Written Evidence Jan. 29 2024
Committee: Human Rights (Joint Committee)Found: Our work helps people be happier and more fulfilled, and by bringing non-religious people together
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on the classification of religious education as a school subject; and what funding she has allocated to support the teaching of (a) religious education and (b) national curriculum core subjects in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Religious Education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social and academic development. When taught well, the subject develops children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, helps them to better understand those of other countries, and refines pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced and structured arguments. This is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.
The government read Ofsted’s 2023 report with interest. Whilst there is no specific allocation of funding for RE curriculum programmes, the department does provide support for RE teaching in a number of other ways, particularly in relation to teaching quality.
The department is offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers that are starting initial teacher training courses in the 2024/25 academic year.
To support teachers when they are in post, and to ensure high standards and consistency of RE teaching, RE resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.
The department also continues to offer eight-week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the 2022/23 academic year for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers but need to increase their subject knowledge. The eight week SKE course, available in RE, can be undertaken on a full time or part time basis but must be completed before qualified teacher status can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course.
More information on these courses is available here: www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction.
The core national curriculum subjects of English, mathematics and science have received an estimated £290 million over the past five years. Allocated funding for English facilitates the English hubs programme, which is a school-to-school improvement programme that focusses on systematic synthetic phonics, early language and reading for pleasure. It also facilitates Poetry By Heart, which is a national poetry speaking competition for schools. The funding for mathematics supports the implementation of programmes that aim to improve the teaching of mathematics from age 4 to 18 and to increase participation in post-16 mathematics. Similarly for science, this funding supports programmes which aim to improve the subject expertise of teachers and improve workforce capacity and confidence for science teachers.
In the Schools White Paper, the department has committed not to make any changes to the curriculum for the remainder of this Parliament, in order to provide stability for schools and pupils following the pandemic.
Mar. 26 2024
Source Page: Annual qualifications market report: academic year 2022 to 2023Found: Education AQA Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in Religious Studies Specification A GCSE (9 to 1) 601/8400/
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase consistency in the standards of teaching of religious education in schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Religious education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social, and academic development. When taught well, the subject develops children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, helps them to better understand those of other countries, and refines pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced and structured arguments.
The department is offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers that are starting initial teacher training courses in the 2024/25 academic year, with the aim to incentivise greater numbers of post-graduates to apply and increase the pipeline of RE specialists.
To support teachers when they are in post, and to ensure high standards and consistency of RE teaching, RE resources are currently being procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.
The department also continues to offer eight week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the 2022/23 academic year for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers but need to increase their subject knowledge. The eight week SKE course, available in RE, can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis but must be completed before qualified teacher status can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course.
More information on these courses is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction.
Mentions:
1: Jack Lopresti (Con - Filton and Bradley Stoke) Its state institutions are secular and its religious faith moderate. - Speech Link
2: John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) of salaries on a monthly basis, resumption of the promotion of teachers and other employees in the education - Speech Link
3: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford) scholars with a modern, national education…Supporting and reviving various religious events”.That is - Speech Link
Apr. 17 2024
Source Page: New Ofsted report finds schools need to add depth to their RE curriculumFound: Leaders are keen to improve the quality of education in RE.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will hold discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the effectiveness of the Safe Schools Initiative for supporting the education of (a) girls, (b) religious minorities and (c) other children in conflict-affected areas of northern Nigeria.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Special Envoy for Girls Education, Helen Grant MP, will meet the Nigerian Education Minister on May 20 to discuss Nigeria's upcoming programme of education reform. The UK and Nigeria are signatories of the Safe School Declaration which commits governments to protect education from violence. The UK supports the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative in Nigeria through its Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises (EiEPC) programme. This provides assistance to children affected by conflict in Borno and Yobe states, allowing them to learn foundational skills, increase their resilience and strengthen systems which support formal and non-formal education during emergencies.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 April (HL Deb col 640GC–641GC), whether a percentage of development aid to Pakistan will be allocated to professional training projects for young people from Pakistan's minorities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's targeted aid programmes are working to alleviate the issues facing minorities in Pakistan. Our £46.7 million Aawaz II programme is tackling social intolerance and exclusion by supporting systemic reforms and promoting interfaith dialogue. Our £130 million Girls and Out of School Action for Learning programme is improving education outcomes for marginalised children, including those from religious minorities; by 2027, the programme will support 250,000 children from marginalised sections of society. Our £4.2 million Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme is helping to protect vulnerable groups, with a focus on making digital spaces safer for women and religious minorities. These programmes tackle broad issues which impact across a variety of vulnerable demographics. We assess that this is the most effective way of helping vulnerable populations.
Mentions:
1: Mark Logan (Con - Bolton North East) Some of this has to do with education as well, and I look to my hon. - Speech Link
2: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (SNP - Glasgow South) Bear in mind, education is entirely devolved. - Speech Link
3: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford) While religious communities supposedly have the right to conduct religious activities in Hong Kong, we - Speech Link
4: Andrew Mitchell (Con - Sutton Coldfield) He spoke about freedom of religious belief. - Speech Link
Oral Evidence Sep. 12 2023
Inquiry: Teacher recruitment, training and retentionFound: Association for Language Learning, Joint Mathematical Council of the UK, National Association of Teachers of Religious