Religious teaching 'under threat'

9 July 2011 Last updated at 15:52 GMT RE teachers say that religious education is being squeezed out of the school curriculum Religious education in schools is under threat, faith leaders have warned.

Leaders representing Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists said they were "gravely concerned" about the "negative impact" that current government policies were having.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph they called for RE to be included in the new English Baccalaureate.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the English Baccalaureate "does not stop any school offering RE GCSEs".

In the letter published in the Telegraph, faith leaders warned that a failure to act would be a "serious flaw" in David Cameron's Big Society project.

The signatories included the Rev Michael Heaney, president of Churches Together in England, and Farooq Murad, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain.

Undermining RE

They write: "Changes to the role and capacity of local authorities, coupled with the extension of the academies programme, are in danger of undermining the nature and quality of RE."

"Also, recent policy initiatives in relation to GCSE examinations are already leading to a deterioration in the provision for RE in many secondary schools."

RE teachers recently warned that religious education could disappear from many secondary schools because of the new English Baccalaureate.

A DfE spokesman said it is compulsory for every student to study RE up to 16, adding that success in RE GCSE "continues to be recognised in the annual GCSE tables, as well as being a valuable qualification in its own right".

He said: "The English Baccalaureate does not stop any school offering RE GCSEs and we have been clear that pupils should take the GCSEs that are right for them.

Big society

"It is for teachers and parents to help pupils make the right choice. All academies and free schools must offer a broad and balanced curriculum."

The "Bacc", which was introduced last December, is a new league table measure which ranks schools according to how many pupils gain grades A*-C in GCSEs in five subject areas: English, maths, a language, science and either geography or history.

A recent survey by the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) found that a quarter of the state-funded schools featured in its research were not teaching RE to pupils aged from 14 to 16.

The faith leaders called on the prime minister to do more to develop "a clear strategy" for the subject.

"Failure to work with faith communities, along with their partner academic and professional associations, would represent a serious flaw in the Big Society project," they write.

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'Under the radar'

24 June 2011 Last updated at 12:22 GMT Children's Minister - Tim Loughton A government minister believes a combination of political correctness and racial sensitivities have kept many cases of child sex grooming "under the radar".

Children's Minister, Tim Loughton, claims that "closed communities" have sometimes hampered investigations into child sexual exploitation.

Mr Loughton made the comments in an interview for the BBC Politics Show in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, which has been investigating claims that girls as young as 12 have been targeted by organised gangs.

Tim Loughton told me: "In many cases we are dealing with some closed communities. Closed in terms of things being able to go on under the radar and away from the public glare."

'Not an excuse'

In many cases we are dealing with some closed communities - closed in terms of things being able to go on under the radar and away from the public glare”

End Quote Tim Loughton MP Children's Minister

Mr Loughton acknowledged that child grooming was not a problem exclusively associated with one particular community, but added: "I think that political correctness and racial sensitivities have in the past been an issue.

"I want to send out a message loud and clear that although we have to be aware of certain characteristics of various ethnic communities and be sensitive as to how we deal with them, a BME (Black Minority Ethnic) tag is not an excuse for us not to investigate vigorously any abuse that may be going on."

Earlier this year, the former Home Secretary Jack Straw was criticised after he suggested that some men of Pakistani origin saw white girls as "easy meat".

'Heinous crime'

The Labour peer Lord Ahmed of Rotherham accepts that although only a minority of offenders are Asian, more needs to be done to find out why some Asian men are drawn into a world of depravity.

Lord Ahmed said: "I have been criticised by my own community because I started talking about it. We need to put it into context. Ninety eight per cent of the community are engaged in fantastic work within the UK.

A string of vulnerable young girls were targeted for abuse by a gang in Derby

"There is a small minority involved in drug related crime and this heinous crime of messing with young girls is outrageous."

A five month investigation by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is expected to reveal that more British children have been exposed to grooming than police and social services had originally thought.

The CEOP inquiry was launched after a string of vulnerable young girls were targeted for abuse by a gang in Derby.

Victims were given alcohol and drugs before being forced to have sex in cars, hotels and rented houses.

Ring leaders Mohammed Liaqat and Abid Saddique were given indeterminate jail terms in January.

Children's Minister, Tim Loughton: 'There is no hiding place for criminals who sexually abuse and exploit children and young people'

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