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A new religious education syllabus will be introduced in schools across Caerphilly County Borough, with lessons set to be made mandatory.

From September 2022, Religious Education will become known as Religion, Ethics and Values (REV) and will broaden to include topics such as philosophy, theology, sociology, psychology, and anthropology.

Some of the aims of the new syllabus are:

• To explore philosophical questions about human thought, the universe, and the connection between them.
• To develop and express pupils’ own viewpoints, ethical beliefs, and spirituality.
• To respond sensitively to religious and non-religious issues.
• For pupils to evaluate their own values and how these will impact their social and personal decisions.

The adoption of the new syllabus at a Caerphilly Standards Advisory Council on Religion, Values and Ethics meeting held on Monday, March 28, means that pupils in the county borough will no longer have the legal right to withdraw from the module.

Religious education is decided by local authorities but does have to align with the Welsh Government’s Curriculum for Wales Framework Guidance on Hwb.

The local authority has a legal obligation to review the agreed syllabus every five years.

The Welsh Government’s platform Hwb – a digital learning resource for teaching in Wales – said the change “prepares learners in Wales for life and work in a fast-changing and diverse world, as responsible and informed citizens”.