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Religious education

Last updated 12 June 2012

In each Local Authority (LA), there is a SACRE with responsibility for determining the syllabus for religious education (RE) in schools and to offer advice and guidance to schools and the LA on all matters relating to RE and collective worship. It is the SACRE that makes the policy as to what each LA's RE provision will actually look like for the children living in the LA area from ages 4 -18.

The aims of religious education

Religious education in schools celebrates the diversity of religious and human experience. It encourages pupils to grow with the knowledge, skills, sensitivity and understanding to develop as confident and productive members of their local multi-faith community and the world.

Every maintained school in England must provide a basic curriculum (RE, sex education and the National Curriculum). Religious Education is a statutory subject of the basic curriculum whilst not being part of the National Curriculum. RE is not subject to national statutory orders such as national attainment targets, programmes of study and assessment arrangements, instead, it is locally determined.

SACRE

By law each Local Authority (LA) is required to establish a Standing Advisory Council on religious education (SACRE) The role of a SACRE is to advise the LA on matters connected with religious education (RE) in community schools and foundation schools which do not have a religious character and the RE taught in accordance with the local Agreed Syllabus and to advise the authority and its teachers on matters concerning collective worship.

A SACRE also, on application by the Head teacher of a community school or a foundation school which does not have a religious character, determines on behalf of the LA whether it is appropriate for the requirements to provide daily collective worship according to the legal requirements to be modified for all or some of the pupils of the school.

The SACRE has to produce and publish an Annual Report of its work

In order that they can bring a wide range of interests and talents to this work, a SACRE is made up of four groups:

Group A Christian denominations (other than the Church of England) and other faiths represented within the LA. In Waltham Forest, this group has representatives from a wide range of faiths and beliefs
Group B The Church of England
Group C Teachers' professional associations / teachers in the LA
Group D The Local Authority which in Waltham Forest includes Elected Members from the Majority and Minority parties, a representative of the LA and representatives of Governors of local schools

Members of these groups are nominated by their respective organisations.

The Education Act 1993, required every LA to review its Agreed Syllabus every five years. The LA therefore also has a duty to convene an occasional group called an Agreed Syllabus Conference, which produces the local Agreed Syllabus for religious education which defines the content to be taught for each key stage and advises teachers on the assessment of pupils' learning in religious education.