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Ofsted adds to evidence showing EBacc's negative impact on RE provision

Inspection advice/guidance Languages and humanities Performance tables
A report from school inspectors has concluded that RE has been hit hard by Department for Education policy – including the English Baccalaureate and league table changes – with GCSE entries down, subject provision suffering and CPD diminished. Pete Hensha

School inspectors have confirmed that the English Baccalaureate has “led to a decline in RE provision” in some schools.

An Ofsted report based on visits to 185 schools between 2009 and 2012 found that of those visited since the introduction of the EBacc, around half had changed curriculum provision for RE in response to education policy.

This includes the introduction of the EBacc league table measure, which recognises geography and history but not RE, as well as the decision to remove short course GCSEs from headline measures of school performance.

The report states: “It is too early to come to a definitive conclusion about (the) impact on GCSE entries ... however, the overall numbers entered for a GCSE qualification in religious studies in England fell from around 427,000 in 2012 to 390,000 in 2013.

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