Consultation opens on revised RE Syllabus following Supreme Court Judgment
Date published:
Plans for a new Religious Education syllabus for Northern Ireland have been published today in response to the Supreme Court judgment on Religious Education and Collective Worship in schools.
The Supreme Court judgment of November 2025 found that the existing RE Core Syllabus in Northern Ireland was not sufficiently objective, critical and pluralistic.
The draft syllabus has been developed by a Religious Education Drafting Group led by Professor Noel Purdy OBE, Stranmillis University College, and Mrs Joyce Logue, former Principal of Long Tower Primary School. The group included teachers drawn from primary, post-primary and special school settings across Northern Ireland.
Publishing the proposals, that will be subject to a public consultation, Education Minister Paul Givan said:
“This draft syllabus responds directly to the Supreme Court judgment. It seeks to meet the requirement for greater objectivity and recognises the central place of Christianity in Northern Ireland’s history, culture and society.
“I thank the drafting group for its significant work in preparing this draft syllabus. Religious Education remains a compulsory element of the school curriculum and the revised framework sets out the content to be taught across all 12 years of compulsory education.
“It is now important that teachers, parents and wider stakeholders take the opportunity and respond to the consultation to help ensure that Religious Education is both legally robust and fit for purpose.”
The consultation is the latest stage in a comprehensive review process which has included more than 25 face-to-face stakeholder meetings, an independent research study involving children and young people, and a public Call for Evidence that generated over 1,000 responses.
Professor Purdy said:
“Today marks an important milestone for Religious Education in Northern Ireland. The proposed new syllabus provides a coherent framework that supports progression from Foundation Stage through to the end of Key Stage 4. It treats RE as a rigorous academic subject while helping pupils explore beliefs, practices and ethical questions in ways that are objective, critical and pluralistic.
“It has been developed through an extensive programme of engagement involving Christian denominations and organisations, representatives of other religious traditions, those with no religious beliefs, teachers, children and young people, education bodies and many other stakeholders.
“We have sought throughout to listen carefully, respectfully and openly to a wide range of perspectives and to produce a syllabus that reflects both the Supreme Court judgment and the particular educational, cultural and societal context of Northern Ireland. The syllabus recognises the significance of Christianity within the history, culture and society of Northern Ireland, while ensuring that pupils also develop an informed understanding of other religious and non-religious worldviews.
“Our aim is to equip young people with the knowledge and skills needed to deepen their understanding of their own traditions, understand the beliefs of others and engage thoughtfully and respectfully in an increasingly diverse society.”
The consultation will run until 30 September 2026, with responses invited from teachers, parents, pupils, faith communities and stakeholders across Northern Ireland.
The consultation can be accessed at https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-religious-education-core-syllabus
Notes to editors:
- Article 21 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 makes both religious education and collective worship mandatory in all grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland, except nursery schools.
- Religious education in all schools must include any core syllabus specified under Article 11 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The syllabus is expected to set out core matters, skills and processes to be taught.
- The Department may not specify a core syllabus unless it was prepared by a group of persons (“the drafting group”) appearing to the Department to be persons having an interest in the teaching of religious education in grant-aided schools.
- The current core RE syllabus (Religious Education Core Syllabus (English version), drafted by representatives of the four main Christian Churches (the Catholic Church, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church and Methodist Church) retains a confessional character. It is also exclusively Christian at primary level, not introducing the study of other world religions until Key Stage3 at post-primary.
- On 3 February 2026, the Minister of Education announced a Review of the RE Syllabus. This was in response to the Supreme Court judgment in the matter of Judicial Review (JR) 87.
- The Supreme Court found that, in the specific school involved in JR87, RE under the current core syllabus and the arrangements for collective worship breached the child’s and parent’s rights. The Court highlighted that the core syllabus for RE was not sufficiently objective, critical or pluralistic.
- The drafting of the RE syllabus has followed the principles and approach established by the Terms of Reference.
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