To ask the Minister of Education to detail any plans he has to review the 2007 Core Syllabus for Religious Education, further to the acknowledgement in the Strategic Review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum that there is agreement on the need to review the teaching of Religious Education and to include the teaching of religions other than Christianity in the primary syllabus.

My department is awaiting the outcome of the ongoing judicial review on the nature of Religious Education and collective worship in state-funded schools to inform a review of the core syllabus for Religious Education. Currently, it will not form part of the Taskforce’s work.

My department will then initiate a review, which will involve a wide range of key stakeholders including the four main churches in Northern Ireland.

This will also provide an opportunity to address the recommendation made in the Independent Review regarding the review of the RE syllabus. The Independent Review made no recommendations relating to collective worship in schools.