QCA Key Stage 3 National Curriculum Review

Click the link below to find information about the importance of Religious Education in the National Curriculum.

The importance of Religious Education

Regional Faiths Forum Takes Place At County Hall, Beverley

Members of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Faiths Forum pictured outside County Hall, Beverley. Click photo to enlarge

On Wednesday, May 17, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Faiths Forum meeting was held at County Hall, Beverley.

The Forum has more than 200 members from different faith communities and it aims to raise awareness of faith issues at a regional and national level.

The Forum also encourages faith communities to work together to benefit local communities.

East Riding Councillor Rowan Blake-James, who is a member of the Regional Faith Council, was responsible for bringing the Forum to the East Riding.

Councillor Blake-James said: "The event was a great success. We have helped raise awareness of multi-faith issues which are becoming increasingly important across the East Riding.

"The meeting has also helped promote the area. Many of the delegates confirmed to me that they would be returning here in the very near future. We are very pleased with the outcome of the day."

Locally, the East Riding Community Cohesion Forum works to increase understanding of different cultures and faiths.

Events are being planned to mark the bicentenary in 2007 of the abolition of slavery.

For further information on the East Riding Community Cohesion Forum, please ring Carl Duck, East Riding Local Strategic Partnership manager on (01482) 391424 or e-mail carl.duck@eastriding.gov.uk

Click here to visit the East Riding Local Strategic Partnership website.
Click here to visit the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum website.

Speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury

A speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury about the place of faith schools and RE in the curriculum was delivered on 14th March 2006.

Click here to access the speech entitled "Church Schools: A National Vision".

RE strategy 'can fight extremism'

© BBC News. Friday, 30 September 2005

The Council says an inclusive approach to RE is needed.

A bold new strategy for religious education in schools is needed after the July London attacks, a report says.

The RE Council for England and Wales says the subject plays a key role in combating extremism and promoting respect for others.

Its report, sent to the government, also says despite the increasing popularity of the subject, teaching standards lag behind other subjects.

A "considerable budget" was needed for an effective strategy, it said.

But the RE Council did not call for a precise sum of money to be spent.

Sympathetic portrayal

The Council report says that young people are continuing to explore the role of faith, and that there was a need to counter the "liberal and secularist assumptions that its subject matter is withering".

Our culture as a whole needs to recognise the seriousness with which Muslims treat their faith, or they will continue to feel alienated, it goes on.

Faith communities need to feel confident that their faith is being accurately and sympathetically portrayed, and there is a need to avoid "narrow and sectarian" teaching.

The number of students who took GCSE religious studies went up this year to 147,516, an increase of 4.6% on last year.

Chairman of the RE Council, Professor Brian Gates, said the proposals had the backing of all the council's professional associations, and all other faith communities and churches.

"We have a keen expectation that finally, the government will put its money where the rhetorical mouth is," he said.

The council's strategy document says the quality of education and training for teachers needed to be improved to stop RE being a "cinderella subject".

A major training programme should target secondary school teachers who do not have specialist knowledge and equip primary teachers who may have had little RE training.

Professor Gates went on: "It is a worry that there is minimal provision for RE in many institutions offering the PGCE.

"We are looking for a long-term strategy to replenish teachers with the competence and confidence to teach the subject," he said.

Framework

In his last annual report, published in February, Chief Inspector of Schools David Bell said religious education provision still compared unfavourably with other subjects despite some improvements in teaching.

He said the shortage of specialist teachers was more acute in RE than in any other subject.

Primary school teachers need better training, the Council says.

The first national framework for teaching religious education in schools was announced by the then education secretary Charles Clarke last year. But it is non-statutory.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority framework, which covers education from three to 19, said pupils should study other faiths alongside Christianity to promote understanding and respect.

The RE Council said the future strategy for teaching should be rooted in this framework.

It recommends studying the tenets of the other five main religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism - across the school years up to the age of 14.

The RE Council said this framework was a "crucial foundation" upon which its strategy sought to build.

Overhaul for religious teaching

© BBC. Thursday 28th October 2004

Pupils will study the tenets of various faiths

The first national framework for teaching religious education in English schools has been published.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority says pupils should study other faiths alongside Christianity to help foster understanding and respect.

The government-backed framework is not compulsory, which disappoints the Church of England, though it is pleased at the emphasis on RE for all.

But the National Secular Society called it a "charter for indoctrination".

'World views'

The Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, launched the framework on Thursday.

Christianity is still the main religion featured.

However, it recommends studying the tenets of the other five main religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism - across the school years up to the age of 14.

And it says it is also essential that pupils are able to share their own beliefs without embarrassment or ridicule.

So it recommends there should be opportunities to study other religious traditions such as the Baha'i faith, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, and secular philosophies such as humanism.

Atheism is not mentioned in the guidance, which is for all pupils aged three to 19.

Mr Clarke said: "Faith groups must seize this opportunity to develop their own resources that enhance understanding of their faith, and their response to world issues. I support the development of materials that can be used with the framework.

"Religious education can transform pupils' assessment of themselves and others, and their understanding of the wider world. I see it as vital in widening inclusion, understanding diversity and promoting tolerance."

'Balance'

Canon John Hall of the Church of England's National Society for Promoting Religious Education said it had hoped Mr Clarke could have been persuaded that the framework should have been statutory.

"We hope it will have a statutory effect," he said - meaning that a large majority of schools would adopt it.

"My guess is it's going to have a strong wind behind it."

He was most pleased that the framework advocated the teaching of RE for everyone, right up to the age of 19.

Canon Hall said he had been disappointed that last week's Tomlinson report on 14 to 19 learning in England had been "weak on RE".

"This resets the balance and we welcome that."

Questions

However, Keith Porteous Wood of the National Secular Society said: "In the past we have discouraged parents from absenting their children from religious education classes, as is their right under the Education Act, because we had received reports of children being made to sweep school playgrounds as an alternative, and being isolated from their peers.

"But now, after seeing this report, we feel strongly that non-believing parents, who are anxious that their children receive balanced, objective teaching about religion, will not be well served."

At one point the document said pupils should be "encouraged to reflect on the important contribution religion can make to community cohesion and the combating of religious prejudice and discrimination".

"We want to encourage community cohesion," he said, "but the evidence all around us of sectarian warfare and hatred tells us that the QCA approach flies in the face of reality."

Elsewhere in Britain

Local authorities in England have previously written their own guidelines for religious education.

By law, schools have to teach RE but parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of the lessons, even in church schools.

The school is not obliged to provide alternative lessons for those children.

In Wales, schools are encouraged to teach children about "Christianity and the other principal religions in Great Britain" but there is no mention of secular philosophies.

Scotland's national guidelines on religious and moral education (RME) say that, "while recognising the role of Christianity as the major religious tradition in Scotland, pupils should also be encouraged to develop understanding of and respect for people of other faiths and people who adopt a non-religious stance for living".

Clarke Launches First National Framework For Religious Education

© DfES. Thursday 28th October 2004

Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke today launched the first non-statutory national framework to support the delivery of high quality religious education (RE) in schools.

The framework has been developed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills; the major UK faith and belief communities; and RE professional groups following 18 months of consultation with them. It endorses the entitlement to RE for all pupils - irrespective of where they live, their social background, culture, race, religion and gender.

The framework sets out the national expectations for teaching and learning in RE to help ensure all children benefit from consistently high quality RE teaching. It provides guidance on how RE can be taught so that pupils not only learn about religion but learn from it. It sets out ways that children can develop their knowledge, understanding and skills and suggests levels of attainment that they should achieve.

Good quality RE actively contributes to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We have recently seen rising levels of popularity of RE at GCSE and A level. This framework will help us to build on this trend and have a positive impact on the teaching of RE in schools.

Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke said:

"There is a legal requirement for all schools to teach religious education. I want to ensure that standards are consistently high so that every pupil benefits. That’s why this framework is so important.

"The framework is the starting place for considered and informed learning opportunities. Children have a right, and indeed, should expect to be told about what is important to their friends who may hold different beliefs to their own.

"Faith groups must seize this opportunity to develop their own resources that enhance understanding of their faith, and their response to world issues. I support the development of materials that can be used with the framework.

"Religious education can transform pupils’ assessment of themselves and others, and their understanding of the wider world. I see it as vital in widening inclusion, understanding diversity and promoting tolerance.

"Last year, following consultation with key stakeholders, I asked the QCA to look at how this could be achieved and I am delighted to be launching this framework. I know that all the major faith and belief groups and the RE community are supportive of the framework and I would like to thank them for their invaluable contribution throughout its development.”

QCA Chief Executive Ken Boston said:

"Religious education has a vital role to play in providing pupils with a range of experiences that enable them to develop a realistic and positive sense of their own beliefs and ideas.

"The QCA is committed to supporting the delivery of high quality RE and urges LEAs and SACREs to use this guidance creatively to broaden and enrich pupils' learning of RE. I would like to congratulate the representatives of all the diverse faith communities and subject associations who worked together to achieve unity in diversity and helped to draw up this important guidance."

The framework was published today by the QCA and is on the QCA website at www.qca.org.uk/re

Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'

1. RE is a component of the basic curriculum to be taught, alongside the National Curriculum, in maintained schools to all registered pupils unless they have been withdrawn by their parents. It must be taught according to a locally agreed syllabus except in voluntary aided schools with a religious character. Each LEA must convene an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC) to produce a syllabus that sets out what local pupils should be taught. The Education Act 1996 states that an agreed syllabus must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are mainly Christian, whilst taking account of the teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in the country.

2. Christianity is central to the framework which also builds on existing best practice about what other religions and non-religious belief systems to teach about and how.

3. The national non-statutory framework has been developed by QCA in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills. It is intended to support those with a responsibility for the provision of religious education in maintained schools. All the major UK faith and belief communities and professional groups were involved in its development. There is a complete list of these on the inside cover of the framework.

4. The framework is primarily aimed at local decision makers who have a responsibility for provision within maintained schools in England, such as local education authorities (LEAs), Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs) and Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs).

5. The framework sets out national standards national expectations to help promote more consistently high standards in RE teaching. It sets attainment targets for learning and determines how performance should be assessed and reported to develop a clear and shared understanding of the knowledge and skills that young people will gain at school.

6. QCA carried out a feasibility report in March 2002 recommending development of a framework. This is available on the QCA website at http://www.qca.org.uk/ages3-14/subjects/3655.html. After consultation with key stakeholders, the Secretary of State asked QCA to begin the development of a framework in October 2003. An initial draft was put out for consultation between April and July 2004 and is also available on the QCA website at http://www.qca.org.uk/ages3-14/subjects/7150.html .

7. The number of students gaining a GCSE qualification in Religious Studies has risen significantly, up 6.6% from 132,304 in 2003 to 141,037 in 2004. This mirrors the trend at A level (up 13.8%).

8. Copies of the framework have been sent to every LEA and ITT training college. Hard copies can be obtained from QCA (020 7509 5555) or downloaded from the QCA web site at www.qca.org.uk/re.

Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dfes.gsi.gov.uk

QCA to Develop Religious Education Guidance

A non-statutory national framework for teaching religious education is to be developed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. QCA published a feasibility study for a framework in 2003 and the Education Secretary has now given the go-ahead for further work. Religious education currently has no national attainment targets or assessment levels, and the QCA says there is no consistent and transparent framework of standards.

The new framework will aim to establish standards and promote high quality teaching and learning by supporting the Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) which draw up local religious education syllabuses, ensuring that they meet the needs of pupils. The framework will also aim to increase public understanding of RE, and develop more support materials to teach it.

Ken Boston, chief executive of QCA, said: "Religious education in this country is based on two principles - that it should be a statutory part of education for all pupils and that it should reflect the particular needs and circumstances of local communities. QCA is committed to providing national support to ensure that local provision is of the highest quality. A national framework will strengthen diversity by establishing a national standard to underpin each local syllabus. RE locally can then benefit from national developments that enhance teaching and learning in the same way as other subjects."

A draft framework is now being prepared and QCA will consult on it during the summer term.