Work has begun to refresh how religious education (RE) is taught in Lancashire’s schools.

Local authorities have to renew their RE curriculum every five years and Lancashire County Council has now convened a so-called ‘agreed syllabus conference’ which will determine how pupils learn about religion once the current teaching model expires in September 2026.

Although there is no national curriculum for RE, government legislation means the local syllabuses set by individual councils must reflect the fact that “the religious traditions of Great Britain are, in the main, Christian” – but while also “taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions” represented in the country.

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The conference will decide which non-Christian religions are included in the  syllabus in the county council area, which excludes Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

It will also have to address the outcome of recent legal rulings where it was concluded that non-religious beliefs must be included within RE lessons. Depending on their exact status, faith schools must follow the locally-agreed RE syllabus or deliver the subject in accordance with the school’s trust deed.

Conference members will meet on several occasions over the next 18 months, with the aim of agreeing the new arrangements by spring 2026 ahead of implementation the following autumn.

According to the terms of reference of the conference, which gathered for the first time this week, its primary duty will be to provide “a coherent, well-sequenced programme” of RE for pupils aged between five and 18.

The syllabus will specify what must be taught in each year group to show how knowledge and skills progress throughout each ‘key stage’ – and set out the expected standards of pupil performance.

Membership of the agreed syllabus conference is drawn from the four groups that make up Lancashire County Council’s standing advisory committee on religious education – namely, the Church of England, other Christian denominations and other religions that reflect the principal religious traditions of the area, teaching unions and the local authority itself.

The conference will also recommend how much teaching time the new local RE curriculum will require, although that ultimately remains a decision for schools themselves.  The current suggestion for Lancashire schools is that RE should account for five percent of their overall curriculum.

The law dictates that RE has to be taught in all state schools, which includes academies and free schools.  The new Lancashire syllabus will apply automatically in maintained schools controlled by the county council, while academies and free schools will be able to choose whether to adopt it or use an RE curriculum from another provider.

Parents can withdraw their children from RE lessons without having to give a reason.

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