Despite reaching just half of its recruitment target last year, the Department for Education will remove the £10,000 teacher training bursary for RE from 2026.
The Department for Education’s decision to remove the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) bursary for Religious Education from 2026–27 will intensify the national shortage of RE teachers and seriously undermine the future of the subject, says the RE Policy Unit.
Latest UCAS data show that RE recruitment for 2025–26 stands at just 54% of target, one of the lowest of all secondary subjects. Despite this, the DfE has confirmed that the £10,000 training bursary for Religious Education will be withdrawn entirely from September 2026.
The bursary for the subject was re-introduced for the academic year 2024-25 after the subject had failed its recruitment target for nine of the last ten years. During this period, applications to train as an RE teacher rose 40%, but were still short of the target.
The RE Policy Unit has also warned that it risks triggering the closure of more university training courses across England. The University of Birmingham announced last week that 2025–26 will be its final year offering a PGCE course in Religious Education.
Religious Education is a legal obligation for schools, but around half of those teaching RE in secondary schools in England mainly teach another subject The RE Policy Unit has reported that this is leading to tokenistic RE that can embed misconceptions, weaken community cohesion and leave young people unprepared for understanding the religious and non-religious worldviews that shape modern Britain.
Chair of the RE Policy Unit, Deborah Weston OBE, said:
“This is a devastating decision that will seriously threaten the provision of high quality religious education at a time when schools need it most. Some subjects, such as English, have had the bursary removed after being oversubscribed. This is not the case with RE which is facing a generational recruitment crisis.
“Last year’s bursary saw progress made on reversing the long term crisis of specialism in our schools, with teacher applications rising by 40%. Put simply, for a shortage subject like RE, bursaries work.
“A specialist RE teacher is an invaluable asset to both the school and the wider community. They enable young people to explore and understand their own beliefs, as well as those of others, within an academic and inclusive environment. The bursary represents a vital investment—not only in religious education but also in the future of young people in modern Britain. We urge the government to review the evidence and reconsider the decision.”
Call for action
The RE Policy Unit calls on the Department for Education to reverse the decision and reinstate the RE bursary for 2026–27. It also urges the DfE to:
- Review bursary allocations across all subjects to ensure they reflect actual recruitment data.
- Recognise RE as a strategic shortage subject, given its statutory status and decade-long under-recruitment.
- Work with universities, professional associations, and faith and belief communities to safeguard training capacity and rebuild the RE teacher workforce.