A message from the Chair of the RE Council of England and Wales

The RE Council of England and Wales reports,

“It is with a mixture of pleasure and sadness that I announce that our CEO Rudi Eliott Lockhart has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Schools Association (ISA) with effect from the 1st August 2020. My pleasure is for Rudi and his family as this position offers them opportunities the REC could not offer. My sadness is that we are losing a talented and highly committed CEO. He will be greatly missed.”

Rudi took up this post with RE Council in November 2014. He has made a considerable and positive impact in the life and work of the RE Council. He will be greatly missed. We wish him every blessing in his next role and pray for the work of the RE Council going forward, as they chart a way through this new phase.

(photo courtesy of Colin Watts at Unsplash)

Praying for those teaching RE...

Let us pray…

For teachers and support staff in the teaching of RE and those studying RE at primary and secondary school.

We pray for NATRE (National Association of Teachers of RE) and pray for wisdom as we engage with all faith traditions.

Amen

Learn more, dig deeper in your faith, explore our Free Church traditions…

• Have you seen the RE Reformation resources commissioned by the Free Churches Group and The Methodist Church, sponsored by the Westhill Endowment and produced in association with RE Today Services..A teaching resource for Religious Education for teachers working with children and young people at Key Stages 2-4 - available here.

• If you are interested in RE, if the the RE curriculum interests and inspires you to learn more… why not register for the NATRE newsletter?

(photo courtesy of Diego PH at Unsplash)

800,000 secondary pupils lose out on religious literacy!

You may have already read or heard about this over the weekend, but the Free Churches Group are concerned about the lack of opportunities for children and young people to study RE at school. 800,000 secondary pupils lose out on religious literacy: No Religious Education (RE) is being taught in a quarter of all state secondary schools, raising serious implications for community cohesion and inclusivity.

The National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, the RE Council and RE Today Services have jointly published a report on the current state of RE. It's called "The State of the Nation". You can read the full report HERE

New analysis of the Government’s School Workforce Census reveals that more than one in four (28%) state secondary schools are struggling to meet their legal obligation to teach pupils about major religions and systems of belief, depriving teenagers of vital knowledge about different faiths and beliefs in community, public and world affairs.

All state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, are legally required by the 1998 School Standards and Framework Act to provide Religious Education as part of a balanced curriculum.

The analysis of Government figures prompted the Religious Education Council and the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) to create a new State of the Nation report. 

To read a summary of the report and hear from key people in the RE sector, see link HERE

Free Churches Group submission to Commission on Religious Education

Sarah Lane Cawte, the Free Church Education Officer, attended the second evidence-gathering session of the Commission on Religious Education on 4 May at Birmingham University and spoke on behalf of the Free Churches Group. The Free Church Education Committee has considered its submission carefully and consulted Free Church members with expertise in this area.

 The Commission on Religious Education is a high-profile independent Commission with a remit to make recommendations designed to improve the quality and rigour of religious education, and its capacity to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

Presentation to the Commission on Religious Education is available to download here.

More information is available on the Commission’s website here.