RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE) must be moved into the national curriculum in England to “improve access to high-quality provision and to forestall further diminishment”, a review commissioned by the Government has concluded.
Changing the name of the topic also needs to be considered, it says.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis, checked out the first, secondary, and age-16-19 stages in state education in England. More than 7000 responses to the general public consultation were received, and evidence was reviewed by a panel appointed by Professor Francis. An interim report was published in March (Comment; News, 28 March). Her final report, Building a World-Class Curriculum for All, was published on Wednesday.
Over 197 pages, it assesses the usual of the present curriculum, assessment, and qualifications system, giving detailed recommendations for every subject. Generally, it concludes that the present curriculum is “not working well for all”.
RE is at present a basic curriculum subject, meaning that it is just not on the national curriculum, but should be provided by schools, although parents and carers have the suitable to withdraw their child.
This status, the reviewers say, signifies that “its content is just not nationally defined, and no specified national standard exists against which to benchmark the standard of compulsory RE at Key Stages 1 to 4. While there are undoubtedly pockets of fantastic practice in each faith and non-faith schools, the evidence suggests that provision for RE in many faculties is just not adequate and doesn’t prepare pupils adequately for all times beyond school.”
A recent Ofsted report said that RE in English schools often failed to organize students to “live in a posh world” (News, 19 April 2024).
Local-authority standing advisory councils on RE (SACREs) advise local authorities on the syllabuses, that are determined by an Agreed Syllabus Conference. “Some SACREs support high-quality regional practice, but many now not have the resources or reach to offer such support, leading to increasing fragmentation,” the reviewers explain.
This is further exacerbated by the “complex legislative framework underpinning RE, which hasn’t modified in substance since 1944, other than some minor updates in 1988”. Unlike curriculum subjects, the standard of RE is just not necessarily determined by the sort of school, the reviewers say, and “we have now heard that this static statutory backdrop, with complex and fraying local support arrangements, has led to uneven provision and tokenistic practice in some areas.”
Recognising that “RE could be controversial and contentious,” the reviewers had sought to listen to from as many differing beliefs and interests as possible.
“We are of the view that RE’s importance is just not currently reflected in its standing within the curriculum. The Review believes that RE must be moved to the national curriculum to enhance access to high-quality provision and to forestall further diminishment.”
Deborah Weston, who chairs the Religious Education Policy Unit, described the proposal as “an important opportunity for the topic in many years. After years of neglect, RE is adrift. Across the country, a whole bunch of hundreds of scholars don’t receive an educational, specialist study of different religious and non-religious worldviews that make up modern Britain. This is now a possibility to finish that.”
The reviewers also, nevertheless, acknowledge the “sensitivities and complexities involved” on this reform, and that “it’s unrealistic for this to be achieved immediately.”
They subsequently recommend a “staged approach”, by which “the Government invites the sector to determine an independent task and finish group made up of representatives from faith bodies, secular groups, and experts from the teaching and wider education sector, to develop a draft RE curriculum.”
This should construct on the National Content Standard set by the Religious Education Council (REC) in 2023, which is praised by the reviewers. “The [task and finish] group also needs to consider whether there can be profit in changing the name of Religious Education,” their report says.
It also recommends that the Department for Education’s non-statutory guidance for RE (which has not been updated because it was published in 2010) and the broader framework, including SACREs, must be reviewed, and a spotlight given to the topic content of the optional GCSE in Religious Studies.
Finally, it recommends that the present statutory requirement to show RE between the ages of 16 and 18 — which applies to high school sixth-forms only — be removed, though schools and pupils could decide to proceed. “The Review considers that, by age 16, students must have a secure grounding in RE, and one which must be strengthened if the advice concerning the national curriculum is taken forward.”
The proposals were welcomed by the REC. Its chair, Sarah Lane Cawte, said: “This marks the beginning of a latest era” for RE which might require “collaboration across the topic’s community to assist deliver the vision of the brand new National Curriculum. . . We are confident that together we are able to deliver a subject that’s intellectually rigorous, difficult and geared towards helping young people flourish in modern Britain.”
The chair of the National Association of Teachers of RE, Katie Freeman, said: “Alongside accountability measures and the restoration of the teacher training bursary, we have now a possibility to finish the ‘postcode lottery’ of teaching in RE and ensure every student within the country gets one of the best of our subject.”
Among the opposite recommendations of the review are the abolition of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). “It is evident that [its] performance measures have to a point unnecessarily constrained students’ selections,” it says. “This has affected their engagement and achievement, and limited their access to, and the time available for, arts and vocational subjects.”
The Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, the Revd Nigel Genders, welcomed the choice. The EBacc was, he said, “an accountability measure which has all the time had a negative impact on RE”. The change would make it “easier for pupils to review Religious Education at GCSE as a part of a broad and balanced curriculum”.
The Church’s National Society for Education had contributed to the review, and would, he said, proceed to have interaction with proposals “to develop RE in a way that ensures every young person has the chance to explore questions of meaning, purpose and belief, whilst enabling church schools to proceed to offer RE in a way that’s consistent with their designation as schools with a non secular character.”
Other key recommendations set out within the review include shortening GCSE exams by ten per cent (a discount of about three hours per pupil); ensuring diversity within the national curriculum; developing diagnostic Maths and English tests for Year 8 pupils in order that teachers can discover and resolve problems before students progress to Key Stage 4; statutory citizenship classes; a review of how grammar is taught and tested in primary school; replacing the computing science GCSE with a broader subject which applies digital technology and data more widely, including through AI; and allowing students to take biology, physics, and chemistry courses at GCSE — “triple science” — reasonably than double science.
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