Plans for a new Religious Education syllabus for Northern Ireland
have been published today in response to the Supreme Court
judgment on Religious Education and Collective Worship in
schools.
The Supreme Court judgment of November 2025 found that the
existing RE Core Syllabus in Northern Ireland was not
sufficiently objective, critical and pluralistic.
The draft syllabus has been developed by a Religious Education
Drafting Group led by Professor Noel Purdy OBE, Stranmillis
University College, and Mrs Joyce Logue, former Principal of Long
Tower Primary School. The group included teachers drawn from
primary, post-primary and special school settings across Northern
Ireland.
Publishing the proposals, that will be subject to a public
consultation, Education Minister said: This draft syllabus
responds directly to the Supreme Court judgment. It seeks to meet
the requirement for greater objectivity and recognises the
central place of Christianity in Northern Ireland's history,
culture and society.
I thank the drafting group for its significant work in preparing
this draft syllabus. Religious Education remains a compulsory
element of the school curriculum and the revised framework sets
out the content to be taught across all 12 years of compulsory
education.
It is now important that teachers, parents and wider stakeholders
take the opportunity and respond to the consultation to help
ensure that Religious Education is both legally robust and fit
for purpose.
The consultation is the latest stage in a comprehensive review
process which has included more than 25 face-to-face stakeholder
meetings, an independent research study involving children and
young people, and a public Call for Evidence that generated over
1,000 responses.
Professor Purdy said: Today marks an important milestone for
Religious Education in Northern Ireland. The proposed new
syllabus provides a coherent framework that supports progression
from Foundation Stage through to the end of Key Stage 4. It
treats RE as a rigorous academic subject while helping pupils
explore beliefs, practices and ethical questions in ways that are
objective, critical and pluralistic.
It has been developed through an extensive programme of
engagement involving Christian denominations and organisations,
representatives of other religious traditions, those with no
religious beliefs, teachers, children and young people, education
bodies and many other stakeholders.
We have sought throughout to listen carefully, respectfully and
openly to a wide range of perspectives and to produce a syllabus
that reflects both the Supreme Court judgment and the particular
educational, cultural and societal context of Northern Ireland.
The syllabus recognises the significance of Christianity within
the history, culture and society of Northern Ireland, while
ensuring that pupils also develop an informed understanding of
other religious and non-religious worldviews.
Our aim is to equip young people with the knowledge and skills
needed to deepen their understanding of their own traditions,
understand the beliefs of others and engage thoughtfully and
respectfully in an increasingly diverse society.
The consultation will run until 30 September 2026, with responses
invited from teachers, parents, pupils, faith communities and
stakeholders across Northern Ireland.
The consultation can be accessed at https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-religious-education-core-syllabus
Notes to editors:
1. Article 21 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland)
Order 1986 makes both religious education and collective worship
mandatory in all grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland, except
nursery schools.
2. Religious education in all schools must include any core
syllabus specified under Article 11 of the Education (Northern
Ireland) Order 2006. The syllabus is expected to set out core
matters, skills and processes to be taught.
3. The Department may not specify a core syllabus unless
it was prepared by a group of persons (the drafting group)
appearing to the Department to be persons having an interest in
the teaching of religious education in grant-aided schools.
4. The current core RE syllabus (Religious Education Core
Syllabus (English version), drafted by representatives of the
four main Christian Churches (the Catholic Church, Church of
Ireland, Presbyterian Church and Methodist Church) retains a
confessional character. It is also exclusively Christian at
primary level, not introducing the study of other world religions
until Key Stage3 at post-primary.
5. On 3 February 2026, the Minister of Education announced a
Review of the RE Syllabus. This was in response to the
Supreme Court judgment in the matter of Judicial Review (JR)
87.
6. The Supreme Court found that, in the specific school involved
in JR87, RE under the current core syllabus and the arrangements
for collective worship breached the child's and parent's rights.
The Court highlighted that the core syllabus for RE was not
sufficiently objective, critical or pluralistic.
7. The drafting of the RE syllabus has followed the principles
and approach established by the Terms of Reference.
