New RE Guidance from the DCSF

[01.02.10]

Important, new DCSF guidance on RE in schools and academies is now available and can be downloaded from TeacherNet (http://www.teachernet.gov.uk). This document, developed in partnership between the DCSF and member organisations of the RE council, is the first new guidance published by the government since Circular 1/94. It seeks to incorporate changes to the subject and to schooling that have occurred since 1994 and provides a clear and comprehensive description of the law as it applies to RE. Also included in the document is guidance on good practice, backed up by case studies.

For a direct link to the PDF of the new guidance, see: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/subjects/re/guidance/

In addition to this, the DCSF has now published the new Primary Curriculum (http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/new-primary-curriculum/). It is significant that Religious Education now clearly sits alongside the ‘Six Areas of Learning’, thus clarifying the subject’s statutory position.

Information directly relating to RE and the new Primary Curriculum can be found here: http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/new-primary-curriculum/areas-of-learning/religious-education/index.aspx

In a letter to the RE Council, Diana Johnson, Minister for Schools, has set out her public appreciation for RE as a fundamental component in the primary and secondary curriculum. The full letter can be downloaded from the RE Council Website (http://www.religiouseducationcouncil.org/).

James Robson 01/02/10