by Anna Rees Green, Premier
A bursary to encourage new teachers of Religious Education has been scrapped, despite the subject facing a staff shortage.
The Chair of the Religious Education Council has told Premier Christian News she is “disappointed” at the move, and urged the government to take faith studies seriously.
“What is going on here?” said Sarah Lane Cawte, who is a Christian. “What is the rationale for this subject, where it’s crucial to our society, it’s crucial to our children and young people, but it’s not prioritised?”
The bursary had been available to those in teacher training, who chose to specialise in Religious Education. It will no longer be available, to those starting their training post September 2026.
The scrapping comes as a huge blow to the understaffed subject. In the last year, it only secured 53.6 per cent of its total target number of teachers.
Lane-Cawte said she is “baffled” that other subjects have retained a bursary, despite having an excess of specialised staff.