NATRE Advocates for a National Plan to Secure the Future of High-Quality Religious Education

NATRE has submitted a response from the National Executive to the Curriculum and Assessment Review. What follows is an executive summary of that response.

The NATRE response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review highlights the challenges and opportunities in Religious Education (RE) across England. It emphasises the subject’s critical role as an academic subject, in fostering respect, understanding, and critical thinking in a multi-religious and multi-secular society while addressing the negative impact of recent government policies.

One major concern highlighted in our response is the exclusion of RE from the EBacc, which has devalued its status. Additionally, the decline in local authority capacity has limited the ability of Standing Advisory Councils on RE (SACREs) to support schools effectively. The absence of accountability measures for academies, coupled with outdated GCSE and A-level content, has further contributed to inconsistencies in the delivery and quality of RE.

Despite these setbacks, NATRE acknowledges positive developments. GCSE and A-level entries have remained relatively stable in England, showing the enduring interest in RE. Innovative projects, such as the Religious Education Council’s Religion and Worldviews Project, have developed resources like the Handbook for Syllabus Writers, which guides curriculum development. Other initiatives, like NATRE’s Spirited Arts Competition, encourage creative engagement with RE and provide examples of good practice.

NATRE identifies the misuse of the parental right of withdrawal as another key issue. Sometimes this right is misused to prevent their children from learning about diverse worldviews, or to make time available for other activities, e.g. literacy/numeracy interventions, undermining the subject’s inclusivity and compromising the principles of the Equality Act. NATRE supports reviewing this right, citing the Welsh model as one for consideration, where the right to withdrawal has been removed.

The response advocates for several key recommendations. These include updating GCSE and A-level content to reflect modern religious and non-religious perspectives, implementing national standards for RE to ensure consistency, and enhancing accountability measures for academies. NATRE also emphasises the importance of teacher professional development, calling for increased access to Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses and bursaries to address teacher shortages and ensure high-quality delivery.

Insights from pupil feedback reinforce the importance of improving RE. Primary pupils expressed a strong interest in learning about different religions, visiting places of worship, and engaging with people from various beliefs.

One pupil noted, “It’s exciting to learn about things I’ve never heard of before,” while another highlighted the importance of visiting places of worship to “see what others do.”

Secondary students valued discussions on philosophical and moral questions, with one stating, “Debates in RE make us think about what’s right and wrong.” whilst commented, “My RE lessons make me think hard about life. It is challenging in a good way because we have to think hard about the subject and look deeply into it.”

These responses align with NATRE’s vision of an engaging and inclusive RE curriculum. By addressing current challenges and implementing these recommendations, NATRE envisions a National Plan for RE that would help secure a future where RE is consistently high-quality, relevant, and integral to preparing young people for life in a diverse and interconnected world.

NATRE’s response articulates the complexities of RE in its place in the curriculum and highlights the need for further, meaningful engagement with teachers of RE in the next steps in the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

NATRE Advocates for a National Plan to Secure the Future of High-Quality Religious Education

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