MOST primary-school teachers worry about teaching religious
education because they lack the necessary knowledge and
understanding, the report of a new survey from the National
Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) suggests.
Half of all primary teachers from the 679 primary schools that
took part in the survey said that they had received less than three
hours' preparation to teach RE during their initial training, and,
for one quarter of them, RE had not been included in their course.
Most teachers relied on the local agreed syllabus, and on web
resources, which were used regularly by seven out of ten
teachers.
The heavy reliance on the internet is a cause for concern, the
report says, because alongside excellent, professional RE advice,
teachers can find attractively produced, but inaccurate,
misleading, and, in some cases, offensive material.
NATRE wants a review of primary RE training. Its chairman, Ed
Pawson, said: "It is entirely unsatisfactory that primary teachers
begin their careers feeling inadequately prepared to discuss issued
relating to religions and beliefs."
The survey also suggests that schools are curtailing curriculum
time for RE: 82 per cent of those questioned allocated the subject
less than an hour a week. A member of the NATRE executive, Deborah
Weston, said that the lack of training and the status of RE would
get worse as the move to school-based teacher-training took effect.
"How can teachers who themselves lack RE expertise train newcomers
to the profession?" she asked.
The NATRE survey confirms the findings of a report published
earlier this year by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on
RE, which blamed government initiatives to improve schools'
performance in core academic subjects which had marginalised those,
such as RE, that were outside the core.
At an APPG event this week, students from seven schools joined
MPs to campaign for RE. Stephen Lloyd, MP for Eastbourne, and the
group's chairman, said: "We have heard many excuses given for
relegating RE in schools to a single slot, taught by a teacher who
has not benefited from subject training. Given the current social
and political climate, this is shocking."
MPs present signed a new Early Day Motion in support of rigorous
academic standards in RE.
The Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, meets
bishops at Lambeth Palace next week.