CES News (154)
Why Relationship and Sex Education is a must for all Catholic schools
By Catherine Bryan, Assistant Director, Catholic Education Service
It isn’t easy being a young person in 2018. What with social media, mobile phones with unlimited access to the internet and the 24-hour celebrity news cycle, young people are faced with challenges even their slightly older contemporaries didn’t have to comprehend.
The question facing the Catholic Church now, is how we respond to and protect our young people from the potentially dangerous effects of these facts of modern life? Do we bury our heads in the sand, or do we tackle the issue head on? We must do the latter.
What’s more, this is an issue that will not go away. The Department for Education and the Welsh Assembly have set a clear direction of travel, that this is an area which is going to receive more attention. Indeed, we have seen recently, a clear commitment to compulsory Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) in Wales and we await the outcome of the DfE’s consultation response to their RSE agenda.
Throughout its long history, the Church, whilst always remaining true to the teachings of Christ, has also adapted its pastoral response to the needs of its flock. Now, in the internet age, it needs to do so especially with regards to Relationship and Sex Education and our Catholic schools are best placed to support parents with this incredibly important task.
For those not involved in education, attention-grabbing headlines about RSE can lead to a false impression of what the subject is actually about. Therefore, we need to set the record straight and debunk the myths around it, because ultimately, in an increasingly dangerous world, RSE is about keeping young people safe.
It is also about teaching young people what a healthy relationship looks like so that as they develop and grow they can make the right choices when faced with a range of challenges. What RSE is not about is pushing a particular agenda or promoting secular attitudes over the teachings of the Church. It is about dealing with the real-life issues young people face and providing practical and compassionate pastoral guidance.
Neither is it all about sex.
Sex education does play a role in preparing young people for adult life but unless it is situated within the broader context of relationship education, it is a fruitless exercise. The model Catholic RSE curriculum recognises this and puts the formation of healthy and loving relationships at its core. This has now been more widely recognised and acknowledged as the national focus has shifted from Sex and Relationship Education to Relationship and Sex Education. A subtle difference, reinforcing the importance of healthy relationships in order to protect young people from potentially dangerous relationships.
People are often surprised when they hear that the Catholic school sector is the only one in the country with a comprehensive and age-appropriate RSE curriculum from 3yrs to 19yrs. The reason for this? Catholic education centres around the formation of the whole child, and teaching a young person how to build and maintain healthy relationships is an essential part of forming rounded individuals.
This is why, when the Government announced last year that it intended to make RSE statutory, the Catholic Education Service (CES) publicly welcomed this commitment to improve the quality and provision of RSE in all schools. And we did so, because Catholic schools already recognise the importance of this and teach high quality RSE as part of the holistic education which seeks to form as well as inform young people in preparation for adult life. We also welcomed it because the Government sought to protect parents’ rights, as well as the ability for Catholic schools to approach RSE within the context of Church teaching.
The CES has a strong relationship with the Department for Education and we have been working closely with them to ensure that any statutory requirements are appropriate for Catholic schools. The first and most important being protection of the right of parents to be able to withdraw their child from sex education. Parents have the primary responsibility of teaching their children how to form loving relationships and Catholic schools are there to assist them with this. Therefore, if a parent feels best placed to deliver some of the more sensitive elements of sex education outside the classroom, they have the right to do so and this is something the Government remains committed to.
The reality is, however, that very few parents choose to do this because the vast majority of Catholic schools closely involve parents with the delivery of their RSE programmes. The most recent Catholic schools census found that just 0.01% of parents with children in a Catholic school exercise their right of withdrawal. Of more than 850,000 pupils in Catholic schools, that is the equivalent of just one pupil in every 7,800.
It is also important to note that schools with a religious character will still be able to teach RSE within the tenants and traditions of their respective faiths. For Catholic schools, this means that we can remain faithful to the Church’s vision of human wholeness, whilst at the same time ensuring that young people are given the factual information and equipped to make informed life choices.
And they need to be able to make informed life choices because of the very real dangers out there. Online grooming, inappropriate social media use, sexting and pornography are all examples or products of unhealthy relationships, and, unless we show children how to recognise the above as dangerous, we are failing them in the long term. This must of course be done in an age appropriate way, but it is something which does need to start early on in a young person’s development.
Our Catholic values are grounded in forgiveness, compassion and mercy. To deny young people an education in this area would be to deny these core values rooted in the Gospel and Church teaching, and leave them unprotected in an increasingly dangerous world. This would be the greatest tragedy of all.
Statement from the Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OP on the 50% faith admissions cap
“In their General Election manifesto, the Conservative Party made a commitment to the Catholic community that the unfair rule effectively stopping the opening of new Catholic free schools would be lifted. Today the Government has broken this promise, dropped the pledge they made to our country’s six million Catholics and ignored the tens of thousands of Catholics who campaigned on this issue.
“This U-turn disregards the Government’s own data showing the 50% cap doesn’t create diversity, and sides with a vocal minority of campaigners who oppose the existence of Church schools. Catholic schools are popular with parents of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds, despite this we will remain barred from participating in the free school programme.
“The Catholic Church has had a long and positive relationship with the State in the provision of education and we see today’s decision as a regressive step in this historic partnership.
“We remain committed to our vision of education which consistently delivers high-quality schooling and contributes to the common good. Therefore we will continue to work with the Department for Education to address the urgent demand for new Catholic schools. This commitment means we will pursue the possibility of new Catholic voluntary aided schools despite the direction of travel for nearly a decade being towards academisation.
“Voluntary aided schools are an important part of the Catholic sector and it is significant that the Government has singled out Catholic education as an area to fund directly. This is rightly in recognition of the importance of Catholic schools to local communities and the contribution they make to the wellbeing of society.”
The Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OP
Archbishop of Liverpool and Chair of the Department for Education & Formation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Religious groups unite to hit back at claims that their schools are divisive
Statement from the Church of England, Catholic Education Service, Methodist Church in Britain & The Board of Deputies of British Jews
We are the organisations that represent 99% of all schools with a religious character in England and our communities’ experience of providing education stretches back centuries.
Our schools embrace both excellence and academic rigour set within the wider framework of the formation of the whole child. This includes spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and social development and enables children to flourish.
It is precisely because of our faith ethos that our schools remain exceptionally popular with parents.
Our schools are drivers of community cohesion, whether that is through educating children from all cultures, creeds and communities, or the impressive programmes they run to connect their pupils with children from other religions and beliefs.
As the representatives of the faith communities which actually run the vast majority of these schools, we reject the suggestion that they are divisive and are proud of what they achieve for their pupils and for our country as a whole.
Rev Nigel Genders, Chief Education Officer, Church of England
Paul Barber, Director, Catholic Education Service
Barbara Easton, Director of Education, Methodist Church in Britain
Gillian Merron, Chief Executive, The Board of Deputies of British Jews
English and Welsh Bishops hold firm against admissions cap
In their November Plenary meeting, the Bishops of England and Wales reaffirmed their opposition to the 50% admissions cap.
Since 2010 the 50% cap has effectively banned the opening of any new Catholic Free Schools. This is because the Bishops couldn’t countenance the opening of Catholic school which turned away Catholic children because they were Catholic.
Their full resolution read:
Further to its resolution of November 2013, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales reiterates its position that the imposition of the 50% cap on the control of admissions is not a secure basis for the provision of Catholic education in England.
The provision of education is fundamental to the mission of the Church in England and Wales and, in line with their canonical responsibilities, Bishops will continue to strive to provide a Catholic school place for every Catholic child in their respective dioceses.
Prior to the June 2017 General Election, the Bishops’ Conference welcomed the Government’s commitment to remove the 50% admissions cap as set out in the Conservative Party manifesto.
The principle of parental choice is fundamental to both Catholic education and the current educational policy in England and Wales, and for more than 150 years Catholic parents have had the opportunity to choose a Catholic education for their children.
Therefor the Bishops’ Conference welcomes the supportive comments made by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education about Catholic schools and their acknowledgement that the admissions cap is an issue which actively targets the Catholic community, as Catholic parents are the principle religious minority adversely affected by the admissions cap.
We therefore call on the Government to honour its Manifesto commitment.
The Bishops are now urging Catholics to write to the Secretary of State for Education urging her to keep the Government’s manifesto commitment.
You can write to the Secretary of State by clicking on this link: http://catholicnews.org.uk/education-cap
Entries for Religious Studies A level remain high with the fastest growth among arts, humanities and social sciences
The key outcomes of the 2017 A level results in England and Wales for Religious Education are as follows:
- 23,856 RS A level entries were recorded, a small decrease of 4.0% on 2016. Much of this decrease is explained by a decrease in the number of 18-year-olds in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland of 1.7%
- Despite the decrease in entries for RS, there are still more than double the number in 2003 (11,132 entries were recorded in 2003)
- The increase of 114% in the number of entries for RS A level since 2003 is greater than for any arts, humanity or social science subject (the nearest subject is Political Studies with an increase of 90%). Among all subjects, only Further Maths has seen more rapid growth than RS
- 23.3% of entries for RS A level were awarded an A or an A*
- There were 16,308 entries for RS at AS level, a decrease of 54% on 2016; this reflects the decline across all subjects where the number of AS entries fell by 40% across England and Wales. Despite the drop there are still more entries than in 2003 (15,482 entries were recorded in 2003)
The importance of RS A Level as a subject for Higher Education entry and for graduate recruiters is increasingly recognised by independent bodies. The Russell Group of top universities has made it clear that RS A level provides ‘suitable preparation for University generally’, and both Oxford and Cambridge University include Religious Studies in the top level list of ‘generally suitable Arts A levels’.
In fact, almost 21% of students admitted to Oxford University to study English and 13.5% admitted to study History in 2015 had an RS A level, more than those with Economics, Physics and Business Studies A levels.1
Employers are also recognising the value of religious literacy. For example, in February 2017, EY announced the creation of Religious Literacy for Organisations (RLO), a diversity and inclusion training programme designed to help organisations better understand religious inclusion and its positive impact on business process and performance.
Career prospects for those that take Religious Studies/Theology at degree level are also very bright, with 25% of 2015 graduates going on to work in the fields of legal, social and welfare, 11% choosing to become educational professionals and almost 5% managers.2
The high number of pupils taking A level and AS level Religious Studies is all the more impressive for coming at a time when there is a shortfall in recruitment for teacher training in Religious Education. Evidence collected by the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) suggests that headteachers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit RE specialists.
Comment from Daniel Hugill, Chair, National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE)
"Congratulations to the many students receiving their Religious Studies results today. Their results are the product of their hard work grappling with some of the most difficult questions to ever puzzle humankind. Congratulations to their teachers too who have worked tirelessly to ensure that their students can reach their full potential. It is of little surprise to those of us who teach RS that it remains so popular amongst young people. RS A-level is an excellent preparation for both further study and for entering the world of work. RS is a subject that helps young people gain access to a wide range of degree courses including those at the most prestigious Universities. Our most recent Freedom of Information request found that more than 1 in 10 students admitted to Oxford’s Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and History courses had studied RS A-Level. This statistic increases to more than 1 in 5 for students admitted to study English. The subject matter and approach of an RS A-level helps to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to succeed in modern Britain.”
Comment from Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, Chief Executive, Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC):
"It’s fantastic to see how popular Religious Studies A level remains. This is a highly rated subject that offers pupils the opportunity to explore crucial questions in relation to beliefs, values and morality. In doing so it provides an excellent preparation for living in a multi-faith, multi-cultural world. What’s more, Religious Studies is a rigorous, academic A-level that provides an excellent foundation for further study in a wide range of academic subjects, and remains a very attractive qualification to universities. These results are really encouraging, but there’s still work to do. I hope that the Government will want to work with us to turn enough of today’s keen A level pupils into tomorrow’s teachers to help meet the shortfall in appropriately qualified teachers of religious education that we currently face.”
Numbers of A level entries in arts, humanities and social sciences in England and Wales by selected subject area, 2003 to 2017
|
A level subject area |
2003 |
2005 |
2007 |
2009 |
2011 |
2013 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
% change 2003 to 2017 |
|
Religious studies |
11,132 |
14,929 |
16,841 |
18,899 |
19,952 |
20,851 |
23,372 |
24,849 |
23,856 |
114% |
|
Political studies |
8,683 |
10,008 |
11,088 |
12,277 |
13,715 |
14,302 |
14,087 |
14,462 |
16,467 |
90% |
|
Economics |
17,153 |
17,087 |
17,016 |
20,546 |
23,476 |
25,755 |
27,202 |
28,827 |
29,557 |
72% |
|
Sociology |
23,498 |
25,709 |
26,663 |
28,472 |
29,703 |
29,681 |
31,378 |
32,968 |
33,625 |
43% |
|
History |
40,089 |
42,735 |
44,035 |
46,617 |
48,590 |
49,786 |
53,548 |
51,974 |
47,877 |
19% |
|
Law |
12,350 |
14,510 |
15,487 |
16,276 |
14,351 |
12,484 |
10,701 |
11,209 |
11,487 |
-7% |
|
Geography |
33,467 |
30,552 |
29,538 |
30,226 |
29,348 |
30,871 |
35,221 |
34,180 |
35,820 |
7% |
|
ALL SUBJECTS |
721,887 |
752,602 |
774,842 |
815,603 |
834,735 |
817,916 |
818,359 |
799,524 |
792,527 |
10% |
Notes: GCE A level results of A level candidates in England and Wales.
Source: Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
Pope Francis' Mega Youth Poll
In 2018, Pope Francis will meet Bishops and others to talk about Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment. At this gathering they will discuss how the Catholic Church can accompany all young people in their faith and help them to hear God’s call. Please can you encourage your students aged between 13-29 years old to use the Mega Youth Poll so that they can tell the Catholic Church in England and Wales what life is like for them, their thoughts on faith and how we can help them to hear God’s call by using this link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/schools-youth-poll or scanning this QR code with your phone.
Please encourage your students to share their thoughts rather than what they think we would like to hear. For a list of the questions asked in the Mega Youth Poll, Click HERE
Comic Relief 2017
The CES has received queries from schools wanting advice on whether they can allow pupils to take part in fundraising activities for Comic Relief. These activities are often popular but concerns have been expressed that some of the fundraising may go towards providing services that ar contrary to Church teaching. The CES has raised these concerns recently with Comic Relief. Please see below the most recent response from Comic Relief on these matters.
Catholic Education Service welcomes Government announcement on RSE
Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP KC*HS, Chairman of the Catholic Education Service said;
“Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) forms part of the mission of Catholic schools to educate the whole person. Our schools have a long track record of educating young people who are prepared for adult life as informed and engaged members of society, and high quality RSE plays an important part of this.
“We welcome the Government’s commitment to improving Relationship and Sex Education in all schools. Catholic schools already teach age-appropriate Relationship and Sex Education in both primary and secondary schools. This is supported by a Catholic model RSE curriculum which covers the RSE curriculum from nursery all the way through to sixth form.
“We additionally welcome the Government’s commitment to protect parental right of withdrawal and involve parents in all stages of the development and delivery of RSE in all schools. It is essential that parents fully support the school’s approach to these sensitive matters. The experience of Catholic schools is that parental involvement is the basis for providing consistent and high quality RSE at home and at school.
“We look forward to working closely with the Government to shape any new guidance to enable Catholic schools to continue to deliver outstanding RSE, in accordance with parents’ wishes and Church teaching.”
ENDS
Diocese of Leeds' Director of Education awarded OBE
Angela Cox, Director of Education for the Diocese of Leeds is to be recognised in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List for Services to Education, becoming an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Angela has been Director of Education for the Diocese for the past six years, overseeing the provision of Catholic education across eight local authority areas in the Diocese’s 93 schools. Having lived in the region since attending Leeds University, Angela previously worked on the education team at Leeds City Council, and is a parishioner at the church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in St John Mary Vianney Parish in North Leeds.
Angela, who will receive her OBE at a special ceremony to take place in the next few months, said: “It is a privilege to have this role in Catholic education. It is the nature of the awards that they are given to an individual but this is recognition of the team of colleagues in the Diocese and in our schools and colleges who do so much to benefit Catholic education and the children in their care.”
The Rt Rev Marcus Stock is Bishop of Leeds and is himself an educationalist. Upon learning of the honour for his Director of Education, the Bishop said:
‘Angela Cox has given outstanding service to the Diocese and continues to provide excellent advice on all matters relating to our Catholic schools. She has also been very supportive of the work of the Catholic Education Service nationally for England and Wales. I am very pleased that the contribution Angela has made to education, both regionally and nationally, has been recognised in the honour awarded by Her Majesty the Queen.’
The OBE is awarded to people who fulfil a major local role and whose work has brought them national recognition in their chosen area.
ENDS