Religious Education in England is taught in all schools as part of the compulsory curriculum for children from 5 to 16. It is also compulsory for pupils from ages 16 to 18 thought is is often not taught to this age group. There is a recommendation that 5% of curriculum time is given over to Religious Education but as this is not compulsory the actual amount of time is often less than this. Unlike all other subjects there is no National Curriculum for RE. The RE curriculum is determined in a number of ways:

1. For state schools the RE curriculum is determined by a Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE). There is one SACRE for each education authority This curriculum is then compulsory for all state schools in the Local Education Authority (LEA). A SACRE may decide to adopt the curriculum from another LEA.

2. For schools with a religious foundation (mostly Christian but a growing number of other religious groups). The religious community is more heavily involved with the writing of the curriculum.

3. Independent schools are allowed to choose any of the RE curriculum that are available from the SACREs.

The legal requirements for the teaching of RE ensure than up to the age of 14 pupils will encounter teaching in all the 6 major world religions as well as ethics, philosophy and morals. From 14 to 16 most pupils now sit an examination course for the General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE). This can either be a full course (10% of curriculum time) or a Half Course (5% of curriculum time).

Report from the Government Inspection body (OFSTED) - June 2007

Key findings

• Pupils’ achievement in RE in primary schools improved over the period between 2001/02 and 2005/06. In 2004/05, achievement was good or better in 46% of schools and satisfactory in about 50% of schools. More recent survey visits confirm this picture. Inadequate achievement in RE in primary schools is rare.
• Pupils’ achievement at Key Stage 3 is very inconsistent. In 2004/05 it was good or better in 61% of schools and satisfactory in 31% of schools. More recent survey visits have found achievements in RE to be good or better in only four out of 10 schools and satisfactory in about half of schools.
• There has been a substantial improvement in full course GCSE- and A-level results over the past five years, but short course GCSE results have remained static, with around half of the pupils entered achieving A* to C grades.
• Leadership and management of RE have improved. In 2004/05, they were good or better in 46% of primary schools compared with 39% in 2001/02. In secondary schools, they were good or better in 68% of schools compared with 59% in 2001/02. Self-evaluation in RE has improved substantially.
• More schools meet the statutory requirements for RE at Key Stage 4, in part because more pupils follow accredited courses in RE at GCSE. Compliance post-16 remains very limited and the arguments for retaining statutory requirements at this stage are difficult to sustain.
• Aspects of teaching, assessment, curriculum and leadership and management are not good enough in many secondary schools. Too much teaching at Key Stage 3 is unchallenging. Serious weaknesses remain widespread in the way that levels of attainment are used in planning and assessment.
• The impact of the National Strategies on RE in primary schools has been largely positive. However, whole-school development rarely focuses on RE. The subject depends heavily on the expertise and enthusiasm of individual teachers, and pupils’ achievement is therefore inconsistent. In secondary schools, weaknesses in planning the RE curriculum frequently undermine the effects of fresh thinking about teaching and learning which the strategies have brought.
• There are not enough accredited courses to meet the needs of students between 14 and 19 years across the ability range. The provision for students in further education to take accredited courses in RE is inadequate.
• Training in RE is not always matched closely enough to teachers’ needs, especially for curriculum planning and assessment at Key Stage 3. Although teachers are positive about the training that they receive, schools rarely evaluate its impact.
• Primary initial teacher training (ITT) courses provide very little training about teaching RE; later professional development does not compensate for this. Primary teachers’ lack of secure subject knowledge is a key factor limiting the amount of good and outstanding teaching in RE.
• While recent changes in funding for secondary ITT in RE have had a positive impact, recruitment still does not meet the demand for specialist teachers of RE. Although many aspects of secondary ITT in RE are good, weaknesses in planning and assessment in some of the schools in which trainees are placed are reflected in the trainees’ progress.
• The Framework has widespread support. Recent national initiatives to improve RE have the potential to raise standards and improve provision but the subject’s statutory basis constrains developments (please see ’Religious education and the law’ on page 4). The use of two attainment targets creates difficulties for
  planning and assessment.
• Many agreed syllabuses, including some recent ones, are not having a significant impact on improving standards and the quality of provision. Nearly half of the secondary schools visited in 2006/07 had not implemented their most recently published agreed syllabus effectively. Primary schools were more successful in implementing their agreed syllabus rigorously and systematically.
• SACREs provide valuable support for RE and community cohesion when they are managed and resourced properly. However, many local authorities do not ensure that SACREs have sufficient capacity to fulfil these responsibilities effectively.
• The curriculum and teaching in RE do not place sufficient emphasis on exploring the changing political and social significance of religion in the modern world. As a result, the subject’s potential to contribute to community cohesion, education for diversity and citizenship is not being fully realised.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are made to bring about improvements to religious education.

• The Department for Education and Skills (DFES) [now DCSF] should:
  • review whether:
    • the current statutory arrangements for RE, including those for post-16 provision, are effective
    • the Framework could become the statutory basis for locally agreed syllabuses, allowing for some local determination of specific content to reflect local circumstances
    • the Framework could become the basis for the inclusion of RE within the National Curriculum
  • consider ways in which SACREs might be enabled to play a stronger role in promoting the priorities of community cohesion and educating for diversity.
    
    
• The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) should:
  • develop further guidance to support the effective use of the Framework in constructing agreed syllabuses
  • provide further opportunities for SACREs to share good practice
  • extend the range of accredited courses for RE to ensure that the needs of all students are met
  • secure greater continuity and progression in RE for the 11 to 19 years age group by aligning the assessment criteria for accredited courses with the attainment targets and levels in the Framework
  • ensure that accredited courses place greater emphasis on enabling pupils to understand the changing social significance of religion in the modern world
  • when reviewing the Framework, consider whether the two attainment targets for RE are an effective basis for planning and assessment.
    
    
• Local authorities, in partnership with their SACREs, need to:
  • consider ways in which SACREs can be better supported to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities effectively
  • use the Framework rigorously in reviewing their agreed syllabus, and thoroughly assess the impact of their existing syllabus on standards and the quality of planning and assessment
  • consider how the work of SACREs might support further the promotion of community cohesion and educating for diversity.
    
    
• Secondary Schools should:
  • improve the quality of curriculum planning and assessment, particularly at Key Stage 3
  • use their locally agreed syllabus more systematically and effectively to improve provision for RE.
    
    
• Primary School should:
• improve the quality of teachers’ RE subject knowledge
• focus on RE in the course of whole-school development work, where appropriate.
  
• All Schools should:
• ensure that RE contributes strongly to pupils’ understanding of the changing
  role of religion, diversity and community cohesion.
  
  
• Providers of ITT should:
  • strengthen the arrangements for selecting and training RE subject mentors to ensure that trainees receive high quality training.

Specific Issues in 2008-9

Examination entries - There has been a growing number of examination entries and now the majority of pupils will sit an examination in RE at the end of their school career. This has risen from 200,000 entries in 1999 to 473,000 in 2008 a rise of 137%

New Initiative for teachers of Religious Education - The national strategy for Key Stage 3 (11-14 years) continues to affect all teaching and learning with new approaches. Religious Education is being challenged along with all Humanities to improve the engagement of pupils and include thinking skills in the classroom. For details of this - click here. In Primary schools teachers are being encouraged to be more creative. A document called 'Every Child Matters' is the latest of the government approach and the development of a more cross curricular approach could benefit RE.

Teacher vacancies - The financial payment of the university fees £2500 [about €4000] and a £6,000 [about €8000] training bursary in their training year have boosted numbers applying for training to be RE teachers which is healthy this year.

New Secondary Curriculum in RE - There is a new curriculum being developed for teachers of all subjects. This includes teachers of RE and they are being encouraged to be more involved with other subjects and in innovative approaches to teaching and learning. A website on the new curriculum and some case studies can be accessed via the NATRE website.

Gifted and Talented student - There is guidance for RE teachers who teach pupils who are gifted and talented. It contains a set of issues for consideration, an example of a policy for teaching such pupils and examples of activities. It can be found on http://www.nc.uk.net/gt

A National Framework for Religious Education - Most subjects in England follow a National Curriculum (http://www.nc.uk.net) and a national framework for Religious Education has been published (http://qca.org.uk/3262.html) and this is now informing the re-drafting of the local syllabuses. While it is not a legal requirement this document is being used to inform the development of the subject, about 30 Standing Advisory Committees on RE (SACREs) have now published new syllabuses in accordance with this framework.

Teaching of RE 16-19 - Questions are being asked about the teaching of RE to students aged 16-19, which is compulsory, given both the lack of practice and also the age of the students. What is the reason and purpose of RE at this age?

People are becoming interested in how Interfaith dialogue impacts on the classroom.

Issues for the future

The legal framwork for the teaching of RE was last updated in 1994. At this time Religious Education (RE) and Collective Worship (CW) were both included in the same framework. This is now being reviewed and RE and CW are being separated. It is expected that these new guidelines will be in place in 2009.

Whilst there is good news at the university level The continuing shortage of trained and qualified RE teachers at both primary and secondary stages continues to hold back the quality of teaching and learning. Only 60% of secondary school teachers have any sort of qualification in RE and most primary teachers have only had a few days at their training institution. The Culham Institute (an EFTRE member organisation) has set up a project with Trust funding to address the issue of the recruitment and retention of RE teachers.

The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in RE is under-developed compared to other parts of the curriculum. Some excellent resource has been provided at the ICT advice site (http://schools.becta.org.uk) and some examples of RE on the web cab be found at MMI web (http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/links/links.html)

The development of "faith schools" mostly still Christian (Anglican and Roman Catholic) but with the first Hindu school which opended in 2008 asks questions about the nature and purpose of faith in schools and if segregation even mild segregation is a positive thing. This has caused some controversy in the last months of 2006 with questions being asked about inclusion and separation of the pupils in a multi-faith society.

A million pounds (£1 million = €1.2 million) has been allocated to RE in order to develop the profiles of the subject in schools. This funding will pay for:

• The updating of the legal framework (see above)
• Funding for the National Assoication of Teachers of RE (NATRE) to undertake a number of projects
• Production of an RE handbook for Continuing Professional Development
• A research project looking at how resources are used in UK schools

More

The National Association of Teachers of RE www.natre.org.uk
The Association of RE Advisors, Inspectors and Consultants: www.areiac.org.uk
The Association of University Lecturers in RE: www.aulre.org.uk
The National Association of RE Standing Advisory Councils on RE (NASACRE): www.nasacre.org.uk

Paul Hopkins Lesley Prior - October 2008

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