The NASACRE Chairs welcome the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review report,
Building a world-class curriculum for all, and are pleased that RE has been given due attention in the
review. We wish to thank in particular Dr Vanessa Ogden who led on the ‘Deep Dives’ into RE.
NASACRE is pleased that the report recognises, “Some SACREs support high-quality regional
practice.” There is great work that many SACREs do in supporting high quality RE and we are
reassured that there will be support for SACREs to continue this work in the future.
We are glad to see that the report notes that, “Stakeholders’ responses to our Call for Evidence
showed there was a strong consensus about the subject’s importance and its essential place in a
school’s curriculum, stressing its important role in children and young people’s intellectual, personal,
spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. RE is a place where they encounter differing beliefs,
sometimes for the first time, understand the tenets of major faiths, and learn how to reason and
wrestle with existential questions.”
The report continues to highlight that fact that, “RE provides a space for pupils to learn about human
mutuality and reciprocity, that it develops their capacity to understand one another, and that it
supports strong, secure, and confident communities with good relationships. Given the role that
religion, belief and values play in local, national, and international events, it continues to be vital for
children and young people to have access to high-quality RE.”
The report notes that there is considerable inconsistency in quality of RE as well as compliance at
both primary and secondary levels. We know that with 80% of secondaries now being academies and
therefore do not need to follow an Agreed Syllabus, this has led to many Academies not
understanding that they must still provide RE for all pupils. We note that the proposal is for RE post
16 to become non-statutory for all pupils. “We believe this will better reflect actual practice and
foster parity across 16-19 settings. We recognise that some schools will want to continue providing
RE up to 18, and they would be free to do so. If learners wish to continue to study RE at 16-19, level 3
qualifications are available for them to do so” We see this as a pragmatic decision given the levels of
non-compliance outside of sixth forms with a religious character and that 6th Form and FE colleges do
not have to provide RE.
We note that, “The Review ultimately wishes to see RE in the national curriculum, but it recognises
that it is unrealistic for this to be achieved immediately. We therefore believe that a staged approach
to reform is the most appropriate way forward.”
Whilst opinion is divided, many SACRE members will be pleased that the “The Review believes that
RE should be moved to the national curriculum to improve access to high-quality provision and to
prevent further diminishment”, and we welcome that a staged process for this is proposed, with the
involvement of a range of parties from the RE community, of which NASACRE will be an active
participant. The REC National Content Standard will be a good starting point for these discussions.
Going forward in the sector, NASACRE looks forward to fully engaging with this process which will
create a curriculum written by RE experts, whilst maintaining the voice of religion and belief
communities. We look forward to seeing how the legislation is framed to limit potential future
outside influence on the RE curriculum. It is important that there are significant opportunities for
local RE to continue and for RE to include the lived experience of members of religion and belief
communities. The report celebrates both of these aspects of RE.
We are encouraged that the report suggests a way forward for RE that will prepare pupils for life in a
multi-faith, multi-secular, local, national and global society. We hope that the government and the RE
community will respond to these proposals positively for the benefit of pupils, teachers, schools and
society as a whole.
Bill Moore, Chair
Claire Clinton, Vice Chair
Denise Chaplin, Executive Assistant to the Chair
Paul Smalley, Executive Officer
5th November 2025