Agenda and minutes

Members are reminded that at the start of the meeting they should declare any known interests in any matter to be considered, and also during the meeting if it becomes apparent that they have an interest in the matters being discussed.

The Chair reminded members of the SACRE of the need to declare any interests in any matters to be discussed by the Committee.  No declarations of interests were made.

See explanatory note below.  Please phone the Committee Officer whose name and number appears at the top of this agenda if you need further guidance.

No public questions were received.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th December 2008.

            Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting of the SACRE held on 8^th December 2009 be confirmed and signed.

·    The SACRE has received ten complimentary copies of an updated booklet from NASACRE ‘So You’re Joining Your Local SACRE’ intended for new SACRE Members.  A copy will be provided to all new members as they join.  However, if any existing members would like a copy please contact the Clerk.

·    QCA has provided non-statutory guidance to the Authority recommending that SACREs whose Agreed Syllabus is due for revision during 2009/10, defer any revision to take into account changes to the primary curriculum and updated government guidance on RE (the successor to Circular 1/94) when finalised.  This SACRE’s Agreed Syllabus is due for revision in September 2010.

The SACRE noted that 10 copies of the NASACRE publication 'So you're joining your local SACRE' had been received and agreed that copies be provided to new members and loaned to existing members of the SACRE on request.

The SACRE noted that the QCA had provided non-statutory guidance recommending that SACREs where the Agreed Syllabus was due for revision during 2009/10 defer revision to take into account changes to the primary curriculum and updated government guidance on RE when finalised.  It was noted that this SACRE's agreed syllabus was due for update in June 2010.

The Chair thanked Ms Jo Garton for hosting the SACRE meeting at Bridlewood Primary School on this occasion.

            The SACRE received a report from the Director of Lwa and Democratic Services, including notification that the Venerable Alan Hawker had stepped down from membership of the Church of England Group with effect from this meeting, and that the SACRE retained two other vacancies, a vacancy for a Catholic Representative on the Other Faiths Group and for a secondary teacher on the Teachers Group.

            Resolved - 1) That the Venerable Alan Hawker be thanked for his contribution to the work of the SACRE over many years, including several years as Chair and Vice Chair.

            2) That the SACRE Advisor and Clerk seek representatives for the vacancies on Group B (Church of England), Group D (Other Faiths - Catholic representative) and Group C (Teacher Organisations - Secondary representative).

            The SACRE received an update from the Community Support Manager and the Neighbourhood Engagement Manager on the progress of the Faith to Face Project, working with faith clubs in four secondary schools in Swindon, to initiate and support interfaith dialogue between young people from different schools, neighbourhoods and faith positions.  The Neighbourhood Engagement Manager discussed the progress in the three initial clubs and how this would be applied in working in the fourth club just being developed.  It was noted that the showcase event arising from the project, including film, dance and drama would take place in July, to which all SACRE members would be invited.  It was suggested that other school representatives also be invited to the event.

            Resolved - 1) That the Director of Community be authorised to submit an end of year report on the project and the use of the Young Inter-Faith Projects Fund grant to the National Association of SACREs on the basis of the report provided to the SACRE.

            2) That the Director of Community share the teaching resources and materials developed through the project could be shared with other SACREs and with the NASACRE, as part of the project outcomes.

            The SACRE Advisor presented a draft SACRE Development Plan for April 2009 - March 2010 for approval.  This had been drafted on the basis of the SACRE's statutory duties for supporting and monitoring the delivery of Religious Education and Collective Worship, and areas identified for development in the Annual Report for 2007/2008 agreed at the last meeting.  The SACRE considered questionnaires to go into schools to enable the SACRE to fulfil its role of monitoring the provision of RE in schools.  The SACRE agreed that these should be sent to schools, via the RE Coordinators and Heads, and asked that the SACRE Advisor develop a similar questionnaire to enable the SACRE to understand how collective worship was being provided in schools.

            Resolved - 1) That the SACRE Development Plan for April 2009 to March 2010 be approved.

            2) That the questionnaires to go into schools on the delivery of Religious Education be approved for circulation to schools and the SACRE Advisor be requested to develop a similar questionnaire on the provision of Collective Worship.

            The SACRE Advisor reported back on the meeting of the primary cluster, attaching a copy of the notes of the meeting.  It was noted that the Secondary cluster meeting would be held this week, as this had been delayed from February due to the snow.

            The SACRE asked that they receive regular updates from the primary and secondary cluster meetings.  The SACRE welcomed in particular the feedback from the primary cluster meeting, including the decision to use its next cluster meetings to utilise a summary version of the AERIAC (Association of RE Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants) toolkit, recommended by the SACRE, to evaluate the quality of teaching of RE, in small groups with experienced subject leaders grouped with those with less experience.

            Resolved – That the SACRE Advisor asked for regular updates on cluster meetings, both primary and secondary.

            Katy Staples (SACRE Advisor) updated the SACRE on the progress of the national Primary Review, and the potential implications for teaching of Religious Education, including the differing outcomes that could result from the Rose and Cambridge Reviews.  The SACRE discussed how 'areas of learning' rather than subjects might change the curriculum for primary schools, and the potential and risks to the delivery of Religious Education under the new models.

            Resolved - That the update on the Primary Review and the implications for the SACRE be noted.

The dates for the meetings of the SACRE in 2009/10 have yet to be finalised.  The SACRE will be advised of the proposed dates at the meeting.

            It was noted that the next meeting was scheduled for 23^rd June 2009 and the SACRE supported the proposal for moving the day of SACRE to a Tuesday.  It was agreed that the Clerk to the SACRE would write to all members to confirm the dates for the meetings in 2009/10 when finalised by the Council.