Religious Education has always been a subject that punches well above its weight. Few subjects explore the questions of life, meaning, and identity in the way that RE does. And yet across Scotland and Wales, teachers describe familiar pressures: limited curriculum time, competing priorities and uncertainty following curriculum reform. Despite these challenges, however, thoughtful and engaging RE continues to happen every day because of the commitment, creativity and expertise of teachers.
This blog is for those teachers — those keeping RE alive, visible, and vibrant in our purpose‑driven curriculum frameworks.
What Marginalisation Looks Like (and Why It’s Not Your Fault)
When we refer to the marginalisation of RE[1], we are identifying and describing a pattern that teachers across both countries and beyond will recognise instantly.
RE can become less visible and overshadowed by whole-school priorities, be squeezed by competing pressures, and have inconsistent access to support and professional learning. Teachers may also receive mixed messages and increased responsibilities for curriculum design at times of curriculum reform.
Scotland and Wales: Different Countries, Shared Challenges
Although the two systems use different terms, RVE in Wales and RME, for now, in Scotland[2], many of the challenges are surprisingly similar.
Both operate within purpose-driven curricula that value local curriculum-making, teacher professionalism, and school agency. In primary schools, RE can become everyone’s responsibility and no-one’s priority. Across both sectors, it remains vulnerable to slipping to
the edge of the curriculum.[3] But teachers are finding practical and creative ways to bring it back to the centre and to make it matter.
What is Working: Real Strategies Teachers Are Using to Mitigate Marginalisation
Across Scotland and Wales, teachers are working to strengthen RE. These are the strategies that appear to be working; they are practical, realistic, and firmly embedded in classroom life.
1. Building Teacher Confidence
When teachers feel confident in their subject knowledge and pedagogy, RE becomes easier to plan, deliver and advocate for.
Teachers are finding success and agency through:
- Short, focused professional learning: not huge courses, but bite‑sized sessions and research opportunities that help to build clarity.
- Peer networks and national associations[4]: supporting collaboration and professional dialogue.
- Supportive planning documents and resources that reduce workload and support the process of curriculum design, progression and pedagogy.
- Finding and owning their purpose for RE and articulating it to their learners, colleagues and parents/carers.
Confidence grows when teachers feel that they’re not doing this alone.
2. Strengthening Leadership
RE thrives when it’s championed[5].
Across both countries, teachers advocate for the subject, link it to wider school priorities, and keep it visible within curriculum conversations.
Leadership doesn’t have to be formal. Sometimes it’s simply the teacher who says ‘this matters’ and has the confidence to negotiate for what is needed.
3. Improving Learner Experience
Where learners see value in RE, it becomes much easier to sustain.
Teachers can help to strengthen learner experience by:
- Using enquiry‑rich approaches that encourage intellectual curiosity and meaningful dialogue.
- Connecting learning to real‑world issues, developing critical thinking skills that help learners make sense of the world around them.
- Bringing in local voices from worldview communities, whether through visits, visiting speakers or virtual encounters[6].
- Making progression visible so that learners can revisit, deepen and connect ideas over time[7].
When learners see that RE is relevant, meaningful, and connected to their lives, the subject gains natural protection.
Why This Matters for the Future
In a world shaped by diversity, conflict and change, RE is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Sustaining RE in Scotland, Wales and beyond isn’t simply about protecting a subject. It’s about preparing young people to thrive and flourish in the world that they are growing up in.
You Are Holding the Space
Whether you teach RME in Scotland or RVE in Wales, you are not working on your own. Across both countries, teachers are protecting time for RE, strengthening provision and creating meaningful learning opportunities for their learners.
Within your staffrooms, classrooms and planning meetings, the conversations you have, the choices you make and the opportunities you create all help to hold the space for RE and ensure that it continues to be a valued part of young people’s education.
And that matters.
Jennifer Harding Richards is an RVE and RSE adviser in south-west Wales and serves as the RE Hubs Lead for Wales. She is currently studying for an EdD at Swansea University, researching curriculum-making and teacher agency in Religion, Values and Ethics.
Stephen Scholes is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh. At QMU, he leads initial teacher education in Religious Education and is engaged in externally funded research on religious education, curriculum, educational governance, teacher education, and professional learning.
[1] Scholes, S. C. (2025). The Marginalization of Religious Education: Solutions for a Shared Challenge from Scotland. Religious Education, 120(5), 473–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2025.2541484
2 Draft sample materials from Scotland ongoing Curriculum Improvement Cycle show the name of the curriculum area is changing to Religious Moral and Philosophical Studies: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/public/cices/uploads/sites/10666/2026/06/24143224/CIC-Draft-Technical-Framework-Religious-Moral-and-Philosophical-Studies-June-2026-1.pdf
3 Developing the Humanities area of learning and experience (AoLE). (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2026, from https://annual-report.estyn.gov.wales/app/uploads/2025/12/developing-the-humanities-area-of-learning-and-experience-aole-2026-02-11.pdf
[4] Teachers Association of RME. (n.d.). Scottish Teachers Association of RME. https://starme.co.uk/
5 What Even is RME? – LearningRMPS. (2025, September 23). https://learningrmps.com/2025/09/23/what-even-is-rme/
[6] School speakers. (n.d.). https://www.re-hubs.uk/hubs/wales/speakers-presenters/
7 Swansea RVE Agreed Syllabus (2022) https://swansea.gov.uk/article/19595/Swansea-agreed-syllabus-for-religion-values-and-ethics-2022
About
Jennifer Harding Richards is an RVE and RSE adviser in south-west Wales and serves as the RE Hubs Lead for Wales. She is currently studying for an EdD at Swansea University, researching curriculum-making and teacher agency in Religion, Values and Ethics.