The future shape of RE in England’s Catholic schools: an initial appraisal of the Religious Education Directory for England and Wales (2023)

This is an initial appraisal of the Religious Education Directory (RED) which will stipulate the content of Religious Education (RE) in all English Catholic schools from 2025. It will be explained that there is much to commend in the RED. It will certainly be welcomed by many RE teachers and advocates of Catholic education. This is because the RED offers a comprehensive framework extending from Early Years to the start of the public examination courses in Religious Studies. It will be the ‘go to’ document for RE teachers working in all types of Catholic schools, and be instrumental when it comes to the regular inspections which are carried out on behalf of the local diocesan bishop, to ensure the quality of the religious education provision. It has the potential to definitively shape the sort of Religious Education (RE) that around 10% of the UK school population will experience over the next few decades. This initial appraisal is being offered on the text of the RED, and well before the time when it becomes mandatory (from September 2025). This initial appraisal will, in subsequent times need to be followed up by others, which will seek to uncover how schools, individual RE teachers and students have received and responded to the guidance in the RED.