Agenda and minutes

Resolved – 1) That Councillor Doreen Dart be appointed as the Chair of the SACRE for the 2011/12 municipal year. 

2) That Ms Jo Garton be appointed as Vice-Chair of the SACRE. 

As Councillor Dart (the Chair) had to leave the meeting at this point, Ms Jo-Garton chaired the remainder of the meeting.

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.

The SACRE received a public question from Mr Paul Sunners relating to the SACRE’s consideration of the current national position of Religious Education (RE), and the place of spirituality in One Swindon. 

It was noted that the current position of RE had been discussed at the last meeting and members of the SACRE had made representations to the Government on the inclusion of RE in the English Baccalaureate, and this would be discussed further in Agenda item ‘National Developments for RE’.

Resolved – That Mr Sunners receive a written answer in respect of his question.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th March 2011 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The SACRE considered a report of the Director of Law and Democratic Services recommending amendments to its membership.  The SACRE noted that since the last meeting Mrs Helen Hancox had stepped down as the representative of the United Reformed Church on Group A, and Mrs Sarah Lane-Cawte had been nominated in her place.  In addition, Mr Malkit Singh Virk had stepped down as the representative of the Sikh Community and Mr Arun Bedi, the current deputy, had been nominated in his place.  In addition, the SACRE noted that the full membership was due for renewal in September 2011.

Resolved – 1) That the Membership update be noted.

2) That Mrs Sarah Lane-Cawte be confirmed as a member of the SACRE on Group A (Other Christian Denominations and Other Religions) to represent the United Reformed Church for an initial period up until September 2011.

3) That Mr Arun Bedi be confirmed as a full member of SACRE on Group A (Other Christian Denominations and Other Religions) to represent the Sikh Community for an initial period up until September 2011.

4) That the SACRE Advisor continue to seek a suitable representative for the remaining Group C (Teacher Organisation) vacancy to represent the National Union of Teachers (NUT).   

5) That the Clerk to the SACRE contact the current representatives for Groups A, B, C and their nominating organisations to confirm if they wish for their memberships to be renewed for a further 4 year term from September 2011 in accordance with the SACRE constitution, and that the revised membership of the SACRE be recommended to the Council for approval to take effect from September 2011.

The SACRE heard from Ms Charlotte Rowe, that three or four short films have been made by Create Studios in conjunction with Swindon Schools.  All the short films were about faith and belief, and were entitled Reaching out for Change, and were a continuation of the Face to Faith Project.  The SACRE watched the short film from Ridgeway School, entitled ‘Same Difference’’, which was about a Muslim and Non-Muslim Girl and what was similar and different between them.  Ms Charlotte Rowe advised the SACRE regarding the process for making the film.

Resolved  - 1) That the Reaching Out for Change Films be welcomed.

2) That the SACRE Advisor and Director of Schools and Learning consider ways in which the films could be shared with other schools.

The SACRE received a further feedback from members of the SACRE who had attended events as part of Celebrating RE Month, held since the last meeting.  This included a day on Easter at St Francis Church of England Primary on 6^th April 2011, which David Burbidge and Steph Mundin reported on, and a question and answer session with Bishop Lee on Medical Ethics and Faith at Swindon Academy on 16^th March, which Mark Cawte had attended.  Lottie Rowe advised that the video conference for her class with a class in New Delhi scheduled for 16^th May had been prevented through a failure of technology, but another attempt was planned with a school in New York in the next week.  Lottie Rowe also extended an invitation to SACRE Members to end a Burma Day to be held on 20^th June.

Resolved – That the SACRE welcome the feedback on events held locally as part of the national Celebrating RE Month.

The SACRE received a report from the SACRE Advisor to provide an update on the latest national developments in relation to the provision of RE, including a paper from Mr John Keast.  The paper was annotated with questions from the SACRE advisor on particular aspects of the potential provision of RE and the use of the Agreed Syllabus in relation to a) the increase in numbers of Academy schools, b) the new Ofsted Framework’s emphasis on provision rather than outcomes, c) the continued national discussions as to whether RE can be included in the new English Baccalaureate.  The SACRE discussed these questions in detail.

In relation to the growth in Academies, the SACRE agreed that it would wish for schools to be asked to continue to use the Locally Agreed Syllabus, and for RE teachers to be continue to be supported through network meetings and by the SACRE.  The Director of Schools and Learning highlighted how the role of the Local Authority, its capacity, and its relationship with schools would be changing, but this would not reduce its role to champion high quality education.

Resolved- That the report be noted.

The SACRE Advisor presented to the SACRE an update on its Development Plan, which had been agreed at the last meeting.  The Plan now indicated how it was anticipated the SACRE budget of £5000 would be used during the year to deliver the plan, and also set out any progress of action to date.

Resolved – 1) That the SACRE note the updates to the SACRE Development Plan for 2011/13 as attached at Appendix 1 to the Agenda Report.

2) That an update to the Development Plan 2011/13 be reported to each meeting of the SACRE at each meeting in order that progress can be monitored.

It was noted that a Primary Network meeting had been held on 12^th May 2011 at St Francis Church of England School.  This had focused on an enquiry led approach to RE.  It was noted that this session had been well supported.  Ms Katy Staples (SACRE Advisor) would shortly be publicising the dates for network meetings for the next academic year.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

SACRE meetings had been arranged for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year to take place on Tuesday 27^th September 2011 at 6 pm, Tuesday 6^th December 2011 at 6 pm and Tuesday 27^th March 2012.  The Clerk to the SACRE invited any members to contact her if they wished to host a meeting at a Faith or School venue.