Industry News
Ofsted hails improvement in RE teaching
Posted on 18th June 2007
Ofsted has hailed improvements made in schools across the country in religious education over the past few years, insisting that recent world events have given a new impetus to the subject.
A report published today by the schools inspectoral service shows that achievement in RE among primary school children has improved overall since 2001.
In secondary schools there has been an "impressive" increase in the number of pupils leaving school with a qualification in RE and there has also been a significant improvement in GCSE and A-level results over the past five years.
Leadership and management of RE have also improved in terms of both quality and impact, the report stated.
However Ofsted also said that more improvements could be made if the structure of the curriculum for RE was standardised in order to tackle regional imbalances.
Miriam Rosen, director of education at Ofsted, said: "The improvements in RE over the last few years are to be welcomed but more needs to be done if the subject is to develop in students a more profound understanding of the significance of religious commitment and diversity and its impact on society."
The report also stated that in the post-9/11 world pupils must be taught more about the complexities of religion and how it affects societal relationships.