National Curriculum: Religious Education

Baroness Burt of Solihull Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

The noble Earl puts his finger on one of the most sensitive issues in education at the moment. I reassure noble Lords that we are absolutely committed to making improvements in this area. Hate crime, discrimination and racism have no place in Britain, particularly not in our schools. I am delighted that we have committed £7 million to tackling antisemitism in schools, £3 million of which has been spent already. We are launching an innovation fund to look at new initiatives, which will open some time towards the end of November.

[Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)]

My Lords, the 2015 High Court Fox judgment made it clear that non-religious world views such as humanism must be treated on an equal footing with major world religions in religious education. What steps will the Government take to ensure that this principle is embedded in any future national curriculum?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

We have had several conversations on this, and I can only repeat the comments that were made. It is fundamental that we have a full range of views, right across the spectrum, and that they have equal respect within the curriculum. I look forward to taking these issues forward. They have been part of many discussions we have had recently, not least on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The noble Baroness raises important points that need to be addressed.