Humanist representatives on Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) gathered in central London on Saturday for their annual meeting. The British Humanist Association (BHA) administers a network of almost 150 such reps, and the meeting offered lively and stimulating discussion of the issues facing Religious Education and Collective Worship in English and Welsh schools. Stephen Shashoua, Director of 3FF, gave a well-received speech to the reps about his organisation’s schools-based work, and how humanists can further get involved in their programme.
Uniquely, Religious Education is legally required to be taught but is not on the national curriculum. Most ‘faith’ schools and all Academies and Free Schools set their own RE syllabuses, but maintained schools with a religious character, and a significant minority of maintained ‘faith’ schools, teach a ‘locally agreed syllabus’, which is set every five years by a local authority-appointed body called an ‘agreed syllabus conference’ (whose membership is typically identical to that of the SACRE) and overseen by the SACRE, which is also appointed by the local authority.
Representatives heard an update on developments in RE over the last twelve months and the progress of the BHA in furthering its goals of ensuring a secular education system which nonetheless provides young people with a high quality education about religious beliefs and also non-religious beliefs such as Humanism. Topics covered included the new RE Subject Framework, recent reports from Ofsted and the All Party Parliamentary Group on RE, and the BHA’s recently piloted school volunteers programme.
Representatives provided updates on their work, including several actively involved in developing new locally agreed syllabuses at the moment and over the past year. The vast majority of SACREs now include a humanist in some capacity, and this is being translated into the inclusion of teaching about non-religious worldviews in schools across the country.
The audience also heard from Stephen Shashoua who discussed 3FF’s innovative schools programmes such as ‘Encountering faiths and beliefs’, ‘The Art of Asking’ and ‘The Art of Empathy’. Stephen gave examples of questions students typically ask humanist and atheist participants, stating that humanists tend to be the most popular speakers, eliciting the liveliest debate amongst students.
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Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on Religious Education, Collective Worship, and about its educational work.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.