What does the Curriculum and Assessment Review mean for religious studies?
12 January 2026
Richard Barrow, Religious Studies Subject Advisor
The government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) was published in November, alongside the DfE’s response to the review.
In this blog we highlight the key recommendations relating to religious studies in the review, and what this may mean for GCSE and A Level teachers.
Inclusion of RE in the national curriculum
The main takeaway for religious studies is the proposal that religious education is included in the national curriculum. While it should be noted that religious studies is distinct from religious education this would still be very significant. The CAR says:
“The Review ultimately wishes to see RE in the national curriculum, but it recognises that it is unrealistic for this to be achieved immediately. We therefore believe that a staged approach to reform is the most appropriate way forward.”
This change is proposed in the context of “uneven provision and tokenistic practice in some areas” currently for RE. The government response to the CAR welcomes this suggested change. They strongly emphasise the importance of consensus if including RE in the national curriculum is to be achieved:
“We will be shaped and guided by the sector on this important issue and, to take further steps on moving forward, there will need to be a clear shared position from the sector on the future of RE.”
Clearly upcoming discussions on this issue in the sector will be vital for determining what happens. We held our Cambridge OCR Religious Studies Forum on the day that the CAR and the government response were released and we discussed the proposal. There was a lot of excitement about its potential, tempered by a note of caution about practicalities and a reminder that the CAR itself notes that “making RE a national curriculum subject is not a panacea that will automatically improve the quality and quantity of compulsory RE.”
Inclusion of GCSE Religious Studies in performance measures
The government response to the CAR says that they will “develop and consult on an improved version of Progress 8 and Attainment 8”. This is developed in more detail in the government’s Progress 8 report. The following diagram explains how religious studies will be included in performance measures:
Progress 8 Proposal (source: Department of Education)
Slots 5 and 6 are ‘breadth’ slots. The report says:
“These two slots must be filled by GCSE (or relevant AS level) qualifications from two of the three categories below (the two slots cannot be filled by subjects from the same category). These slots will take the two highest point scores from qualifications that satisfy this requirement.
- Category A – Humanities – geography, history, religious studies
- Category B – Creative – art and design, music, drama, dance, design and technology
- Category C – Languages – modern foreign languages and ancient languages”
Given that GCSE Religious Studies has previously been excluded from performance measures (the English Baccalaureate), could this mean the potential for growth for the qualification in the future? The picture is not clear-cut, given amongst other issues the lack of specialist RE/RS teachers and the potential competition with geography and history. At the very least though, it would mean the removal of what has been seen as a barrier to growth.
Reform of GCSE and A Level Religious Studies
In relation to the proposal to include RE in the national curriculum, the CAR says: “Following any changes, attention may also need to be given to the subject content of the optional GCSE in Religious Studies.”
The government response to the CAR says: “we will update GCSEs in national curriculum subjects in line with the Review’s recommendation, as well as religious studies. Our aim is that some are ready for first teaching in 2029 and the rest for first teaching in 2030. We will ensure both groups cover a rich and broad range of subjects. We will also seek to update corresponding AS and A levels to be ready for first teaching in 2031 and 2032, as the cohort progresses to 16 - 19.”
We are therefore planning for a reformed GCSE Religious Studies with a first teach of 2029 or 2030, and a reformed A Level Religious Studies with a first teach of 2031 or 2032. This would mean a staggered period of reform for religious studies teachers (unlike in 2016 when both the new GCSE and new A Level were launched).
What does Cambridge OCR want to see in the reformed RS qualifications?
We would like to see a reduction in the volume of content for both GCSE and A Level. This is feedback we hear regularly from our teachers. We feel that it would enable students to spend longer on topics and deepen their understanding.
We also agree with the CAR’s “overarching recommendation that the curriculum reforms should be guided by the principle that they reflect the diversity of our society and the contributions that have shaped it.” As part of our commitment to this we have previously developed resources for new thinkers at A Level Religious Studies and professional development supporting teachers in increasing diversity in their teaching.
Another overall theme of the CAR is the need to prepare students for the future. As I explained in a previous blog on religious studies and careers guidance, religious studies is very well placed as a subject here. It teaches students critical skills and develops virtues. We think that by being able to study relevant contemporary issues like environmental ethics, animal ethics and digital ethics the new GCSE would be even better placed to help prepare young people for the modern world.
Finally, we want to ensure that the student perspective is considered. We want the reformed GCSE and A Level in Religious Studies to be engaging, relevant and up to date with developments in the subject. We are also committed to making assessment straightforward in religious studies as for all our qualifications,
Beyond this we will continue to listen very carefully to our teachers and other stakeholders as to what these reformed GCSE and A Level Religious Studies qualifications should look like. We very much welcome your input in what promises to be a very exciting few years ahead for the subject.
Join our CAR briefing webinar
We’ll be running a free CAR briefing webinar on 28 January to explain the impact of the Curriculum and Assessment Review on religious studies. There’ll also be the opportunity to ask questions and pass on your thoughts about the proposed changes. We hope you can join us.
Stay connected
At Cambridge OCR we’re committed to making assessment straightforward and are here to support teachers and students at every step of the way. Contact us if you have any specific questions about the CAR, or what it means for you and your students. You can always join our teacher panels to help us shape the development of these qualifications as we go through reform.
To stay up to date with subject news from us, make sure you sign up to receive our email updates. You can also follow @OCR_RS on X (formerly Twitter).
About the author
Richard studied philosophy and has a BA, MA and M.Phil from the University of East Anglia. Before joining OCR, he taught religious studies and philosophy for nearly 20 years at sixth form and university level, and has particular research interests in Learning Theory, Retrieval Practice and Flipped Learning. In his free time he enjoys weightlifting, rugby, gardening, nature/conservation and military history and also spends a lot of time looking after his children’s pets.
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