Should RE be included in the National Curriculum? It’s the Standard, not the Stuff!

Does RE need a government national plan of support? Absolutely. Should RE be compulsory for all schools? No question. Should that requirement be enforced more effectively? Of course. Should RE be included in the National Curriculum (NC)? Hmmm – I’m not so sure about that.

There’s no doubt that the situation around the provision of RE is not good. But let’s not forget what we have achieved in RE in the UK. This was brought home to me last summer when I worked in Australia for three months. RE in government schools is weak, often non-existent. Let me introduce you to someone that I met.

Herbert is a social entrepreneur from Melbourne. There is no RE in government schools of his State of Victoria. He’s the CEO of Faith Values, a start-up, charitable company seeking to bring RE back into the curriculums of both Victorian schools and ultimately into the other States and Territories. Faith Values is seeking to model our REC by drawing together faith communities and Education professionals. Herbert is working in partnership with the State Curriculum Authority. It has chosen to integrate a Religion and Worldviews approach into their curriculum because they recognize the quality educational experience it offers pupils.

How is this case study relevant to the NC debate? I take you back to the genius recommendation of the Commission on RE, namely the proposal of a National Statement of Entitlement (NSE) not a call for RE to be a NC subject. This is important because the focus of the NSE is to define a vision and a standard, not curriculum content. This has two very important consequences.

First, it focuses attention on what teaching RE is seeking to achieve, not just on enforcing its presence in the curriculum. This stimulates discussion about the educational benefits of RE rather than just securing a slot in the timetable. A mindset of innovation rather than conformity is promoted. The value of the NSE approach is indicated by the Australians turning to the UK when they want to introduce quality RE into their schools.

Second, it avoids stimulating a political bun fight between warring parties who want to secure control of the NC. Of course, the RE community won’t sink to such squabbles (note irony!), but there would be nothing to stop a Schools Minister deciding that they knew best (there is past form).

The REC has published a National Content Standard for RE using the NSE, which models the NC documents of other subjects. However, it’s not a curriculum, but a standard for benchmarking different curriculums. This means that professional discussion about different approaches in different contexts can flourish without someone imposing a straightjacket curriculum on every school.

Is being part of the NC a good idea for RE? Possibly as it should compel schools to timetable the subject. The danger is that the huge benefits of the NSE with its emphasis on vision, contextual innovation and standards gets lost in conformity to an imposed NC. That would be a significant loss.