Religion: Education

(asked on 14th April 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper published on 28 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals in that White Paper on Standard Advisory Councils on Religious Education and Agreed Syllabus Conferences as the existing bodies used to determine the locally agreed syllabus for religious education.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 25th April 2022

The Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out the department’s long-term vision for the school system. Religious education (RE) remains a core part. The government believes that RE is an important subject, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and well-being by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society.

RE will continue to form an essential part of a school’s curriculum following the publication of the Schools White Paper. It remains a compulsory subject that must be taught in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18.

In the Schools White Paper, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with teachers to co-design, create, and continually improve packages of optional, free, and adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons for all subjects, including RE at key stages 1-4. This will help teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum informed by the best available evidence. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence, and educational publishers.

The Schools White Paper sets out the department’s long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential. However, there is still more technical work to be done along the way to realise this vision. The department recognises the important role that Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACRE) play in supporting the provision of RE in maintained schools. The department is aware that the ambition for a fully trust-led system will have an impact on SACREs. This is something that will be considered as we move towards greater academisation.

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