Ed Pawson

Head of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, The King’s School, Ottery St

Mary, Devon

Chair of NATRE

RE Adviser to Devon SACRE

Learn/Teach/Lead Conference

Plymouth

25th October 2012

The National Picture

Criticism over plans to exclude religious studies from Ebacc

Religious leaders argue RE is academically rigorous and helps build community cohesion (Guardian 25/6/11)

Religious education increasingly 'marginalised' in schools (Telegraph 11/6/12)

Schools being 'forced to axe religious education lessons'

Religious education is being “killed off” in schools because of Government reforms to the curriculum and qualifications, according to research (Telegraph 28/9/12)

English baccalaureate: another dog's dinner of a plan for exam reform

This is the result of the coalition agreement rather than any meaningful input from teachers, parents or young people…. Internationally, there is no correlation between this

type of reform and countries with outstanding education systems. (Guardian 17/9/12)

The National Picture

“Schools failing to provide RE for all students”

National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) survey June 2012

33% - legal requirements are not being met in key stage 4

25% - a reduction in the number of specialist staff employed to teach RE, and 82% of these reported that the introduction of the EBacc was the main reason for this change

54% - will have no entries for GCSE Short Course in 2014, a rise of 12% over the previous year.

63% of schools that reported a drop in Full Course entries cited the EBacc as the main reason (55% in 2011)

20% - are trying to deliver the GCSE RS in less than the recommended teaching time. There is a growing body of evidence, from Ofsted subject surveys, that this practice is detrimental to students’ RE

71% - received no subject specific training in school in the 2011/12 academic year;

Consultation phase: 7th November to 6th December 2012

Phase 2, in 2013, will lead to the writing of a new, national RE curriculum document

DEVON RE Network Group A chance to meet other RE co-ordinators and teachers of RE

Examples of topics we have covered are:

Secondary focus:

marking new style GCSE

questions

RE and the EBac

RE in academies

using NATRE resources

developing higher order

thinking skills

exploring controversial

issues

Primary focus:

assessment

marking, levelling

and moderating in RE

RE and Early Years

cross-phase

transition in RE