After many years of urging by the BHA and many others, the Government has now announced a revision of the notorious ‘Circular 1/94’, the official guidance on RE and on SACREs (the local bodies which oversee RE in each local authority). The process will be guided by a steering group of thirty representatives of different organisations with interest and expertise in RE and we are very pleased that the BHA has two places on this steering group. They will be filled by Andrew Copson, BHA Director of Education and Public Affairs and Marilyn Mason, former BHA Education Officer. Over the next 18 months, this group will meet to discuss the many issues to be engaged by the new guidance.
Mr Copson commented, ‘Circular 1/94 is the document which is invariably used to exclude humanists from full membership of SACREs and also lays an undue emphasis on Christianity in general and religions in particular which the BHA believes is seriously out of step with contemporary best practice in the teaching about religions and non-religious beliefs. We are looking forward to working on the steering group to reform these outmoded aspects of the official guidance.
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For further comment or information, please email Andrew Copson or telephone on 020 7079 3584. The British Humanist Association is the national charity representing and supporting non-religious people.
The BHA has been involved in education for over forty years, producing resources for schools and promoting beliefs and values education which is objective, fair and balanced. The BHA is a member of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales and the Values Education Council of the UK . A DfES survey of 2004 showed that over 60% of 12-19 year olds said they were not religious and it is a vital part of the BHA’s work to promote beliefs and values education in schools which will be relevant to this majority of pupils and students.