THE Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report, published by the Department for Education this month, has applied “a social justice lens throughout its work” to boost standards in schools, and has identified an issue with religious education (RE).
“Despite the undeniable fact that RE is compulsory for all pupils as much as the age of 18 (unless they’re withdrawn), evidence suggests that a scarcity of national agreed content standards has led to national disparities in the standard of provision,” the report says. By law, schools are required to supply RE and RSHE (relationships, sex, and health education), although they aren’t curriculum subjects.
“There is a balance to be struck between securing an entitlement to prime quality content for all, and, particularly within the case of RE, the necessity for flexibility to be retained for various school types (i.e., schools with a non secular designation and people without). We will consider these points through our evaluation of every different subject before publishing our final report.”
The review panel was convened last summer to “seek to refresh the curriculum to make sure it’s leading edge, fit-for-purpose and meeting the needs of youngsters and young people to support their future life and work”. It intends to “be sure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all our youngsters and young people”.
Across “a fairly broad and balanced curriculum to age 16”, attainment appears uneven and problematic. “While we all know that elements of the system are working well, we heard strongly that the present system is just not working well for everybody. The evidence shows that too many young people aren’t gaining the precise knowledge and skills as they progress through the system and by the point they leave formal education aren’t prepared to thrive in life and work.
“Persistent attainment gaps remain. There stays a stubborn attainment gap between those which can be socio-economically disadvantaged and their peers, and young individuals with SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] fail to make sufficient progress compared to their non-SEND peers.”
Primary-school pupils are achieving the expected standards in reading, writing, and maths; so there was “some progress and recovery for the reason that pandemic. However, it still means that just about 4 in 10 children aren’t meeting all of the standards they should construct successfully on foundational knowledge and thrive in secondary education.
“From the perspectives of each social justice and economics, it’s vital that we take the obligatory steps to drive up standards for young people who find themselves presently underserved by our education system. Therefore, along with ensuring that the curriculum and assessment system prepares young people for all times and work, the Review . . . will consider the positive impact we will make on the outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged young people and people with SEND with the levers which can be at our disposal, while remaining aware of the broader challenges the sector faces.”
The Religious Education Council of England and Wales praised recognition of “the worth of teaching high-quality religious education”, and the way in which through which, “in its opening paragraphs, the report recognises the ability of the curriculum to support a ‘flourishing civil society’ in addition to ‘promoting social cohesion’. It promotes the worth of learning as a capability to see others’ perspectives and ‘broaden their horizons’. Religious Education is a subject best placed to do that.”
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