The Silent Collapse of RE PGCE courses: what the subject stands to lose

Helen Sheehan Senior Lecturer, Initial Teacher Education Sheffield Hallam University; Member of the NATRE Executive

It has been a tough few years for anyone working in initial teacher education (ITE) in an English university. Higher education institution (HEI)-led ITE has declined as financial pressures on universities have collided with policy shifts and increased diversification in teacher training. This “perfect storm” has led to growing questions about the viability of university-based routes and, in some cases, to their closure. Religious Education (RE) has felt this particularly acutely.

Universities across the sector are facing significant financial strain due to the long-standing cap on tuition fees, changes to visa policies for international students, and rising operating and staffing costs. With an increasing number of HEIs now operating in deficit (Office for Students, 2025), it is unsurprising that institutions are reviewing their portfolios and making difficult decisions about which courses remain viable.

At the same time, government policy has increasingly favoured school-based routes into teaching. In some regions, this has led to multiple providers in close geographical proximity – HEI-led and school-led – competing for the same limited number of applicants. For trainees, this landscape offers genuine choice. For some a school-based route where they can opt to train close to home is important for their own personal circumstances.  Or, where an applicant has worked in schools before (perhaps as a teaching assistant) they may not want to return to university, instead preferring to stay and train the environment with which they are familiar.  Others feel an HEI-led route better suits their needs, particularly if they are relocating and value the stability of established university partnerships.  Or they may want to draw on the wider support systems universities provide, including SEND provision and resources to support them in completing their academic work.

However, in shortage subjects such as RE, this increased choice has unintended consequences. A small pool of applicants becomes dispersed across multiple providers. Instead of ten RE trainees in a geographical area forming a single cohort, four may join an HEI-led course while the other six train across two local school-led providers. In the current financial climate, an HEI-led cohort of four trainees may not be considered viable.

Courses most at risk are those already struggling to meet recruitment targets; recruitment for RE in 2025-26 nationally was 54% of target, one of the lowest across all secondary subjects. The removal of the RE bursary for 2026–27 has exacerbated this challenge. Courses that recruited 8–12 trainees in 2025–26 may only have 4–6 for the coming year. Many potential RE teachers simply cannot afford to train without financial support—an issue that disproportionately affects parents, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and individuals from minority groups. As applicant numbers fall, courses become increasingly vulnerable.

We are now living with the consequences. In recent years, the number of HEIs offering an RE PGCE has fallen with the closure of several courses, including highly regarded programmes at Oxford, Exeter and Birmingham. This reduction matters for trainees for whom the university route is the most appropriate. Research suggests that the strong teacher identity developed through university-based programmes can enhance teachers’ capacity to respond to the challenges of the profession (Parsons et al., 2017). Universities also provide space for critical engagement with research, enabling trainees to engage with robust evidence whilst at the same time recognising that knowledge is “both contested and contestable” (UCET, 2020) and giving them space to engage in debate and rethink education in meaningful ways (Glazzard & Tate, 2024).  However, these benefits are increasingly unavailable to applicants in some regions where there is no longer a HEI-led PGCE within easy travelling distance of where they are based.

The impact is uneven across the country. Decisions to close HEI-led RE courses are made by individual universities based on their circumstances, without consideration of regional provision. This has resulted in areas such as the North East having no HEI-led RE PGCE courses, while regions like the North West retain several well-established programmes. Once a course closes, the likelihood of it being reinstated is extremely low—especially in a subject that consistently struggles to meet recruitment targets and lacks financial incentives to attract trainees.

There are also significant unintended, and sometimes unseen, consequences. The closure of RE PGCE courses risks diminishing the subject’s research capacity. As course leaders leave or move into other roles, expertise is lost and the research infrastructure within the RE community shrinks. This has knock-on effects for practising RE teachers seeking to pursue postgraduate study. Additionally, the loss of HEI-led courses removes subject expertise and support from entire regions, further weakening local RE networks and professional development opportunities.

Whilst the future might look uncertain, it is by no means decided.  Given the current political discourse around giving regions more power to make local decisions, this is the right time to explore how to ensure we can sustain regional training opportunities, subject expertise and research capacity.   If we are committed to ensuring all young people have access to high-quality RE provision, we need to raise awareness before more courses and expertise are lost.

References

Glazzard, J., & Tate, A. (2025). Reclaiming Initial Teacher Education in universities: Moving beyond a technicist model. Policy Futures in Education, 23(2), 404–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103241279582

Office for Students.  (2025). Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England. Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England 2025

Parsons, S. A., Vaughn, M., Malloy, J. A., & Pierczynski, M. (2017). The development of teachers’ visions from preservice into their first years teaching: A longitudinal study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 64, 12–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.01.018

University Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET). (2020). Intellectual Base of Teacher Education Report. London: UCET. Available at: Intellectual Base of Teacher Education report (updated February 2020) | UCET