Parliamentary group to protect teaching of RE

MPs have formed a new group to safeguard the future of Religious Education in schools.

The all party parliamentary group wants RE to be taught as a priority.

It will be chaired by Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne and Willington, Stephen Lloyd, who last year tabled an Early Day Motion asking for a debate on RE after the Government dropped it from the English Baccalaureate.

The Government decided to award the Baccalaureate to teenagers who achieve high grades in English, math, science, a modern language and either geography or history.

It came in spite of widespread criticism from church leaders and a petition calling for RE’s inclusion in the Baccalaureate that was signed by more than 100,000 people.

Mr Lloyd's motion gained support across the parties and was signed by 115 MPs.

He said the new group would provide insight into the value of RE and help young people to leave school with an “accurate grasp on the importance and relevance of religion”.

He pointed to the increase in students taking RE at GCSE level from 113,000 to 460,000 in the last 15 years as a sign that that pupils find it a “rewarding and fulfilling subject”.

“In today’s world where our children can be open to an enormous amount of misleading information I believe it is absolutely essential they are taught about different cultures and religions by trained, experienced RE teachers, allowing children to make informed choices,” he said.

The group was welcomed by the chair of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, John Keast.

“Recently the RE community has felt under fire and this represents an important step to give the subject a strong profile amongst parliamentarians,” he said.

“It is extremely positive that there is such goodwill and interest in Westminster to support the subject in schools today.”