Index of information on this page

• The Mission Statement for Northumberland County Council's Agreed Syllabus for RE
• The context for RE in Northumberland
• The Legislative Framework for RE

The Mission Statement for Northumberland County Council’s Agreed Syllabus for RE

RE provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life; beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality; issues of right and wrong; and what it means to be human.  Religion must be explored from the perspectives of those who subscribe to a faith as well as those who do not.  To acquire a complete picture it is not enough to merely know about different religions and belief systems; it is also important to understand what can be learned from such religions and belief systems.

RE actively promotes the values of truth, respect for all, and care of the environment.  It places specific emphasis on:

• pupils valuing themselves and others
• the role of the family and the community in religious belief and activity
• the celebration of diversity in society through understanding similarities 
     and differences
• sustainable development of Planet Earth

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The context for Religious Education in Northumberland

Religious Education can:

• Address issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human;
• Develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world’s principal
     religions and other world views, opportunities for personal reflection and
     spiritual development.
• Contribute to pupils’ awareness and understanding of religion and belief, 
     teachings, practices and forms of expression, as well as of the influence of
     religion and belief on individuals, families, communities, cultures and
     civilisations;
• Encourage pupils to learn from different religions, beliefs, values and
     traditions, while examining their own beliefs and questions of meaning;
• Encourage pupils to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate
     issues of faith, belief, ethics and truth, and to communicate their responses;
• Encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging, enable
     pupils to flourish individually within their communities and as citizens in a
     pluralist society and a global community;
• Prepare young people for adult life, employment and lifelong learning;
• Enable pupils to develop respect for and sensitivity toward others, perhaps
     especially those whose religions and beliefs are different from their own;
• Promote discernment and enable pupils to combat tolerance and prejudice.

RE is part of the basic curriculum and an academic discipline. It must not seek to urge religious or other beliefs on pupils, or to compromise the integrity of pupils’ own beliefs by promoting one religion or belief over another.

The key theme pervading the syllabus is one of developing a sense of self, a sense of community and a sense of the world beyond. It is the hope of the Agreed Syllabus Conference that pupils will continue their quest for knowledge and understanding beyond their experience of school, and become lifelong learners who reflect on their beliefs, practices and experiences, as well as the beliefs, practices and experiences of others.

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The Legislative Framework for RE

The 1988 Education Reform Act, the 1993 Education Act, the 1996 Education Act and the 2002 Education Act define the current legislative framework for RE.  The requirements of the legislation apply to all registered pupils of compulsory school age in maintained schools, including those in the sixth form, except those withdrawn from RE by their parents, or withdrawing themselves if they are aged 18 or over.

The main requirements of the legislation are as follows:

• Every maintained school in England must provide a basic curriculum
     comprising the National Curriculum, RE and sex education.
  
• The requirement to teach RE does not apply to early years units, nurseries 
      or nursery classes in maintained schools.
  
• RE will otherwise be taught to all pupils in full-time education (generally
     understood to be pupils in reception classes to sixth form, if a sixth form
     exists), except for those withdrawn from Re by their parents, or withdrawing
     themselves if they are aged 18 or over.
  
• Where a pupil has been withdrawn, the law provides for alternative
     arrangements to be made for RE of the kind the parent wants the pupil to
     receive.  This RE can be provided at the school in question, or the pupil
     can be sent to another school where suitable RE is provided, if this is
     reasonably convenient.  If neither approach is practicable, outside
     arrangements can be made to provide the pupil with the kind of RE
     that the parent wants, and the pupil may be withdrawn from school for a
     reasonable period of time to allow them to attend such external RE.
     Outside arrangements for RE are allowed as long as the local authority
     (LA) is satisfied that any interference with the pupil’s attendance at school
     resulting from the withdrawal will affect only the start or the end of a
     school session.
  
• If the school is a secondary school and parents have withdrawn a pupil
     from RE provided at the school and asked for alternative RE to be provided
     in accordance with the tenets of a particular religion or denomination, the
     LA must either:
  
• Provide facilities for the alternative RE to be given at the school unless
     there are special circumstances which would make it unreasonable to do so;
• Agree to outside arrangements being made as long as no financial burden
     falls on the LA or school as a result of these arrangements.
  
• As far as is practicable, RE will be taught to pupils with special needs and
     to pupils in special schools.
  
• Teachers have the right to withdraw from teaching RE.
  
• RE is community, foundation and voluntary-aided or voluntary-controlled
     schools without a religious character, and foundation and voluntary-
     controlled schools with a religious character, will be taught in accordance
     with the locally agreed syllabus.
  
• However, where a parent of any pupil at a foundation or voluntary-
     controlled school with a religious character requests that RE is provided in 
     accordance with provision of the trust deed relating to the school (or,
     where there is no provision in the trust deed, in accordance with the
     religion or denomination mentioned in the order designating the school as
     having a religious character), the governors must make arrangements for
     securing that RE is provided to the pupil in accordance with the relevant
     religion for up to two periods a week unless they are satisfied that there are
     special circumstances which would make it unreasonable to do so.
  
• RE in voluntary-aided schools with a religious character is to be determined
     by the governors and in accordance with the provisions of the trust deed
     relating to the school, or, where there is no provision in the trust deed,
     with the religion or denomination mentioned in the order designating the
     school as having a religious character.
  
• A locally agreed syllabus will “reflect the fact that the religious traditions of
     Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the
     teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in
     Great Britain” (“the other principal religions” are commonly, but not
     universally, understood to be Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and
     Sikhism).
  
• An Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC), convened in every LA, produces the
     agreed syllabus and recommends it to the LA.  An ASC must be unanimous
     when recommending the syllabus for adoption.  An ASC comprises the 4
     committees which make up the local authority’s Standing Advisory Council
     on Religious Education (SACRE) representing the Church of England, other
     Christian denominations and religions, teachers’ associations and the LA
     itself.  Each committee has a single vote.
  
• Once the agreed syllabus has been adopted by the LA, the units of work in
     the syllabus set out what pupils must be taught.
  
• Because the syllabus is locally rather than nationally agreed, Re is not part
     of the National Curriculum but a component of the basic curriculum.
  
• The Re provided must be non-denominational.  When examining a religion,
     teachers must not teach about that religion as if only one manifestation of
     the faith exists or is representative of the whole.  Consequently, it is
     unlawful to teach about Christianity by examining, for example, Anglicanism
     or Roman Catholicism only.
  
• An agreed syllabus must not be used to convert pupils, or to urge a
     particular religion or religious belief on pupils.
  
• A locally agreed syllabus must be reviewed no longer than once every
     five years.

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If you require further information about Northumberland Local Authority and their work around the area of SACRE, or if you require a Word version of any of the units, please contact: