1. IS A POPULAR AND ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS SUBJECT. BOTH
OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITIES
INCLUDE RS IN THE TOP LEVEL LIST OF
VALUEOF THE QUALIFICATION
HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE 2003 – UP BY 110%!
THAT’S MORE THAN ANY OTHER ARTS, HUMANITY
OR SOCIAL SCIENCE SUBJECT.
WHO TOOK UP A PLACE TO READ MATHS
AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN 2011
HAD A RELIGIOUS
STUDIES A LEVEL
(MORE THAN HAD ECONOMICS, PHYSICS OR BUSINESS)
20%
OF STUDENTS
GCSE RELIGIOUS STUDIES
FULL COURSE ENTRIES
IN ENGLAND INCREASED BY
RELIGIOUS STUDIES A LEVEL ENTRIES
+
110%
THE RUSSELL GROUP
OF TOP UK UNIVERSITIES
DESCRIBES RS A LEVEL AS
A REVIEW OF THE PERFORMANCE OF
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
SUITABLE
PREPARATION
FOR UNIVERSITY
GENERALLY
GENERALLY SUITABLE ARTS A LEVELS
IN SOCIETY
OF THE POPULATION IN
ENGLAND AND WALES
BELIEVE HIGH QUALITY
RE PROMOTES
IN 2014 A REPORT BY A CROSS-PARTY
GROUP OF MPS FOUND THAT RE PLAYS
REPORT CARD
51%
RELIGION
AND BELIEF
TOLERANCE, RESPECT AND
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
CONTINUE TO TOP THE
NEWS AGENDA
AND RE HELPS
YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE SENSE
OF IT.
A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN
AND MISUNDERSTANDING.
REDUCING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
IS WIDELY CONSIDERED TO HAVE
ON – AND PROVIDE BENEFITS TO – SOCIETY
A POSITIVE IMPACT
SCHOOL
PERFORMANCE
AROUND ONE THIRD OF SCHOOLS
VISITED BY OFSTED WERE
RE IS TWICE AS LIKELY TO
BE TAUGHT BY A TEACHER
WITH NO POST-A LEVEL
QUALIFICATION IN THE SUBJECT OVER ONE IN FIVE
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
DO NOT OFFER RE AT GCSE
22%
LACK OF
SUBJECT
EXPERTISE
IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A
IN KEY
STAGE
414.7%VS29.6%
OFSTED FINDINGS SHOW US THAT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
SHOULD BE TAUGHT BY WELL-TRAINED TEACHERS
WITH STRONG SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE, YET TEACHERS RECEIVE LITTLE
CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
46% 73%
S
PECIALIST RE TEACHER
S
SPE
CIALIST HISTORY TEACH
ERS
HI
STORY TEACHE
RS
RE TEACHERS
GOVERNMENT
PERFORMANCE
TEACHER TRAINING
OFSTED’S FRAMEWORK
EXPECTS THAT PUPILS WILL
BE PREPARED FOR LIFE IN
THE DECISION TO NOT COUNT RE IN
PERFORMANCE TABLES
DOWN 67%
SINCE 2012
HAS LED TO A DROP IN RE GCSE SHORT COURSE
ENTRIES IN ENGLAND
-67%
BURSARIES
WERE REINTRODUCED IN 2015
BUT AT £4,000 THEY ARE
WORTH LESS THAN HALF
[44%] OF BURSARIES FOR
STEM SUBJECTS
[£9,000]
85,000 FEWER STUDENTS ARE STUDYING ANY RELIGIOUS STUDIES GCSE
IN 2015 COMPARED TO 2012 [A FALL OF OVER 20%]
BUT IT IS FAILING TO REPORT
ON SCHOOLS THAT ARE NEGLECTING
THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES IN RE
MODERN BRITAIN
IN 2013/14
OFSTED
REPORTED ON
ONLY ONE SUCH
SCHOOL, LESS THAN
OF INSPECTIONS
0.1%
MINISTERIAL
EFFORT
PUBLIC STATEMENTS
OF SUPPORT ARE NOT
ALWAYS BACKED UP WITH
50%
I THINK THAT RE HAS
SUFFERED AS A RESULT
OF MY BELIEF THAT THE
PROTECTION OF IT
[IN THE 1944 EDUCATION ACT]
WAS SUFFICIENT AND
MICHAEL GOVE MP,
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
EDUCATION, JULY 2013
NICKY MORGAN MP,
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
EDUCATION, NOVEMBER 2014
MINISTERS HAVE RECOGNISED
THE NEED FOR CHILDREN TO SHOW
MUTUAL RESPECT AND TOLERANCE
OF THOSE WITH DIFFERENT FAITHS
AND BELIEFS; YET THE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION’S GUIDANCE FAILS
TO MENTION RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
AT ALL.
A SERIES OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
AND AN INCONSISTENT APPROACH FROM MINISTERS
SUPPORTIVE
ACTION
ADDITIONAL
COMMENTS
IT SHOULD ENSURE
THAT ALL PUPILS IN ALL
SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES AND
COLLEGES HAVE ACCESS
TO GOOD QUALITY RE
MORE EFFORT
IN 2014 THE GOVERNMENT
OVER-ALLOCATED PLACES
FOR TEACHER TRAINING IN RE
BUT DID NOT PROVIDE
NECESSARY FINANCE
TO POTENTIAL STUDENTS
TO SEE RE TEACHING AS
FINANCIALLY REWARDING
AS PART OF REFORMS TO
NON-EBACC SUBJECTS
OFQUAL HAS BEEN WORKING
WITH OTHERS TO IMPROVE
THE CONTENT AND RIGOUR OF
THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES
GCSE AND A LEVEL
SOURCES
Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2013 to 2014 www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4
School Workforce Survey in England, November 2013 www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013
Joint Council for Qualifications www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/a-levels, www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/gcses
National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE): An analysis of a survey of teachers on the impact of the EBacc on student opportunity to study GCSE RS, July 2014
Department of Education: Promoting fundamental British values as part of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development in schools, November 2014
Hansard, 18 March 2014 www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140318/text/140318w0002.htm#140318w0002.htm_wqn65
All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education: RE and Good Community Relations, March 2014
Ofsted: Realising the potential, October 2013
Russell Group: Informed Choices www.russellgroup.org/InformedChoices-latest.pdf
CEM Centre, Durham University: Relative difficulty of examinations in different subjects, July 2008 www.score-education.org/media/3194/relativedifficulty.pdf
YouGov survey of 2038 adults in England and Wales, July 2014
IS NOT A
SOFT OPTION
A DURHAM UNIVERSITY STUDY SHOWED
THAT A LEVEL RS IS
GOVERNMENT COULD
DO BETTER AND
APPLY WHAT IT HAS
LEARNED SINCE 2010
IT NEEDS TO TAKE A LONGER
TERM VIEW OF RE AND RECOGNISE
THE POSITIVE ROLE IT PLAYS IN
SOCIETY AS WELL AS A SUBJECT
WORTH STUDYING
GOVERNMENT SHOULD COLLABORATE WITH
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO IMPROVE THE
AVAILABILITY OF SPECIALIST RE TEACHERS
WHICH WILL HAVE THE ADDED BENEFITS OF
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF TEACHING
EREQUIRED
C
D
C
A
A
CAN HELP ACHIEVE THE
SEPTEMBER 2015
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19%
BETWEEN 2012 AND 2014
OFF%AC
987
654
321
42%