On 8th March the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Religious Education met in order to discuss changes to its purpose statement. At that meeting, the APPG agreed a new purpose statement as follows:
To provide a medium through which parliamentarians and organisations with an interest in religious education can discuss the current provision of religious education, press for continuous improvement, promote public understanding and advocate effective education for every young person in religious world views.
The original purpose had read [the changed wording is in bold]:
To provide a medium through which parliamentarians and organisations with an interest in religious education can discuss the current provision of religious education, press for continuous improvement, promote public understanding and advocate rigorous education for every young person in religious and non-religious world views.
RE Council Chief Executive, Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, and NATRE Chair Daniel Hugill commented:
We are disappointed that the All Party Parliamentary Group has decided to narrow its understanding of what religious education (RE) means. RE is a dynamic subject that benefits from an ongoing debate over its nature and scope. Members of both the RE Council and NATRE continue to discuss and review the current and future shape of religious education. A broad and inclusive approach to these discussions is necessary for the health of the subject. The APPG has chosen to cut itself off from an important part of the debate. In doing so it makes itself out of touch with the reality of a vibrant part of what is going on in many RE classrooms across the country.