CARE and the Evangelical Alliance have welcomed a report by Ofsted 'Making Sense of Religion', which reports findings about the teaching of Religious Education in primary and secondary maintained schools throughout England and Wales.

|PIC1|The report reflected full inspections carried out between 2001 and 2006 and subject inspections at 30 primary and 30 secondary schools between 2003 and 2006.

It found that there has been a significant improvement in pupil achievement in Religious Education in both primary and secondary schools, although there are still weaknesses in planning and assessment, particularly at secondary level, and a shortage of qualified staff that has constrained progress.

On the positive side, the number of pupils taking GCSE courses in RE has risen dramatically - from 110,000 in 1995 to 400,000 in 2006 - and more pupils like the subject and think it is relevant to their lives today.

Tony Leach, education consultant to CARE, said: "We welcome the recognition by Ofsted that RE is about much more than learning about religion, and its emphasis on making pupils aware about what it feels like to be religious and to share in the life of a worshipping community.

"We also recognise the important role RE should have in helping pupils to be more aware of what it means to live in a multi-faith community and to understand and respect the beliefs and practices of others and thereby to strengthen social cohesion."

He added that CARE and the Alliance both feel very strongly that Agreed syllabuses should continue to be developed through the local system of Standing Advisory Committees on Religious Education, to ensure maximum participation by the local community and local faith groups in drawing up appropriate syllabuses.

They also feel that RE would be stronger as a subject with its own statutory status, as at present, rather than becoming part of the National Curriculum.

Don Horrocks, Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance, said: "We call on the Government to continue to support RE, particularly in the training of teachers at both primary and secondary level."