IS A POPULAR AND ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS SUBJECT. BOTH OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITIES INCLUDE RS IN THE TOP LEVEL LIST OF VALUE OF THE QUALIFICATION HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE 2003 – UP BY 110%! THAT’S MORE THAN ANY OTHER ARTS, HUMANITY OR SOCIAL SCIENCE SUBJECT. WHO TOOK UP A PLACE TO READ MATHS AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN 2011 HAD A RELIGIOUS STUDIES A LEVEL (MORE THAN HAD ECONOMICS, PHYSICS OR BUSINESS) 20 % OF STUDENTS GCSE RELIGIOUS STUDIES FULL COURSE ENTRIES IN ENGLAND INCREASED BY RELIGIOUS STUDIES A LEVEL ENTRIES + 110 % THE RUSSELL GROUP OF TOP UK UNIVERSITIES DESCRIBES RS A LEVEL AS A REVIEW OF THE PERFORMANCE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SUITABLE PREPARATION FOR UNIVERSITY GENERALLY GENERALLY SUITABLE ARTS A LEVELS IN SOCIETY OF THE POPULATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES BELIEVE HIGH QUALITY RE PROMOTES IN 2014 A REPORT BY A CROSS-PARTY GROUP OF MPS FOUND THAT RE PLAYS REPORT CARD 51 % RELIGION AND BELIEF TOLERANCE, RESPECT AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING CONTINUE TO TOP THE NEWS AGENDA AND RE HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE SENSE OF IT. A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN AND MISUNDERSTANDING. REDUCING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IS WIDELY CONSIDERED TO HAVE ON – AND PROVIDE BENEFITS TO – SOCIETY A POSITIVE IMPACT SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AROUND ONE THIRD OF SCHOOLS VISITED BY OFSTED WERE RE IS TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE TAUGHT BY A TEACHER WITH NO POST-A LEVEL QUALIFICATION IN THE SUBJECT OVER ONE IN FIVE SECONDARY SCHOOLS DO NOT OFFER RE AT GCSE 22 % LACK OF SUBJECT EXPERTISE IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A IN KEY STAGE 4 14.7 % VS 29.6 % OFSTED FINDINGS SHOW US THAT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SHOULD BE TAUGHT BY WELL-TRAINED TEACHERS WITH STRONG SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE, YET TEACHERS RECEIVE LITTLE CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 46 % 73 % S P E C I A L I S T R E T E A C H E RS S P E C I A L I S T H I S T O R Y T E A C H E R S H I S T O R Y T E A C H E R S R E T E A C H E R S GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE TEACHER TRAINING OFSTED’S FRAMEWORK EXPECTS THAT PUPILS WILL BE PREPARED FOR LIFE IN THE DECISION TO NOT COUNT RE IN PERFORMANCE TABLES DOWN 67% SINCE 2012 HAS LED TO A DROP IN RE GCSE SHORT COURSE ENTRIES IN ENGLAND -67 % BURSARIES WERE REINTRODUCED IN 2015 BUT AT £4,000 THEY ARE WORTH LESS THAN HALF [44%] OF BURSARIES FOR STEM SUBJECTS [£9,000] 85,000 FEWER STUDENTS ARE STUDYING ANY RELIGIOUS STUDIES GCSE IN 2015 COMPARED TO 2012 [ A FALL OF OVER 20 % ] BUT IT IS FAILING TO REPORT ON SCHOOLS THAT ARE NEGLECTING THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES IN RE MODERN BRITAIN IN 2013/14 OFSTED REPORTED ON ONLY ONE SUCH SCHOOL, LESS THAN OF INSPECTIONS 0.1 % MINISTERIAL EFFORT PUBLIC STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT ARE NOT ALWAYS BACKED UP WITH 50 % I THINK THAT RE HAS SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF MY BELIEF THAT THE PROTECTION OF IT [IN THE 1944 EDUCATION ACT] WAS SUFFICIENT AND MICHAEL GOVE MP, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION, JULY 2013 NICKY MORGAN MP, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION, NOVEMBER 2014 MINISTERS HAVE RECOGNISED THE NEED FOR CHILDREN TO SHOW MUTUAL RESPECT AND TOLERANCE OF THOSE WITH DIFFERENT FAITHS AND BELIEFS; YET THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S GUIDANCE FAILS TO MENTION RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AT ALL. A SERIES OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES AND AN INCONSISTENT APPROACH FROM MINISTERS SUPPORTIVE ACTION ADDITIONAL COMMENTS IT SHOULD ENSURE THAT ALL PUPILS IN ALL SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES AND COLLEGES HAVE ACCESS TO GOOD QUALITY RE MORE EFFORT IN 2014 THE GOVERNMENT OVER-ALLOCATED PLACES FOR TEACHER TRAINING IN RE BUT DID NOT PROVIDE NECESSARY FINANCE TO POTENTIAL STUDENTS TO SEE RE TEACHING AS FINANCIALLY REWARDING AS PART OF REFORMS TO NON-EBACC SUBJECTS OFQUAL HAS BEEN WORKING WITH OTHERS TO IMPROVE THE CONTENT AND RIGOUR OF THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES GCSE AND A LEVEL SOURCES Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2013 to 2014 www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4 School Workforce Survey in England, November 2013 www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013 Joint Council for Qualifications www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/a-levels, www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/gcses National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE): An analysis of a survey of teachers on the impact of the EBacc on student opportunity to study GCSE RS, July 2014 Department of Education: Promoting fundamental British values as part of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development in schools, November 2014 Hansard, 18 March 2014 www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140318/text/140318w0002.htm#140318w0002.htm_wqn65 All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education: RE and Good Community Relations, March 2014 Ofsted: Realising the potential, October 2013 Russell Group: Informed Choices www.russellgroup.org/InformedChoices-latest.pdf CEM Centre, Durham University: Relative difficulty of examinations in different subjects, July 2008 www.score-education.org/media/3194/relativedifficulty.pdf YouGov survey of 2038 adults in England and Wales, July 2014 IS NOT A SOFT OPTION A DURHAM UNIVERSITY STUDY SHOWED THAT A LEVEL RS IS GOVERNMENT COULD DO BETTER AND APPLY WHAT IT HAS LEARNED SINCE 2010 IT NEEDS TO TAKE A LONGER TERM VIEW OF RE AND RECOGNISE THE POSITIVE ROLE IT PLAYS IN SOCIETY AS WELL AS A SUBJECT WORTH STUDYING GOVERNMENT SHOULD COLLABORATE WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO IMPROVE THE AVAILABILITY OF SPECIALIST RE TEACHERS WHICH WILL HAVE THE ADDED BENEFITS OF IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF TEACHING E REQUIRED C D C A A CAN HELP ACHIEVE THE SEPTEMBER 2015 Icons courtesy of Font Awesome, Octicons, Vecteezy 19 % BETWEEN 2012 AND 2014 OFF % AC 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 42 %