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Religious Education in Schools in England
- History / Background
- Provision
- The local Agreed Syllabus / Non-Statutory National Framework
- Time allocation
- Inspection
- Examinations
- Other developments
- Religious Education in Wales
- Religious Education in Scotland
- Religious Education in Northern Ireland
1: History / Background:
RE has played a part in education in England ever since the earliest attempts, in the nineteenth century, to establish a national school system. The first schools had mainly a charitable or religious foundation.
Under the 1870 Education Act new schools were established, run by local authorities with their curriculum to include Religious Education of a non-denominational character.
The Education Act of 1944 similarly required that all schools (other than independent schools) should provide 'religious instruction', while allowing both teachers and parents (on behalf of their children) the right to withdraw.
This arrangement survived largely unchanged until the 1988 Education Reform Act which established a mandatory National Curriculum of ten subjects. Religious Education was added to those to make up the 'basic curriculum' albeit as the one subject from which pupils or teachers might withdraw.
The Education Act of 2002 was largely concerned with the financing, governance and definition of different types of school. Section 80 (1)(a) stated the requirement for Religious Education to be provided for all registered pupils in accordance with the 1998 Education Reform Act - School Standards Framework - Schedule 19.
Acts of Parliament can be accessed at: www.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htm
The most recent legislation affecting schools is:the Education Act 2005 which included new procedures for the inspection of schools at: www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050018_en_1
and the Education and Inspections Act (2006) at: www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/ukpga_20060040_en_1
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2: Provision
RE should be provided as part of the basic curriculum for all registered pupils attending a maintained school. (Parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of RE, and are not obliged to state their reasons for withdrawal.) The 1998 School Standards and Framework Bill defined new categories of maintained schools; rules about the provision of RE differ in some categories.
Community Schools include the old 'county' schools. In these, RE should be taught according to the Agreed Syllabus of the LA in whose area they are situated.
Foundation Schools include both old 'County' schools and old 'Voluntary Controlled' schools which were grant maintained. In these, RE is taught according to the local Agreed Syllabus, unless the schools are of a religious character, in which case their RE is characterised by their Trust Deed.
Voluntary Aided schools are those schools originally founded by voluntary bodies, but aided from public funds. In an aided school a majority of the governors are Foundation Governors, appointed by a voluntary body. In these schools (many of which are church foundations), RE should be taught according to their Trust Deed.
Voluntary Controlled schools were originally founded by voluntary bodies, but are now controlled and entirely funded by the local authority (LA). The voluntary body retains the right to appoint a minority of Foundation Governors to preserve the character and ethos of the school. RE should be taught according to the local Agreed Syllabus, but parents may request that RE should be provided in accordance with the Trust Deed.
Special schools should provide RE for all their pupils as far as practicable, according to the status of the school.
City Technology Colleges are independent schools; however, as a condition of grant, they are required to make provision for RE which is broadly in line with community schools.
Academies are independently managed, all-ability schools set up by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups in partnership with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the local authority. 'Faith' Academies must consider all applications for places according to the DCSF Code of Practice, but preference may be given to applicants of the particular faith.
The DCSF Model Funding Agreement for Academies requires that provision be made for the teaching of RE to be given to all pupils at the Academy and for a daily act of collective worship for all pupils.
Either:
RE is to be provided in accordance with the requirements for agreed syllabuses and having regard to the requirements of the QCA's non-statutory national framework for RE.
Or:
Where the Academy is designated as a school with a religious character provision shall be made for all pupils to be taught religious education in accordance with the tenets of the specified religion or religious denomination.
In the new secondary curriculum for Key Stages 3 and 4, the QCA and DCSF have re-affirmed their commitment to the non-statutory national framework by including it in the same format as programmes of study for all other subjects, in the expectation that agreed syllabus conferences and others will make use of it.
Inspectors will be expected to ensure the academy can explain what their approach / policy towards RE is and ensure its provision is consistent with their funding agreement
Sixth Form Colleges and Further Education Colleges should provide RE for all students who wish to receive it.
Further information concerning statutory requirements for Religious Education may be found at:
www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/r/re/
Information about the different types of school can be found at:
www.direct.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools/ChoosingASchool/ChoosingASchoolArticles/
fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4016312&chk=mIV5hA
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3: The local Agreed Syllabus / Non-Statutory National Framework
Since RE is not part of the National Curriculum it is not subject to its statutory orders such as national attainment targets, programmes of study and assessment arrangements. Instead, it is locally determined: under the 1988 Act each LA is required (not merely allowed, as before) to establish a Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) to advise the authority and its teachers on matters concerning RE. It also has a duty to convene an occasional group called an Agreed Syllabus conference, which produces the local Agreed Syllabus from which teachers devise schemes of work and arrange the assessment of pupils' learning.
The Education Act 1993, continues to require every LEA to review its Agreed Syllabus every five years. Circular 1/94 describes the aims of RE as "developing pupils' knowledge, understanding and awareness of Christianity, as the predominant religion in Great Britain, and the other principal religions represented in the country; to encourage respect for those holding different beliefs; and to help promote pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural and mental development".
In October 2004, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), together with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), published a Non-statutory national framework for religious education after extensive consultation. The document is primarily for the Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) and Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs) in each Local Authority but is clearly influential as LAs review their local syllabuses, new resources are prepared and published and those involved in curriculum development plan their work. In 2006 all the major churches and other faith communities stated that they were "fully committed to using the Framework in developing the religious education curriculum for our schools and colleges".
The full framework can be downloaded as a pdf file at:
www.qca.org.uk/9817.html
Other information on RE - including an analyses of SACRE reports on RE and collective worship can be found at:
www.qca.org.uk
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4: Time allocation
Because of its statutory position, there are no prescribed allocations of time for RE. When Lord Dearing produced his final report into The National Curriculum and its Assessment (1993) he made some recommendations which assume appropriate time allowances for RE, for practical purposes these are widely recognised as 'markers' - the more so in that QCA in its annual review of SACRE reports makes no reference to time allocation and the current Ofsted inspection procedures have no requirement to report on time allocation in RE.
| Key Stage 1 | 36 hours per year |
| Key Stages 2 and 3 | 45 hours per year |
| Key Stage 4 | 5% of total curriculum time |
Non-statutory guidance may be found at:
www.qca.org.uk/qca_9467.aspx
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5: Inspection
School inspections are required by law and are carried out under Section 5 of the Education Act 2005 by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Further information on the organisation of school inspections can be found at:
www.ofsted.gov.uk
The inspection framework is at:
www.ofsted.gov.uk
Guidance for inspectors is at:
www.ofsted.gov.uk
Because the emphasis in current inspection procedures is on the effectiveness of a school's self-evaluation, special guidance and a free self-evaluation toolkit for those working in RE can be found at:
betterre.reonline.org.uk/lead_manage/toolkit.php
There are particular requirements for the inspection of schools with a religious foundation.
Information on the inspection of Anglican Schools is at: www.natsoc.org.uk/schools/inspection/2005/
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6: Examinations
In 2005 over 147,000 students were entered for a full course RE examination at GCSE, an increase of 4.6% on the previous year and making it one of the ten most popular subjects in terms of entry numbers. Over 29% of the entries achieved a grade at A*/A. The short course RE at GCSE now accounts for 54.9% of all entries. 17.5% of those sitting the examination achieved a grade at A*/A.
At A Level, Religious Studies entries rose by 16.9%, more than any other subject. Over 25% achieved a Grade A. At AS Level entries rose by 5.2% with 23% achieving an A grade.
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7: Other developments
In 2007 the QCA published new RE units of work for Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. These show how RE - based on an agreed syllabus or other guidelines - might be structured for the classroom. Some of the units focus on particular religions while others cover two or more religions. Details of these and other developments are at: www.qca.org.uk
There is a continuing growth in resources, training and advice for both teachers and pupils / students in RE. News of these with links and resources can be found at: www.REonline.org.uk
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8: Religious Education in Wales
The Wales Association of SACREs has prepared its own RE Directory for Wales - www.bangor.ac.uk/rs/pt/wncre/wasacre/index.php.en?. This is available online in both Welsh and English versions.
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9: Religious Education in Scotland
The Scottish Virtual Teachers' Centre has information about Religious and Moral Education (RME) in Scottish schools at:
www.ltscotland.org.uk/5to14/guidelines/
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10: Religious Education in Northern Ireland
The European Forum for Teachers of Religious Education website has background on Religious Education in Northern Ireland at:
www.eftre.net/reeurope/northern_ireland_2004.html
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