Religious Education Maintained Schools 2020-10-12
2020-10-12
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Concern about maintained schools not meeting their duty to teach religious education.
What steps he is taking to ensure maintained schools comply with requirements to teach religious education. Any concerns that a maintained school is not meeting this requirement should go through the school's complaints procedure and escalate to the Department's school complaints unit if unresolved.
Maintained schools are required to teach religious education to all five to 18-year-olds. Any concerns that a maintained school is not meeting this duty should first go through the school's complaints procedure, and if the complaint is not resolved, the issue can be escalated to the Department's school complaints unit.
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Assessment & feedback
No specific steps or commitments are provided for ensuring compliance beyond referring to existing procedures.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
40% of all schools give no hours to RE in year 11 according to the Religious Education Council. Question addresses need for better support from the Department.
Religious education helps children grow up understanding and respecting different backgrounds, but 40% of all schools give no hours to RE in Year 11. Does the Minister agree that the Department needs to better support schools meeting their obligations?
I agree with the hon. Member. Good quality religious education can help develop children's knowledge of values and traditions, fostering understanding among different faiths and cultures. At a national level, the proportion of time secondary schools spend teaching RE has remained stable at 3.2% in 2010 and 3.3% in 2019.
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Assessment & feedback
No new commitments or actions are provided for improving support to schools beyond acknowledging existing stability in allocation of time.
Response accuracy