“Current system has failed to provide high-quality RE” REC chair tells Parliament

Current system has failed to provide high-quality Religious Education to all pupils, chair of the Religious Education Council tells Parliament

The Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review is an opportunity to deal with historic neglect of RE, Sarah Lane Cawte tells the Education Select Committee, as 1 in 6 schools risk breaking the law by not providing RE at year 11.

London, June 17th, 2025: There is growing consensus in the Religious Education community to reform the system to end the postcode lottery of provision in RE, with the introduction of the REC’s National Content Standard and a National Plan for the subject a major step in doing so, Sarah Lane Cawte, Chair of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, has told MPs.

Representing the REC’s 60 member organisations, Cawte gave evidence to the Education Select Committee, which has expressed concern over the current provision of RE ahead of the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review that seeks to address the “issues and diversities of our society” to ensure “all children and young people are represented”.

Cawte told the committee that RE was a vital part of the Government’s vision for education, contributing to societal cohesion and leaving children ready for life and work in modern Britain.

The chair of the REC told the committee that despite growing pockets of excellent provision, the subject is facing historic neglect. With teacher training targets missed in thirteen of the last fourteen years, subject knowledge enhancement courses axed and a postcode lottery of provision enforced by varying levels of funding provided by local authorities to Standing Advisory Councils on RE (SACREs), the statutory bodies responsible for advising schools on religious education.

In addition, she told the committee that many schools are potentially breaking the law by not teaching the subject across all Key Stages as part of their statutory requirement. Cawte told the committee that one in six schools are not offering the subject at Year 11 despite their legal requirement to do so.

Responding to questions as to how the Government could overcome these barriers, Cawte said that the REC’s National Content Standard should be adopted as part of Department of Education’s statutory guidance to ensure consistency in provision.

The standard is a consensus among the REC’s members that aims to secure consistent, high-quality standards across all types of schools regardless of the type of school, including those with a religious character. It provides a framework that allows schools to evaluate their RE curricula, while ensuring inclusivity of both religious and non-religious worldviews.

Sarah Lane Cawte also said that a National Plan for the subject would be needed to ensure all students receive their entitlement to high-quality, modern RE. This would also include proposals for how to address the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention for RE. At present, half of teachers who deliver Religious Education lessons spend most of their time teaching another subject.

The committee also questioned the Chair of the REC around the challenges associated with the way RE is dealt with by legislation. She reported that the requirement for SACREs to provide locally agreed syllabuses was leading to problems with consistency in quality, particularly as funding for these bodies is not ring-fenced by local authorities.

The REC chair reported that whilst there was growing interest in the RE community in making RE part of the National Curriculum to safeguard the subject, she would like to retain SACREs, pointing out the vital role they play in building links with the local community, and the ways in which, if properly funded, they can support teachers and school leaders in providing high-quality RE for every pupil.

Speaking after the Education Select Committee session, Sarah Lane Cawte said:

“It was an honour to speak in Parliament on behalf of the sixty national organisations that make up the Religious Education Council. There is unprecedented consensus that the present system needs reform and the Government’s curriculum review provides a major opportunity to realise this for the benefit of all children and young people in our schools.

“Adopting the REC’s National Content Standard would be a major step to ensuring all students receive high-quality RE, while a National Plan would provide the funding and political commitment needed to address the crisis of RE specialism in our schools.

“It was encouraging to see that the Education Select Committee values Religious Education as a vital part of our young people’s education and future. The REC looks forward to continuing to work with MPs, stakeholders and the Curriculum and Assessment Review panel to achieve our shared vision for high-quality RE for every student in the country.”