different
responses to life's big questions in an academic and respectful
environment.”
Sarah Lane Cawte, Chair of the Religious Education Council of
England and Wales, said:
“This marks the start of a new era for Religious Education and
one that now requires collaboration across the subject's
community to help deliver the vision of the new National
Curriculum. The REC is ready to work with government and school
leaders across the country to ensure that the voices of RE
teachers, academics and religious leaders inform this new
direction. We are confident that together we can deliver a
subject that is intellectually rigorous, challenging and geared
towards helping young people flourish in modern Britain.”
Katie Freeman, Chair of the National Association of Teachers of
RE, said:
“The NATRE executive and I welcome the recommendation that RE be
included in the National Curriculum. This historic move will help
strengthen the provision for RE, supporting schools and
curriculum designers to deliver a subject that prepares young
people for life, work and further education. Alongside
accountability measures and the restoration of the teacher
training bursary, we have an opportunity to end the 'postcode
lottery' of teaching in RE and ensure every student in the
country gets the best of our subject. NATRE looks forward to
continuing to work with other stakeholders in the sector to
ensure the completion of this important work.”
