All students in KS3 and 4 study Religious Education as part of their core curriculum. The curriculum is designed to meet the requirements of the locally agreed SACRE syllabus, as well as local need.

Participation in RE

English legislation states that:

RE is for all pupils. Every pupil has a legal entitlement to RE.

RE is a necessary part of a ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ and must be provided for all registered pupils in state-funded schools in England, including those in the sixth form, unless withdrawn by their parents (or withdrawing themselves if they are aged 18 or over).

The ‘basic’ school curriculum includes the National Curriculum, RE, and relationships and sex education.

RE is locally determined, not nationally.

A locally agreed syllabus is a statutory syllabus for RE, recommended by a local standing advisory committee for RE (SACRE) for adoption by a local authority.

Maintained schools without a religious character must follow the locally agreed syllabus.

RE is compulsory for all pupils in academies and free schools as set out in their funding agreements. This is a contractual responsibility. Academies may use their locally agreed syllabus, a different locally agreed syllabus (with the permission of the SACRE concerned) or may devise their own curriculum.

RE is multifaith, and recognises the place of Christianity and the other principal religions in the UK. Non-religious worldviews are included.

The RE curriculum, drawn up by a SACRE or used by an academy or free school, ‘shall reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’.

Contemporary guidance from the Government makes clear that the breadth of RE will include the six principal religions of the UK and nonreligious worldviews.

Parental right of withdrawal from RE

This was first granted in 1944 when curricular RE was called ‘Religious Instruction’ and carried with it connotations of induction into the Christian faith. RE is very different now – open, broad and exploring a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. In the UK, parents still have the right to withdraw their children from RE on the grounds that they wish to provide their own RE. This provision will be the parents’ responsibility. This right of withdrawal exists for all pupils in all types of school, including schools with and without a religious designation. Students aged 18 or over have the right to withdraw themselves from RE.