In Part 1 of these reflections, we looked at the many challenges standing in the way of high-quality religious education. These included the neglect of the subject by central and some local government, contested and sometimes confused subject aims and a shortage of qualified teachers, resulting in huge variations in the quality of provision. We also argued that our faith in the subject remains, due to the vital contribution it makes to children’s understanding of the complex world in which they are growing up and to its potential for helping them successfully to navigate that world and, what’s more, to encourage and enable them to make their own contributions to making it all a little better. We have, in addition, been sustained by the very positive experiences that we have had in meeting with adherents of a whole variety of faith and belief traditions here in the UK and around the world.
In this article, we will summarise and examine recent and current developments in the subject, in particular the opportunities offered by the Curriculum and Assessment Review of 2025.1
Background
Over the last decade, there has been a gradual move towards the inclusion of RE within the National Curriculum for England. Back in 2015, as part of the Westminster Faith Debates, Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead proposed ‘A New Settlement’ for RE, including a change to the responsibility for determining the RE syllabus from local to national. At the same time, the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC) set up a Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) under the chairmanship of the Dean of Westminster, John Hall. The Commission’s final report2 recommended establishing a statutory ‘National Entitlement to the study of Religion and Worldviews’ in all publicly funded schools.
Following the report, the REC set up the ‘Religion and Worldviews Project’, leading to several important publications. These resulted in a proposal for a ‘National Content Standard’ including a ‘National Statement of Entitlement’, 2023. This was central to the REC’s definitive explication of the ‘religion and worldviews approach’ and advice on how to use it for teaching, published in 2024.
Meanwhile, the philosophy behind the ‘Big Ideas for RE’ project, for the most part sponsored by the Sea of Faith Network, was influencing the direction of travel. For example, the principle that the RE curriculum should be organised around understanding the ideas that are crucial to children’s learning, rather than specifying factual information about particular religions/worldviews, is central to both the REC ‘worldviews approach’ and the Big Ideas project.
Current situation
When the new government decided in 2024 to review the whole school curriculum in England, the REC’s proposals were well-placed to contribute to consultations and the resulting recommendations regarding RE. The Chair of the RE component of the Review, Dr Vanessa Ogden, was keen to work alongside the ‘RE community’, particularly as represented by the members of the REC. This provided opportunities for the Sea of Faith Network’s representatives to be involved at every stage of the review process.
The final report of the Review recommended that RE be included as a subject in the National Curriculum, rather than being locally organised. Responsibility for producing the RE programme of study was handed over to a ‘task-and-finish’ group led by Dr Ogden, with the understanding that if consensus could be reached, the DFE would move to a formal consultation on a National Curriculum for RE and accompanying legislative change.
At the time of writing, the task group has completed its work, and our understanding is that the proposed programme of study is achieving a wide consensus. It is likely to specify content but not any particular pedagogy and thus be compatible with the ‘Religion and Worldviews’ / ‘Big Ideas for RE’ approach.
Further support for the importance of RE has been provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), which has published a policy paper3 promising to strengthen the roles of RE and faith and belief communities as part of its strategy for supporting community cohesion and social resilience.
Advantages and disadvantages of National Curriculum RE
The main potential advantages are that the subject should benefit from a higher profile and clearer guidance for schools, parents and pupils; that there are equal expectations regarding RE throughout the country; and that RE will receive central government support in line with all other National Curriculum subjects.
Possible disadvantages include that RE will be more susceptible to political interference and will lose its unique status as a ‘basic compulsory subject’ of the curriculum, along with the impetus and enthusiasm provided by local religion and belief communities, local teachers, and expert advisers.
Hope for the future
On the whole, along with a large majority of the RE community, we think that being part of the National Curriculum would be a positive development for the subject. At least the subject’s profile and status would be raised, and the usual drivers of improvement, such as Ofsted inspection, would be clarified for all concerned. People would know what was expected from a National Curriculum subject that would be the same in every school. Ideally, it would be one that was welcomed and adopted by all schools, including those with a religious character.
When the national programme of study is finalised, we hope to see that it can be delivered through a ‘religion and worldviews approach’ as exemplified by the units already published on the Big Ideas for RE website.
Any new arrangement should be accompanied by central government funding for curriculum development and teacher training, as well as support for strong university departments of Theology and Religious Studies.
Alongside potential gains in national recognition and funding, it is important to build on the current strengths of regional and local expertise and enthusiasm. This could be done through a new role for local SACREs as suggested by the RE Commission and the recent MHCLG policy document, as well as through the recently developed regional ‘RE Hubs’. Such new structures offer opportunities for pupils to take their learning beyond an improved ‘religious literacy’ to a depth of understanding of their own and other people’s deepest beliefs and commitments. This, in turn, may help transform individual lives and communities for the better.
In Part 3, we will update readers on the progress and significance of the proposal to include RE in the National Curriculum.
Dave Francis is an educational consultant and former Chair of the Association of RE Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants.
Denise Cush is Professor Emerita in Religion and Education at Bath Spa University, and former Chair of the Association of University Lecturers in Religion and Education.
Notes
1 Department for Education, ‘Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report: Building a world-class curriculum for all’ (November 2025).
2 CoRE, ‘Religion and Worldviews: the way forward.’ (2018).
3 MHCLG, ‘Protecting What Matters: Towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom’ (March 2026).