ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to introduce the concept of spirituality as it is variously understood and currently debated in society and in education. It discusses the legal requirements for addressing young people’s spiritual development in state education, the guidelines produced by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the documents produced by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA – now the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)). The SCAA documents present different understandings of the nature of spirituality and the relationship between spirituality and religious belief with reference to the development of spiritual education in state schooling. This leads us to consider the ways in which you may address spiritual development in practice within your teaching, the curriculum and RE.
