Overview
Here, in ‘Curriculum matters’ we are providing the latest information and links relevant to religious education/religion, values and ethics in Wrexham, and more widely in Wales. This is divided into three main sections which are updated regularly.
- Curriculum matters in Wales
- What’s happening in England?
- What’s happening in Europe?
Curriculum matters in Wales
Current Welsh Government guidance documents for RE/RVE
There are different guidance documents for the Curriculum for Wales 2008 and the Curriculum for Wales 2022. In the Curriculum for Wales 2022, RE/RVE is part of the Humanities Area of Learning and Experience, but the subject also has its own Welsh Government guidance on Hwb. RE/RVE is locally determined within each local authority in Wales – this means that your locally agreed syllabus for religious education provides essential statutory guidance for RE/RVE in Wrexham and needs to be read alongside any Welsh Government guidance.
The most important Welsh Government guidance for RE/RVE in Wales is provided here.
- Religion, values and ethics (RVE) guidance (Curriculum for Wales 2022).
- The national exemplar framework for religious education for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales (Curriculum for Wales 2008).
- Humanities: Guidance to help schools and settings develop their own curriculum, enabling learners to develop towards the four purposes (Curriculum for Wales 2022).
- Summary of legislation (Curriculum for Wales 2022)
Current statutory Wrexham agreed syllabus for RE/RVE
You can download the statutory agreed syllabus for Wrexham.
Wrexham Agreed Syllabus for Religion, Values and Ethics (2022)
Wrexham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2008)
NOTE: The legal requirements for RE/RVE in schools with a religious character may differ from community schools in Wales. For further details, see the following links:
Church in Wales Guidance on Religion, Values and Ethics
Canllawiau’r Eglwys yng Nghymru ar Grefydd, Gwerthoedd a Moeseg
Rights to withdraw from RE/RVE in Wales
In 2017, the Wales Association of SACREs published a bilingual guidance document called, Managing the right of withdrawal from religious education, which is available in hard copy form. A printed copy has been made available to every school in Wales. Copies have also been made available to SACRE members and each Diocesan Director of Education in Wales.
If you cannot find your copy of the guidance, contact Libby Jones. Copies are available in the St Giles’ Centre Resources Room.
This document is relevant to RE in the legacy curriculum only.
Note: In the Curriculum for Wales there is no parental right to withdraw children from statutory RVE.
Recent guidance material for statutory collective worship in Wales
The most useful recent guidance documents for statutory collective worship in Wales have been published by the Wales Association of SACREs (WASACRE).
- Guidance on collective worship (June 2012) outlines the educational rationale for collective worship and also the factors underpinning effective collective worship. There is also a section that covers collective worship and the law for state-maintained schools, both with and without a religious character.
- Advice for schools in Wales on collective worship during the covid-19 pandemic (May 2020) covers collective worship in the current climate; how to facilitate collective worship for distance learning; and suggested resources.
What’s happening in England?
Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) Report
In 2018, the Commission on Religious Education published it findings on religious education in England, making a number of recommendations. These may be accessed by downloading: Religion and worldviews: The way forward. A national plan for RE. Further information is available from the RE Council for England and Wales‘.
Note: The Commission’s research and findings relate to religious education in England only, although the CoRE report may be of wider interest to those involved in RE/RVE in Wales.
The Worldview Project
The RE Council for England and Wales has commissioned the Worldview Project, which is a response to the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) Report. As part of the that project, the RE Council published in October 2020 a downloadable academic worldview literature review – Worldview: A multidisciplinary report – with the Worldview project discussion papers.
What’s happening in Europe?
Signposts – Teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education
How can the study of religions and non-religious world views contribute to intercultural education in schools in Europe? The 2014 publication, Signposts: Policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious worldviews in intercultural education offers advice on responding to issues arising from the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)12 on the dimension of religions and non-religious convictions within intercultural education. It discusses: terminology associated with teaching about religions and beliefs; competence and didactics for understanding religions; the classroom as a safe space; the representation of religions in the media; non-religious convictions and world views; human rights issues; and linking schools to wider communities and organisations.
In July 2020, a free supporting teacher training module became available, which can be downloaded and used within your own contexts: Signposts teacher training module: Teaching about religions and non-religious worldviews in intercultural education.