Written question WQ87735

The Welsh Government’s statutory anti-bullying guidance Rights, Respect, Equality provides information for all involved in preventing and challenging bullying in schools. This includes specific guidance on bullying connected with race, religion and/or culture and highlights the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010.

Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) is a statutory requirement of the Curriculum for Wales and is mandatory for all learners from ages 3 to 16. In the Curriculum for Wales, RVE is objective, critical and pluralistic, both in content and pedagogy; it is not about making learners ‘religious or ‘non-religious’.

The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 ensures that all learners must be offered opportunities through RVE to engage with different religions and non-religious philosophical convictions in their own locality and in Wales, as well as in the wider world.

One of the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales is to support learners to become ‘healthy, confident individuals’ and the characteristics of this include being able to build relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and developing their mental and emotional well-being by developing their resilience and empathy.