RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (RE) is one in all 4 subjects facing bursary cuts for trainee teachers next yr — a move that the Church of England’s chief education officer, the Revd Nigel Genders, describes as a “serious concern”.
The Government’s funding manual for initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries for the tutorial yr 2026-27 was published last week. It doesn’t list RE, English, music, or art and design as eligible ITT subjects.
Last yr, the bursary was set at £10,000. The RE Policy Unit said on Tuesday that the choice “will intensify the national shortage of RE teachers and seriously undermine the longer term of the topic”. The group is a partnership between the Religious Education Council (REC), the National Association of Teachers of RE, RE Today, and supported by Culham St Gabriel’s trust.
The RE Policy Unit referred to UCAS data which showed that RE recruitment for the present academic yr stood “at just 54% of [the] goal, one in all the bottom of all secondary subjects”.
The chair of the RE Policy Unit, Deborah Weston, called the choice “devastating”. She said that it will “seriously threaten the supply of top quality religious education at a time when schools need it most”.
Subjects corresponding to English had only had the bursary removed after being oversubscribed, she said. “This will not be the case with RE, which is facing a generational recruitment crisis.”
She continued: “Last yr’s bursary saw progress made on reversing the long-term crisis of specialism in our schools, with teacher applications rising by 40%. Put simply, for a shortage subject like RE, bursaries work.”
Ms Weston urged the Government to “review evidence and reconsider the choice”.
“A specialist RE teacher . . . enables young people to explore and understand their very own beliefs, in addition to those of others, inside a tutorial and inclusive environment. The bursary represents a significant investment — not only in religious education but additionally in the longer term of young people in modern Britain.”
RE is a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England, though it will not be a part of the national curriculum. Parents even have a legal right to withdraw their children for all or a part of the teachings.
Mr Genders told the Church Times: “We need more RE teachers, not fewer.
“In a world which seems increasingly polarised, our kids have to be equipped to grasp others higher and give you the option to navigate difference correctly.
“Religious literacy is a key a part of this, and so it’s of great concern that a lot religious education in schools will not be taught by subject specialists. Removing the bursary for RE teachers is more likely to make this case worse.”
The Department of Education said: “The Department reviews and frequently alters bursaries every yr. The amount of cash we offer correlates with our teacher recruitment and retention pipeline. As there have been an extra 2300 teachers in schools this yr in comparison with last yr, the incentives package reflects that.”
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