Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 108214 on Religion: Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure high standards of religious education teaching in all schools; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a national curriculum for religious education.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Religious education (RE) is an essential part of a school’s curriculum and remains a compulsory subject in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18. RE develops an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour.

To ensure high standards of RE teaching, 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.

To support high standards of RE teaching in all schools, the Department is continuing 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 Government has no plans to introduce a national compulsory curriculum for RE. The Government’s policy is to allow RE curricula to be designed at a local level, whether that is through locally agreed syllabuses or by individual schools and academy trusts developing their own curricula.