The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) discussed a number of reports about the state of Religious Education (RE) in Wandsworth schools and the wider UK. The meeting concluded with a decision to write to the Department for Education (DfE) to express concerns about the quality of RE in the borough’s schools. The attendees also discussed plans for Wandsworth’s year as London Borough of Culture in 2025.

Monitoring Religious Education (RE) in Schools

The quality of Religious Education (RE) in Wandsworth schools was discussed in relation to recent reports and presentations.

Firstly, Mrs Angela Rundle, the SACRE Officer, gave a presentation about the monitoring of Ofsted reports that related to RE and spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development in schools. Only a small number of schools made any reference to RE or SMSC development. The report also noted that no ‘deep dives’ into RE took place in any of the schools that were inspected in the last academic year.

Deep Dive at Granard Primary School

Ms Charlene Folkes, the RE subject lead at Granard Primary School, then gave a presentation about her experience of a ‘deep dive’ that was conducted in 2022/23 at her school. Before the inspection, she implemented an action plan at the school that aimed to raise the profile of RE. The action plan included a range of measures that included increasing the amount of teaching time allocated to RE, ensuring a more consistent approach to lesson structure, and promoting engagement with families.

As a result of the engagement with families, and children seeing what fun their peers were having in class, the number of children being withdrawn from RE had fallen.

As a result of these measures, the headteacher specifically asked Ofsted to conduct a ‘deep dive’ into RE when they visited the school.

During the ‘deep dive’, the inspectors viewed the action plan and the activities listed above. They viewed samples of books, planning documents, children’s work, lessons and teacher assessments.

Saint Cecilia’s Church of England School

The published SIAMS report for Saint Cecilia’s Church of England School was then considered by the council. The report highlighted that the school’s Christian vision was ‘powerfully’ driving its strategic direction, and that the school’s rich curriculum was promoting ‘students’ academic, creative and spiritual development.’

The report identified 2 areas for development, one of which was for the school to:

Enhance the core religious education (RE) programme in the Sixth Form through deeper exploration of religions and worldviews.

St Boniface RC Primary School

The council then considered the most recent Catholic Schools Inspectorate (CSI) report for St Boniface RC Primary School. The report highlighted that pupils’ behaviour was ‘impeccable’ and that they were living out the school’s motto of ‘one who does good.’ Pupils were described as ‘open’ and ‘giving of their time’ to ‘improve the lives of others.’ The report also stated that the school was successful in rooting:

faith and wellbeing in policy and practice.

'Deep and meaningful? The religious education subject report'

The council then considered the April 2024 Ofsted report about religious education titled ‘Deep and meaningful? The religious education subject report’ (Public reports pack 30th-Sep-2024 19.30 Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education).

The report was based on research into 50 schools, with ‘deep dives’ taking place in 25 primary schools and 25 secondary schools. It examined the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in these schools to understand how well pupils were being prepared for living in a multi-religious and multi-secular society.

The report highlighted the lack of a distinct body of knowledge for RE. This meant that there was insufficient consensus about the content of a high-quality RE curriculum. This lack of clarity also meant that RE teachers were often underprepared to teach the subject. A particular area of concern was that teachers who were not specialists in RE rarely received training. The report also highlighted the statutory requirement for schools to teach RE:

RE forms part of the basic curriculum for all state-funded primary and secondary schools up to the end of sixth form.

The report’s findings identified various weaknesses in the current provision of RE:

The RE curriculum often lacked sufficient substance to prepare pupils to live in a complex world. The RE content selected rarely was collectively enough to ensure that pupils were well prepared to engage in a multi-religious and multi-secular society.

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. In cases where the curriculum prioritised depth of study, pupils learned much more.

The report also noted the negative impact that statutory non-examined RE has had on the subject:

In the secondary phase, most statutory non-examined RE was limited and of a poor quality. A notable proportion of schools did not meet the statutory requirement to teach RE to pupils at all stages of their schooling.

The report identified a misconception about teaching about non-religious worldviews:

There was a profound misconception among some leaders and teachers that ‘teaching from a neutral stance’ equates to teaching a non-religious worldview. This is simply not the case.

The report concluded with various recommendations to improve the quality of RE. Schools should carefully select and sequence the knowledge of religious and non-religious traditions so that pupils can gain a deeper understanding of them. They should balance the breadth and depth of these traditions and include in the curriculum defined non-religious traditions, such as Humanism. Schools should also make sure that teaching specifically develops pupils’ knowledge of the complexity of religious and non-religious traditions. They should make sure that teachers have the subject knowledge and skills they need to teach the curriculum effectively, and that pupils have regular RE lessons.

The report also made recommendations for other stakeholders. It highlighted the importance of updating guidance about statutory requirements, improving access to training, and helping teachers to understand how to use exam-style questions.

The council agreed that the findings reflected the situation in Wandsworth. They noted with concern the riots of summer 2024 and the related issues of misinformation, misunderstanding and intolerance that were highlighted in the report.

Members agreed that good RE teaching, incorporating world views, and community understanding that comes through it, was needed for society cohesion.

They agreed that RE should be taught as a distinct subject, with its own curriculum, and a balance of breadth and depth of study. Concerns were also raised that there was a shortage of teachers in London. It was noted that postgraduate study of the subject had been withdrawn by Roehampton University and that St Mary's University had only four students.

In response to the discussion, it was agreed that Councillor Jo Rigby, the chair of SACRE, should write to the DfE about these concerns. The letter would include a request that the DfE updated its expectations for RE and considered the need for sanctions against schools that do not provide RE. It would also highlight the shortage of specialist RE teachers and the need to increase the number of teachers in the subject. It was agreed that members of SACRE should email Mrs Ruth Wright, the Democratic Services Officer, with a few lines that they wanted included in the letter.

Religious Education Council of England and Wales Handbook

Mrs Rundle explained that the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC) had recently published a new handbook (REC-Handbook-religion and worldviews approach 4.24). The handbook set out how to develop an RE syllabus using a religion and worldviews approach and offered suggestions for including world views.

The Handbook provided suggestions for new syllabuses to include world views.

The handbook had been developed following the 2018 report by the independent Commission on RE, which set out a ‘religion and worldviews’ approach to the teaching of RE. The approach drew on:

the lived experience of those who inhabit both religious and non-religious worldviews.

Mrs Rundle explained that the most recent Wandsworth syllabus, which was updated in 2019, already included a unit on world views, but that the ideas in the handbook would be used to inform the next version of the syllabus.

She explained that approximately half of the borough’s community schools were using the current Wandsworth syllabus, and that faith schools and academies were encouraged, but not obliged, to use it. She also explained that about half of Wandsworth’s RE subject leads attended the RE subject leaders’ group meetings.

National Content Standard for Religious Education

The council then considered a document on the National Content Standard for Religious Education and FAQs (National-Content-Standard-for-Religious-Education-for-England 7.23). The document aimed to establish a national benchmark for RE. There were no questions about the document.

Wandsworth London Borough of Culture

The council discussed plans for Wandsworth’s year as London Borough of Culture in 2025. It was agreed that faith communities would be a key element of the celebrations.

Members suggested a range of ideas to incorporate the borough’s faith communities. These included a family faith trail or open house event and an open door weekend during a school holiday.

Faith Trails Update

Mrs Rundle explained that there had been 27 faith trails over the last 3 years. Faith trails are events where local primary schoolchildren visit different places of worship to learn about different faiths.

Members enthused that the trails were invaluable and covered a range of faiths within a neighbourhood. As such, it provided pupils with a better understanding of faiths and places of worship, where they could see the similarities as well as differences between faiths and their own world view/faith.

Faith Direct Update

The council discussed the latest plans for Faith Direct, an annual event held during Interfaith Week where secondary schoolchildren visit Wandsworth Town Hall to meet representatives from different faiths.

There would be ten tables for ten different faiths and denominations.

‘35+ things a good SACRE can do!’

The council discussed a paper from the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) about how SACREs can be more proactive in raising standards of RE. It was noted that Wandsworth SACRE was already undertaking a number of the suggestions, including:

monitoring RE in schools and their websites.

The paper also highlighted the need to tackle the shortage of teachers and to lobby the government for action on RE.

Councillor Rigby referred to the council’s policy of building 1,000 new homes, which seeks to provide affordable homes for key workers, including teachers.