So now where are we? Good news/Bad news

Okay – it’s been a big week for education and, by implication, for RE. I say ‘by implication’ because nothing in the Government’s announcements is explicit about our subject.

Lots to puzzle about – concealing the education changes inside the Budget (hiding controversial news?); letting Osborne take the limelight (is Morgan a busted flush?).

What this week’s events do confirm is timely nature of the RE Council’s planned Commission on RE. Getting our thinking clear is crucial.

The White Paper is the key and, unless I missed it, RE is not mentioned. A strange omission? Surely the changes announced have huge implications for RE. Chapter 6 on the curriculum is essential reading!

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere

Five headline thoughts:

1.  If all schools become academies, what role is left for SACREs? At first glance – none. But Local Authorities will retain some functions (para 4.77). Is it possible that, in order to avoid the potential controversy involved in changing RE legislation, the Government will leave SACREs in place as part of the LA’s residual functions? The headline on local authorities is:

Local authorities play an important role in the education system: ensuring every child has a school place, that the needs of all pupils are met and championing parents and families. They will step back from running schools and school improvement.

Difficult to see how SACREs or Agreed Syllabus work would fit into these roles – but the cynical possibility is that the Government will turn a blind eye and let SACREs simply wither away. Surely not – but we must press for clarity and resolution here.

• The GOOD NEWS – this will trigger Government action on legal change.
• The BAD NEWS – this will trigger Government action on legal change. 

2.  The future role of the National Curriculum (in an academy world) is clarified. It would “no longer be a decree, but a benchmark. It will serve an important role in setting out the sort of knowledge-based, ambitious, academically rigorous education which every child should experience” Para 6.8. This looks like good news … if RE can find a place within this new ‘benchmark curriculum’. We need to be there. At the moment we are seeing a steady erosion of a benchmark around a ‘reasonable entitlement’ for RE. Some academies are playing fast and loose with ambiguity about what they should provide. A clear Government backed benchmark entitlement for RE could mark a reversal of the erosion process. But can we trust this Government to create an acceptable RE curriculum?

• The GOOD NEWS – the government might take action to establish a benchmark national curriculum for RE
• The BAD NEWS – the government might take action to establish a benchmark national curriculum for RE

3. The strong focus on a ‘knowledge-based curriculum’ will challenge RE. If RE is to take its place in the new benchmark NC we may need to bite the ‘knowledge’ bullet. We ducked it in the 2013 REC National Curriculum Framework. But crucially – we must deal with this as a community and not let the DfE do it for us!! Big threats here. If we cannot sort out the question of core content of RE, there are others who might impose it. Some good thinking going on here but big risks as well. We need to get right back to the core question – what are the BIG IDEAS that should drive the RE curriculum? 

• The GOOD NEWS – we might sort out the issue of the content of the RE curriculum
• The BAD NEWS – someone else might sort out the content of the RE curriculum

4.  The EBacc is further embedded (para 6.24) as the CORE academic curriculum. Still a concern. Could legislative change help? Should we open up the debate about making RE non-statutory at Key Stage 4 as a trade-off for its inclusion in the EBacc? 

• SORRY – Can’t spot the good news here! 

5.  A big focus on character development and the role of PSHE (paras 6.35 onwards). No reference to RE throughout this section – a relief given the way some marginal groups in the RE community want to focus RE around the development of character dispositions. BUT there is emphasis on developing the PSHE curriculum to include “promoting …. mutual tolerance and respect of those with different faiths and beliefs, while developing the knowledge, critical thinking and character traits that enable pupils to identify and challenge extremist views”. Some stealing of RE best lines here. Tricky area of course. We don’t want RE identified with character development or social cohesion BUT we don’t want to be excluded either.

• The GOOD NEWS – RE not linked to the character development/social harmony agenda
• The BAD NEWS – RE not linked to the character development/social harmony agenda

So where does it all leave us?

It makes the RE Council’s new Commission on RE even more important – but we need to work together to anticipate any DfE/Government action on RE. We need to have our solutions in place and not let the Government impose theirs upon us.