Coalition reforms are leading to a “serious deterioration” of religious education in schools, according to faith leaders.
By Graeme Paton
Changes to GCSE league tables combined with moves to limit the role of local councils risks undermining the subject's place in the English education system, it is claimed.
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph today, leading Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs call for urgent reforms to stop RE effectively disappearing from the classroom.
The comments come just weeks after a major study revealed thousands of secondary schools were already axing lessons for older pupils – flouting legislation that demands all children should be taught RE until at least 16.
A quarter of schools fail to provide the subject for 14- to 16-year-olds, it emerged, with around a third planning to drop it next year.
In today’s letter, religious groups blamed the trend on the Coalition’s new “English Baccalaureate” – a school leaving certificate that rewards progress in traditional academic subjects.
Warning over decline of religious education in schools 12 Mar 2011
Pupils must score at least a C grade GCSE in English, maths, science, a language and either history or geography to gain the baccalaureate.
But critics claim the development undermines the teaching of other subjects, such as RE, music, art, physical education, ICT and design and technology, which are not included.
The letter, signed by figures including the Rev Michael Heaney, president of Churches Together in England, which represents Christian churches, and Farooq Murad, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, calls for RE to be added to the baccalaureate.
“We are gravely concerned about the negative impact current Government policies are having on RE in schools and colleges in our country, due to a lack of strategic thinking about the subject,” the letter says.
It adds: “Recent policy initiatives in relation to GCSE examinations are already leading to a serious deterioration in the provision for RE in many secondary schools… Failure to work with faith communities, along with their partner academic and professional associations, would represent a serious flaw in the Big Society project.”
RE is a legal requirement for all pupils. Even if teenagers fail to take a GCSE in the subject, they should still receive lessons up to the age of 16.
But it is claimed Government reforms risk both the quality of lessons and the number of schools offering the subject.
Today’s letter raises concerns about the expansion of the Coalition’s academies programme, which takes schools out of local authority control and grants head teachers complete independence over admissions, the curriculum, staff pay and the shape of the academic year.
The move risks “undermining the nature and quality of RE”, the letter says, as academies will be able to ignore RE syllabuses drawn up by local faith leaders.
It is the latest in a series of attacks mounted on Government policy towards the subject. The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, said that failure to take religion seriously was "highly dangerous" at a time when groups such as the English Defence League were staging violent protests against British Muslims.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “The English Baccalaureate does not stop any school offering RE GCSEs and we have been clear that pupils should take the GCSEs that are right for them. It is for teachers and parents to help pupils make the right choice.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...igious-education-in-schools-under-threat.html
By Graeme Paton
Changes to GCSE league tables combined with moves to limit the role of local councils risks undermining the subject's place in the English education system, it is claimed.
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph today, leading Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs call for urgent reforms to stop RE effectively disappearing from the classroom.
The comments come just weeks after a major study revealed thousands of secondary schools were already axing lessons for older pupils – flouting legislation that demands all children should be taught RE until at least 16.
A quarter of schools fail to provide the subject for 14- to 16-year-olds, it emerged, with around a third planning to drop it next year.
In today’s letter, religious groups blamed the trend on the Coalition’s new “English Baccalaureate” – a school leaving certificate that rewards progress in traditional academic subjects.
Warning over decline of religious education in schools 12 Mar 2011
Pupils must score at least a C grade GCSE in English, maths, science, a language and either history or geography to gain the baccalaureate.
But critics claim the development undermines the teaching of other subjects, such as RE, music, art, physical education, ICT and design and technology, which are not included.
The letter, signed by figures including the Rev Michael Heaney, president of Churches Together in England, which represents Christian churches, and Farooq Murad, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, calls for RE to be added to the baccalaureate.
“We are gravely concerned about the negative impact current Government policies are having on RE in schools and colleges in our country, due to a lack of strategic thinking about the subject,” the letter says.
It adds: “Recent policy initiatives in relation to GCSE examinations are already leading to a serious deterioration in the provision for RE in many secondary schools… Failure to work with faith communities, along with their partner academic and professional associations, would represent a serious flaw in the Big Society project.”
RE is a legal requirement for all pupils. Even if teenagers fail to take a GCSE in the subject, they should still receive lessons up to the age of 16.
But it is claimed Government reforms risk both the quality of lessons and the number of schools offering the subject.
Today’s letter raises concerns about the expansion of the Coalition’s academies programme, which takes schools out of local authority control and grants head teachers complete independence over admissions, the curriculum, staff pay and the shape of the academic year.
The move risks “undermining the nature and quality of RE”, the letter says, as academies will be able to ignore RE syllabuses drawn up by local faith leaders.
It is the latest in a series of attacks mounted on Government policy towards the subject. The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, said that failure to take religion seriously was "highly dangerous" at a time when groups such as the English Defence League were staging violent protests against British Muslims.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “The English Baccalaureate does not stop any school offering RE GCSEs and we have been clear that pupils should take the GCSEs that are right for them. It is for teachers and parents to help pupils make the right choice.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...igious-education-in-schools-under-threat.html
