Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to include Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education in future partnerships for ensuring (a) multi-academy trust syllabuses and (b) religious education is of the highest standard.

The Government maintains the importance of religious education (RE). It is key in developing young people’s knowledge of the values and traditions of Britain, and those of other countries. RE can contribute to pupils’ personal development and wellbeing by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society.

The Government recognises the work that Standing Advisory Councils on RE do in delivering and monitoring high quality religious education. The Department will continue to carefully consider their future role.

Non-religious worldviews are included within the Department’s Religious Studies GCSE and A level subject content specifications. RE lessons that the Oak National Academy produced to support remote teaching during the pandemic also included content on non-religious worldviews.

The Department has no plans currently to extend teaching school hubs to create centres of excellence for teachers of RE.