Schools teaching too many religions in RE lessons, Ofsted warns

Pupils study the Bible

Schools are covering too many religions in RE classes, Ofsted has warned.

The watchdog said religious education in most schools lacked “depth” and pupils remembered “little” when many faiths were covered in the curriculum.

Ofsted’s report, which looks at how the subject is being taught in England’s schools, said a “superficially broad curriculum” did not always provide pupils with the knowledge they needed.

Most non-examined RE in secondary schools was “limited and of a poor quality” – and the curriculum often lacked “sufficient substance to prepare pupils to live in a complex world”, it said.

The report – which draws on findings from 50 visits to schools – also said a “superficial and limited approach to RE sometimes ends up normalising caricatures or the most extreme or ‘unusual’ religious traditions”.

It added: “A superficially broad curriculum does not always provide pupils with the depth of knowledge they require for future study.

“In most cases, where the curriculum tried to cover many religions, like equal slices of a pie, pupils generally remembered very little.”

Christmas as ‘God’s birthday’

The review highlighted that some pupils were taught ideas that did not accurately reflect the traditions they were learning about – such as the idea of Christmas as “God’s birthday”.

Pupils in one secondary school had developed misconceptions such as “Christians don’t like gay things”, the report added.

It found a notable proportion of schools did not meet the statutory requirement to teach RE to all pupils at all key stages.

The watchdog has called on the Government to urgently update guidance for schools about its statutory expectations for RE and ensure there is clarity about what should be taught and when.

It is compulsory for all state schools in England to teach RE to pupils – apart from those who have been withdrawn from lessons by their parents.

It added that the content of some secondary curriculums was “restricted” by what teachers considered pupils needed to know for exams.

It concluded that RE content selected was rarely enough to ensure pupils were “well prepared to engage in a multi-religious and multi-secular society”.

RE curriculum a ‘work in progress’

The findings from inspections and research visits, carried out between September 2021 and April 2023, suggested an ambitious RE curriculum is still a “work in progress” in some schools.

Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector at Ofsted, said: “A strong RE curriculum is not only important for pupils’ cultural development, it is a requirement of law and too many schools are not meeting that obligation.

“I hope that the examples of good RE curriculum in our report help schools develop their own practice and support the development of a strong RE curriculum for all.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “To support RE teaching, we provide bursaries of £10,000 for trainee RE teachers, while Oak National Academy is procuring new materials to ensure high-quality RE lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils.”

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