The Right of Withdrawal from Religious Education

Religion and belief have become more visible in public life in recent years, making it important that all pupils should have an opportunity to engage in religious education (RE). However, you have the right to request that your child be withdrawn from all or part of the RE curriculum provided. It is important to note however that:

• If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching.  A pupil may be required to work in another area of the school, such as the library or break out area. 
• Whilst parents or carers have a right to withdraw children from RE, you should note that children may also encounter religions and beliefs and wider aspects of faith in other areas of the curriculum from which there is no right of withdrawal.
• On occasion, spontaneous questions about religious matters are raised by pupils or issues related to religion arise in other curriculum subjects such as history or life skills, for example, schools promote community cohesion and help pupils to understand ideas about identity and diversity, feelings and emotions within both religious and non-religious contexts.