TOUGH assessments for schools are putting them off teaching RE, councillors have been warned.

Religious education does not form part of the new “EBacc” school performance indicator for GCSEs, and RE advisors have told city councillors this could be causing a decrease in pupils taking RE at GCSE.

York’s Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education (SACRE) has presented its annual report to a council education committee. SACRE member Mike Jory said: “Schools would be loathe to admit they are narrowing the curriculum because of accountability, but all we have to do is look at the options being offered.”

Schools are under massive pressure, he added, and although RE is in a stronger position than some arts subjects, advisors expect the number of pupils taking GCSE full courses in the subject to fall.

Mr Jory and fellow SACRE member Shabana Jabbar also told councillors that despite a growing national movement of parents removing their children from RE lessons, York had not seen many such occasions.

They said concerns were often due to misunderstandings of what RE lessons involved. Ms Jabbar said one complaint about references to “jihad” in a York lesson about peace and conflict - part of the curriculum - had served as a reminder that “we need to be more careful about how we word things for young children who are impressionable.”