Religious Education (RE) subject leaders have issued a strong appeal to the new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, calling for urgent action to address what they describe as the "most neglected subject in terms of resources per student."
Despite its widespread study at GCSE level, RE continues to suffer from chronic underfunding and a critical shortage of specialist teachers.
Recent data shows that the number of students taking the full course in Religious Studies (RS) at GCSE in England and Wales has remained stable at 233,288, following a modest 0.5 per cent rise in entries from 2023. This solidifies RE as one of the most widely studied humanities subjects at GCSE level. In England, 223,034 students opted for RS GCSE (full course), marking a 0.3 per cent increase, while in Wales, entries surged by 6.4 per cent to 10,254.
These trends come despite an ongoing struggle to recruit specialist RE teachers, exacerbated by a significant shortfall in government funding, according to the National Association of Teachers.
Recruitment targets for RE teachers have been missed in eleven of the last tweleve years. School workforce data reveal that 51 per cent of those teaching RE primarily teach another subject, and the total number of RE teachers has remained stagnant since 2011, despite the growing number of students taking the subject.
In response, the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC) and the National Association for Teachers of RE (NATRE) are calling on the government to introduce a National Plan for RE. This plan would aim to provide a fair allocation of resources and prioritise RE within Labour’s broader strategy to recruit more specialist teachers.
Deborah Weston OBE, Chair of the RE Policy Unit, highlighted the broader impact of under-resourced RE in schools:
“Poor quality, tokenistic RE taught by non-specialists without subject training has a knock-on effect not just on our communities, but on the depth and quality of a young person’s education.
"Properly taught, GCSE RS provides invaluable academic and life skills that enable young people to think meaningfully about life’s big questions in relation to their own beliefs and those of others.
"On average, pupils studying the subject at GCSE do significantly better on the Attainment 8 school performance measure, with disadvantaged pupils scoring a full 9 points higher than those who do not take GCSE RS."
Sarah Lane Cawte, Chair of the REC, added her voice to the call for action, saying: “Now is the time for action to safeguard the subject and meet the demand for high-quality RE in our schools and communities.”