Carpe Diem: Why Consensus in RE Matters Now More Than Ever

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may Old time is still a flying And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying. “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick.   For those old enough to remember Robin Williams’ performance in Dead Poets’ Society, the memory will no doubt recall Williams’ Mr Keating urging his pupils to “Seize the Day”, using Herrick’s poem to press upon his class the importance of the maxim, “Carpe Diem”.   Dead Poets’ Society was released in the same year that the first National Curriculum began to be taught in primary schools, but Religious Education was not included in the new National Curriculum. The reasons for this decision remain relevant to this day. Whatever our views on the wisdom of that decision, I would argue there have been negative consequences, including variable quality, weak accountability and the marginalisation of the subject.   However, 2026 brings new hope. As a consequence of the government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review¹, we are presented with what I think is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ‘gather rosebuds’: inclusion in the National Curriculum. But this possibility comes with a condition. The government, aware of the continuing relevance of the reasons for non-inclusion in 1988, requires consensus from the subject community “on an RE curriculum that could be deliverable within all schools¹“.   So, it’s time for us to “seize the day”. If we are serious about seizing this moment, we need to change how we work together. What follows are four principles I believe must shape our response.

• Start with Humility

The government requires that consensus should include “faith, non-faith and wider school stakeholders¹“, and this means that compromise will be essential, rooted in humility. While I have lots of experience as a teacher, curriculum planner, and leader, I must acknowledge I don’t have all the answers, and there will be elements of any resultant draft curriculum statement I won’t fully agree with, or even not like. This is the moment to remind myself that compromise is part of the democratic process, and the only way to reach consensus.

• Lower the Volume

As with any diverse community, there are some loud voices, voices that can be used to speak over others and command attention from outside the sector. But now is the time for ‘indoor voices’; we don’t need to draw attention to our differences, particularly when we have been tasked with reaching “a clear shared position¹“. My experience of working with the wider community means I’m privileged to have a voice, but I will keep reminding myself to speak softly.

• Think Long-Term

Inclusion in the National Curriculum will not immediately solve the problems our subject faces, and much will remain to be done even after potential inclusion. We need to approach this first piece of work with an eye on the long-term. I would regard the curriculum in my school as innovative. However, it is unlikely that such an approach could be implemented immediately across all schools, so we need to think of a draft curriculum that is manageable for the current teaching workforce in the short to medium term but is also ready to be developed in the longer term.

• Prioritise Progression

One of the key benefits of any National Curriculum is that we as a subject community can put more emphasis on the long-term progression in children’s learning. Rather than be preoccupied with how much of the curriculum is learning about worldview X or worldview Y, we can put our energy into “a well-sequenced and structured national curriculum . . . that could be deliverable within all schools¹“, that is, we can devote ourselves to the challenge of pupils’ learning in religion and worldviews from Foundation Stage, through primary school and onto secondary school. Let’s work together, across our differences, to gather rosebuds; this is a prize worth winning.

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report-government-response