| answer text |
<p>Religious education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can
contribute to a young person’s personal, social, and academic development. When done
well, it can develop children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, help them
better understand those of other countries, and refine pupils’ ability to construct
well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments. This is why is it remains a compulsory
subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.</p><p>The
department read Ofsted’s 2023 annual report with interest and is committed to ensuring
high-quality provision of RE in schools. In order to improve teaching quality, we
are offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers starting initial teacher training
courses in the academic year 2024/25. The department have published this information
on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website and will be marketing the offer to prospective
teachers through other channels.</p><p>To support teachers when they are in post,
and to ensure high standards and consistency of RE teaching, RE resources will be
procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work
closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials
for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting
both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be
available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available
by autumn 2025.</p><p>The department also continues to offer eight-week subject knowledge
enhancement (SKE) courses in the academic year 2023/24 for candidates who have the
potential to become outstanding teachers but need to increase their subject knowledge.
The eight-week SKE course, available in religious education, can be undertaken on
a full-time or part-time basis but must be completed before qualified teacher status
can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary
of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course.</p><p>More
information on these courses is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction</a>.</p><p>The
department engages closely with key stakeholders within the RE sector, including the
National Association of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (NASACRE)
and the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE). The department
also welcomes the work that the Religious Education Council (REC) has done to assist
curriculum developers by publishing its National Content Standard for RE in England.</p><p>The
department has no plans to publish additional non-statutory guidance on RE syllabus
content in schools.</p><p> </p>
|
|
