Muslim education leaders back England's plan for a national RE curriculum

The UK government is expected to open a consultation in September on giving religious education national-curriculum status in England for the first time -- a shift Muslim education leaders have welcomed as a fix for patchy, locally variable RE teaching. Since a 1988 law made RE compulsory but left syllabuses to local advisory councils, quality has varied widely by area; an independent curriculum review last year found RE's importance "not currently reflected in its standing in the curriculum." Sara Saigol of the Islamic Society of Britain, who trains teachers and mosque volunteers, said many primary teachers "struggle to teach Islam because they don't understand it well enough," and that national status would bring dedicated class time and proper teacher training. The Muslim Council of Britain's Hassan Joudi argues the real obstacle is delivery infrastructure, not the curriculum itself, and other advocates want any national framework to preserve rather than replace the local expertise built through community partnerships. It is a useful case study in how standardization and local knowledge can be made to work together instead of against each other.

This is a QeRN summary by Ahmed Qerni. Read the original at Hyphen: https://hyphenonline.com/2026/08/04/national-religious-education-curriculum-england-consultation/.