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<p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England
only.</p><p>Religious education (RE) is an essential part of a school’s curriculum
and remains a compulsory subject in all state funded schools, including academies,
to all pupils up to the age of 18. RE develops an individual’s knowledge and understanding
of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving
to inform their own values and behaviour.</p><p>To ensure high standards of RE teaching,
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.</p><p>To support
high standards of RE teaching in all schools, the Department is continuing to offer
eight-week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the 2022/23 academic year,
for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers, but need to
increase their subject knowledge. The eight-week SKE course, available in RE, 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. More information on these courses is available here: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction"
target="_blank">www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction</a>.</p><p>The
Government has no plans to introduce a national compulsory curriculum for RE. The
Government’s policy is to allow RE curricula to be designed at a local level, whether
that is through locally agreed syllabuses or by individual schools and academy trusts
developing their own curricula.</p>
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