Tweak for religious education syllabus

NORTHUMBERLAND County Council has agreed a new religious education syllabus that will allow educators to tap into the county’s rich heritage.

The new guidance, which will be begin to be adopted by schools in September this year, will provide an opportunity for members of the council’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education) to create modules and units with a “more local context”. The council is under a statutory obligation to review the locally agreed syllabus every five years, and must provide a revised plan by this September.

The move was signed off by the council’s cabinet during a meeting on Tuesday.

Speaking at the meeting, Coun Guy Renner Thompson, cabinet member for education, gave some background for the syllabus. He said: “By law, a local authority has to have a syllabus for RE. The committee were given a few options as we need a new one by 2022.

“They chose the one that gives the local authority flexibility to remodel some of the modules to give a more local angle.

“Local schools can incorporate a bit of religious history, of which there is a lot – like Cuthbert, Bede and Hadrian.”