Shropshire Star

Shropshire headteachers back calls to keep RE compulsory

Headteachers in Shropshire today backed calls for parents to be stripped of the right to take their children out of religious education lessons.

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Supporters of the move said parents may not always know what is best for their children and that their needs may fall outside of their own experience.

They claim RE lessons are an important part of the work to reduce the risk of children being radicalised.

School leaders this week voted in favour of making RE compulsory in schools amid fears that those not taking part could be vulnerable to being groomed by terror groups.

The National Association of Head Teachers, which has 28,000 members, will now lobby the Government to revoke the existing legal framework which allows families to withdraw children.

It is understood parents from a variety of different communities have made requests to teachers to excuse children from learning about certain religions.

But the resolution is likely to prove controversial with some parents' groups, who have said in the past that schools should not undermine the wishes of families.

Hilary Alcock, headteacher of Buntingsdale Primary School near Market Drayton, said schools needed to show they "respect what is important to pupils and make RE an entitlement for all".

She added: "Parents may know their children best, but they may not always know what is best for them."

Sarah Godden, headteacher at Oldbury Wells School in Bridgnorth, added: "RE lessons in schools, such as Oldbury Wells are very important and valuable.

"They are a vital way of making sure that pupils of all faiths, or indeed of no faith, get a broad and balanced view of religions and faith.

"A key theme in many RE lessons is tolerance and mutual respect, which in today's world is obviously relevant to us all."

Sara Bowater, head of RE at Adams' Grammar School in Newport, said: "RE is a subject that is respected and liked by pupils at Adams'.

"They particularly enjoy having the opportunity to learn about the cultural diversity of our country and the part that religion plays in wider life."

It comes after the Government launched a drive to teach British Values in schools, including tolerance of other faiths, in a bid to clamp down on classroom radicalisation.

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