The headteachers of all 84 Catholic schools in Wales have written to the First Minister asking him to rethink his Government’s proposed changes to religious education saying they “strike at the very identity of Catholic schools”.
In an unprecedented move they have signed a joint letter asking Mark Drakeford, to stop the proposed legislation on RE which they say “specifically targets the Catholic ethos of their schools”.
Under its new curriculum the Welsh Government plans to expand traditional RE to “Religion Values and Ethics” and parents will not be able to withdraw their children from these classes.
In their letter the head teachers say: “This will do little to improve community cohesion or foster tolerance of world religions.”
The Catholic headteachers said the change in emphasis removes the academic rigour of RE and “reduces it to an over-simplistic comparison exercise which fails to understand the fundamentals of faith and religion”.
Almost 28,000 pupils attend the 84 Catholic schools in Wales, all of which are Voluntary Aided and employ a total of more than 1,500 teachers.
The head teachers said the proposed changes uniquely affects their schools and ask Mr Drakeford for reassurance that it is not the Government’s “specific intention to damage Catholic schools ”.
In a statement they said: “The new proposals, published in May, specifically penalise Catholic schools, placing additional and unreasonable legal requirements on them."
Their letter adds that the proposed changes to RE “fail to recognise the heritage and deep connection Religious Education has within church schools, including Catholic schools, which dedicate 10% of curriculum time to the subject”.
A majority of respondents to the Government’s consultation on the changes said they were against the name change of RE and that they supported the continuation of parents’ rights to withdraw their children from RE.
“On both of these, the Welsh Government have ignored popular opinion”, the heads add.
Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education Service, which represents Catholic schools in Wales, said: “I hope this letter from all of the headteachers makes the Welsh Government realise the overwhelming strength of feeling against these proposals to the Catholic community.
“They strike at the very identity of Catholic schools and at the heart of the principle that that parents, and not the State, are the primary and principal educators of their children.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “In implementing their curriculum, the default for these schools, as now, will be for learners to receive RVE in line with the trust deeds or tenets of the faith of the school. “However, where a parent requests RVE in accordance with an agreed syllabus, it would need to be provided.
“We continue to work closely with the Catholic Education Service in the development of the new curriculum and a number of Catholic schools have been directly involved in the co-construction of the Curriculum for Wales (CfW) framework.”
