North Yorkshire Council
North Yorkshire Standing Advisory Council
on Religious Education (SACRE) –
April 2025
Update from Professional RE Adviser
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1.0
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Purpose of the Report
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To inform Members on work undertaken by the Professional RE Adviser since the last SACRE meeting.
To provide members with local and national updates on RE |
2.0 Teacher Training Spring 2025
2.1 2 Primary RE Networks in the Spring term were attended by 22 RE subject leaders and Headteachers. The network focussed on RE in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Feedback from teachers about the networks:
· Thank you Olivia, some great ideas for resources to access. Feel more confident to tackle the EYFS RE now.
· This has been very helpful thank you, it has been good to see examples of how we can support RE in the classroom e.g. story books
· Very useful - lots for me to work on/follow-up with
· The section which provided information about what RE might look like in an EYFS classroom was very useful. As an EYFS teacher it gave me useful ideas and it will be helpful to share with parents to increase their understanding of how RE is taught at this age range
2.2
The Primary RE Leadership Course ran again this year over 2 half days of training in February. 9 delegates attended from a mix of maintained schools and academies.
Feedback included:
· Thank you very much Olivia. I have got so much out of these two sessions. Lots to think about and develop but as RE lead, I feel confident about where I need to go next with RE in my school.
· This has been very useful Olivia. Thank you so much.
3.0 Curriculum and Assessment Review – national conversation
3.1 Culham St Gabriels recently held a focus week on the Government Curriculum and Assessment review
This explored the Governmental review of the curriculum in schools in England. Specifically considering:
You can access the resources here The resources are intended to:
Listen to the ‘in conversation’ session about whether RE should become part of a new national curriculum hosted by Fiona Moss and featuring 4 guests
Read the Research spotlight focussed on Deep and meaningful? 2024 OFSTED Subject report on RE. Read about the report, consider the questions and listen to a film reflecting on the findings of the report.
Read the Resource spotlight focusses on the CSTG National Content Standard E-learning course. which in just 30 minutes summarises the key elements of this important non-statutory guidance document launched in Autumn 2023 by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales.
Culham St Gabriels also published a series of blog posts responding to the question Should RE become part of a new National Curriculum in England?
Charles
Clarke Three
possible outcomes for RE…a choice to be made
Trevor Cooling Should
RE be included in the National Curriculum? It’s the Standard,
not the Stuff!
Charlotte Newman Why
Religious Education (RE) should be a part of the National
Curriculum
Richard Kueh Things
fall apart; the centre cannot hold
3.2 Schools week have also published an interesting piece by Christine Counsel sharing her thoughts on RE and the Curriculum and Assessment review It’s time to finally put RE in the national curriculum where it belongs.
4.0 Curriculum and Assessment Review – interim report
The interim report of the curriculum and assessment review was published on Tuesday 18th March.
You can read the full report here: Curriculum and Assessment Review: interim report - GOV.UK
And press coverage here https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/curriculum-review-interim-report-need-to-know
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/curriculum-review-signals-primary-content-cut-and-fewer-gcse-exams/
4.1 There are specific references to Religious Education:
Page 11 The legal context of Religious Education
All state-funded schools in England are required to teach a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum, as stipulated by the Education Act 20023 and the Academies Act 2010.4 For mainstream local authority-maintained schools, the national curriculum is statutory and seeks to support schools to achieve breadth and balance by providing specific requirements at each key stage. Academy funding agreements stipulate the teaching of English, maths and science, alongside the basic curriculum subjects of RE and RSHE, but academies are not currently required to follow the national curriculum.
Page 22 Religious Studies at Key Stage 4
However, we have heard two main barriers to achieving breadth and balance at key stage 4. As seen in key stages 1, 2 and 3, the first barrier is a question of volume which is reported to challenge adequate curriculum depth and to squeeze the curriculum time available for mandatory but non-assessed subjects such as PE, RE and RSHE. The second challenge frequently noted relates to the EBacc performance measures….
Given the structure of the EBacc, to be eligible for the performance measure, a student taking the national average of nine subjects at key stage 4 would necessarily have seven subjects already pre-selected (with a choice between history or geography), or eight subjects if taking triple science.29 In addition, students in schools with a religious designation are often mandated to enter a religious studies GCSE. All this limits the uptake of triple science, computing, and arts subjects and we have heard strong concerns from schools, and from organisations representing the arts and other non-EBacc subjects, on this constraining effect of the EBacc.
Page 29 Subjects not on the national curriculum
RE and RSHE are subjects that schools are required by statute to provide, but which do not form part of the national curriculum.
Despite the fact that RE is compulsory for all pupils up to the age of 18 (unless they are withdrawn), evidence suggests that a lack of national agreed content standards has led to national disparities in the quality of provision.
Similar sentiments have been raised in the Call for Evidence responses and in a Review roundtable with RE organisations.
...there is a balance to be struck between securing an entitlement to high- quality content for all, and, particularly in the case of RE, the need for flexibility to be retained for different school types (i.e., schools with a religious designation and those without). We will consider these points through our analysis of each different subject before publishing our final report.
4.2 There is also much in relation to diversity of content that RE is an important contribution to:
Page 28 Diversity of content
One of our strengths as a nation is our diversity, and our commitments to equality of opportunity and fairness. As such, we shall seek to ensure that all young people are able to feel included and engaged in the national curriculum. As set out in our Terms of Reference, the Review will seek to deliver a curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people are represented, and also exposed to a wide range of perspectives that serve to broaden their horizons. There is already scope within the national curriculum for teachers to weave together topics and themes to create an inclusive and diverse learning experience. However, we have heard compelling arguments that the curriculum needs to do more in ensuring that all young people feel represented, and that it successfully delivers the equalities duties to support equality of opportunity and challenge discrimination. Some of this has come from pupils themselves in our roundtables with young people. Pupils told us that not being able to see themselves in the content they learn, or encountering negative portrayals, can be disempowering and demotivating, a point supported by wider evidence.37 Ensuring that a diverse range of perspectives, experiences and representation are contained in set texts has also been seen to support student engagement and positive outcomes, alongside empathy and understanding of others.
As well as making sure that children and young people can see themselves represented in the curriculum, it will be important that we also make sure they encounter the unfamiliar, and have their horizons stretched and broadened; representation does not and must not mean restriction to only some frames of reference for particular children or groups of children. Inclusion is also prompted by shared experiences, the creation of connections, and the ability to see and experience a wide range of perspectives. Clearly there is a need to appropriately balance the requirement to ensure coherence and efficacy in the curriculum with inclusivity; while also ensuring we do not detract from the importance and impact of what is currently taught. Curriculum coherence, efficacy and breadth for all children will remain central as we make sure the curriculum is more broadly representative. As part of our subject review work, we will look across the curriculum to examine where opportunities exist to increase diversity in representation, and to ensure that the curriculum facilitates a fostering of inclusivity and challenge to discrimination.
4.3 Responses from National RE Organisations
Culham St Gabriels Response to Curriculum and Assessment Review Interim Report
Olivia Seymour
Professional Adviser to North Yorkshire SACRE
County Hall, Northallerton
Report Author: Olivia Seymour
Background documents: