Religion Values & Ethics (RVE)

Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) is the name the Welsh Government has given to Religious Education in the Curriculum for Wales.  RVE is mandatory for all learners aged 3 to 16.  This now sits within the Humanities Area of Learning and Experience (AoLE), along with Geography, History, Business Studies and Social Studies. RVE is still locally determined and therefore, as well as having regard to the Curriculum for Wales Framework Guidance on Hwb, all schools in Caerphilly must have regard to the Caerphilly Agreed Syllabus for RVE when designing their school curriculum. 

The Curriculum for Wales requires all schools to offer a broad and balanced education, which enables learners to make links between the different disciplines and areas of learning and experience. Therefore, curriculum design should draw together different disciplines, including RVE, to provide learners with a coherent and   holistic learning experience, which incorporates the following:

As learners progress, they should have greater opportunities to engage with different disciplines and to specialise within them, particularly when they reach the later progression steps.

While learners should have opportunities to specialise, the curriculum must remain broad and balanced, and each learner should continue to draw on learning from each AoLE throughout their time in compulsory education, which includes the mandatory element of RVE. 

From September 2022, there will be no parental right to withdraw from RVE as the new Curriculum for Wales is implemented in their year group. The parental right to withdraw will remain in place until their year group becomes subject to the Curriculum for Wales.

Collective Worship is distinctive from, and additional to, curriculum time given to RVE. Collective worship sits outside the curriculum and has its own legal standing and requirements. Parents may still request that their children are withdrawn from collective worship if they wish.