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 Vice-Chair reminded Members of the need to declare any known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting.  No declarations 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 during the meeting.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th December 2010.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th December 2010 be confirmed and signed as a correct record, subject to a correction to Minute 26 bullet point 2, that Penny Summers assisted with the Primary Network session on foundation materials rather than leading the session.

Matters Arising – 1) Further to Minute 26, it was agree that actions outstanding from the 2010/11 Delivery Plan would be carried forward to the next Plan where appropriate, to be discussed later in the agenda.  2) Further to Minute 25, Mr Mark Cawte advised that Mrs Sarah Lane Cawte had been formally nominated to be the deputy representative to represent the United Reformed Church on the SACRE.  The Clerk confirmed that this would be the subject of report for formal approval at the next meeting.

Mr David Burbidge will welcome the SACRE to Gorse Hill Baptist and will provide a short presentation at the meeting about his faith and the Baptist Church and will answer any questions from SACRE members.

Mr David Burbidge welcomed the SACRE to Gorse Hill Baptist Church.  He advised the SACRE on the history of the Baptist Church and the beliefs and work of Gorse Hill Baptist Church in particular, and answered questions. 

Resolved – That Mr David Burbidge be thanked for his interesting presentation and for hosting the SACRE meeting.

Ms Katy Staples presented a list and the press coverage of events which had taken place in schools for Celebrating RE Month, and commended the members of the SACRE who had attended these events, and made links with local schools.  Individual members of the SACRE reported back on the activities they had attended: 

a)     Reverend Norma McKemey had visited the mosque with children from Liden School, and advised on the way in which the children received a presentation, and were welcomed and had their questions answered.

b)   Reverend Arthur Woo and Penny Summers reported back on a visit to the Sikh Temple and the quality of the presentation and welcome, which enabled the children to experience a sense of reference within a place of worship.  Reverend Arthur Woo had also visited a local church with the same set of children.

c)   Ms Jo Garton tabled a description of her visit to South Marston C of E Primary, and the quality of a storyteller of bible stories, bringing the stories to life.

d)   Mr Dinesh Patel advised on his visits to Orchid Vale Primary and Covingham Park Primary Schools within encounter days focused on Holi and Encountering Hinduism.  He was able to use a 15 foot timeline to show how Hinduism fitted within key events in history and culture which the children could identify with, and in the context of other faiths. 

Ms Katy Staples advised that Swindon Academy were holding a session on 16^th March, quizzing Bishop Lee about his Faith and Medical Ethics, and asked any member who would be free to attend to contact her.  In addition, Miss Lottie Rowe advised that her secondary class would be holding an early morning video conference with a group of children in another country in the next few weeks, to discuss issues of difference and faith, as part of a Face to Faith Project.

Resolved – 1) That the SACRE welcomed and celebrated the range of events held locally as part of the national Celebrating RE Month.

The SACRE considered a report of the SACRE Advisor setting out the proposed Annual Report of the SACRE for the period September 2009 to September 2010, and a proposed Development Plan for 2010-13.  Ms Katy Staples advised that the Annual Report this year was written in a shorter more accessible style, including examples of local RE, so that it could be sent to schools and governors.

Mr Paddy Bradley (Director of Schools and Learning) advised the SACRE on the context for Religious Education examination results, which were included in the Annual Report.  It was recognised that the reduced amount of information available on teaching and the extent to which schools were delivering on the RE curriculum, was not unique to RE, but was true of many subjects where inspection reports no longer commented directly on individual subject teaching.  It was noted that the number of A-C grades achieved in RE in local schools was generally on an upward trend in the last few years, and was above the national average.  A number of schools were choosing to teach either a full or short course curriculum at GCSE or to offer RE through encounter or alternate courses.  There had been a 17% reduction in RE short-courses taken, and a 15% increase in full-course, although the overall numbers of pupils taking one or other had gone down.  The SACRE asked for additional information to be provided to them for the Annual Report on the number of pupils in the cohort to give a context to the number of pupils taking RE examinations.  It was suggested that the report might also commend specific schools where there was an excellent offer and take-up of RE examinations.

The SACRE felt that RE made a particular curriculum contribution, enabling children to discuss and question in a way that benefitted other learning.  In relation to this, it was asked if the Director of Schools and Learning could provide information to SACRE members on the extent to which schools that have RE examinations, show better overall examination results, in terms of the number achieving 5 GCSE A to C grades and 2 A levels.

The SACRE was concerned that the plans for the English Baccalaureate, which currently did not include RE, was leading to schools placing less priority on RE teaching at secondary level, which could also have implications for the recruitment of specialist RE co-ordinators and teachers.  As part of the next agenda item, it was agreed the SACRE would discuss a letter to go to the Local Authority, Head Teachers and Governors, and be copied to the MPs, on the legal requirement for schools to teach RE to all children.  The concern that RE teaching was being marginalised in schools should also be highlighted to all Members of the Council.

The SACRE discussed the SACRE Development Plan for 2010-13.  One of the key tasks for the next year was the dissemination of the Update to the Locally Agreed Syllabus.  It was agreed that the actions outstanding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The SACRE considered a report of the SACRE Advisor on the national developments in relation to the provision of RE and the implications for local teaching.  As had been discussed as part of the last Agenda item, it was noted that the humanities requirement in the English Baccalaureate did not currently include Religious Education.  There had been public lobbying on the qualifying subjects and the Government was currently reviewing this position.  However, there was concern that schools were already placing less priority on the teaching of Religious Education as a result.  It was part of the SACRE’s role to advise the Local Authority of such concerns and to help schools to fulfil their statutory obligation to teach Religious Education.  The SACRE reviewed a draft letter to go to all schools reminding them of their legal responsibilities and a short survey to Secondary Schools asking for their current practice for teaching RE and future intentions.

Resolved – 1) That the report be noted.

2) That the letter attached as Report Appendix 2 be sent to the Local Authority, Headteachers and Governors and copied for information to the MPs, to set out the need for schools to continue to teach Religious Education in accordance with statutory requirements and the Locally Agreed Syllabus.

3) That the survey attached as Agenda Appendix 2 be sent to Secondary Schools, subject to a change for the questions to ask about the current year 2010/11, with an additional question asking if schools plan to make any significant changes for next year 2011/12.

Mrs Penny Summers and Ms Janet French reported back on the Primary Network meeting that had taken place on 20^th January, which focused on using Solihull guidance for foundation stage teaching.  They confirmed that teachers were enthusiastic about the guidance, which was easily accessible and included good resources.  It was noted that the existing version was available online and a new version would be published soon, and it would be good to include a link on Schools Online, particularly for new RE co-ordinators.  The next Primary network meeting would be held on 12^th May, focused on the update of the locally agreed syllabus.

Ms Katy Staples and Mrs Tracy Mason reported on the Secondary Network Meeting held on 26^th January 2011.  This had been attended by 6 teachers and had been a good discussion on good practice for the teaching of GCSE RE and strategies for effective revision.  The next session had been scheduled for 16^th June, to discuss the update of the locally agreed syllabus, but would be moved as this was now the launch day for the Locally Agreed Syllabus Update.

Resolved – 1) That the Network Meeting update be noted.

2) That an online link to the Solihull Foundation Stage material be placed on Schools Online.

3) The SACRE Advisor arrange a new date for the next Secondary Network Meeting.

The proposed date for the next meeting of the SACRE is Tuesday 7^th June 2011 at 6 pm.  The Clerk will write to all members of SACRE to confirm the remaining dates for the municipal year 2011/12 once the calendar of meetings has been approved by the Council.

The SACRE noted that the provisional dates for SACRE meetings for the next municipal year were 7^th June 2011 (combined with an Agreed Syllabus Conference meeting), 27^th September 2011, 6^th December 2011, and 27^th March 2012.  These dates were subject to confirmation by Council on 14^th April 2011.

The Vice-Chair closed the meeting and thanked Mr David Burbidge of Gorse Hill Baptist Church for hosting the SACRE meeting.