Agenda and minutes

Sarah Lane-Cawte declared a non-prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 8 (National Developments for RE) as she was a Board Member of the National RE Council.

No public questions were submitted at the meeting.

The SACRE is asked to appoint a Vice-Chair for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year.

In accordance with the SACRE Constitution, the nomination cannot come from the same Group as currently holds the position of Chair (Group D).

Resolved - That Mr Mark Cawte be appointed as Vice-Chair of the SACRE for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th September 2011.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th September 2011 be approved, subject to some minor typographical amendments and the inclusion of Mr Paddy Bradley (Director of Schools and Learning) and Ms Sarah Foulkes (School Improvement Advisor) in the list of apologies.

Matters Arising –

Minute 13 – Mr Paul Summers confirmed that the Restorative Justice seminar had been excellent, with over 100 people attending.

Minute 15 – The Clerk reported on further correspondence received from the British Humanist Association.  The SACRE confirmed that they did not wish to review the membership of the SACRE until after the release of the 2010 Census Results.

Minute 16 – The list of Junior Schools in the Borough were tabled.  Ms Sarah Foulkes confirmed which schools in Swindon were currently Academies.  It was noted that the letter from the Chair was to be sent to new Academies about the SACRE.

The SACRE considered a report of the Director of Law and Democratic Services providing an update on the SACRE Membership.  It was noted that the Church of England Diocese had nominated Reverend Beth Brown, an associate Minister of Dorcan, to fill the current vacancy on Group B (Church of England Group).  Two vacancies remained on Group C (Teacher Organisations).

Resolved – 1) That the SACRE endorse the appointment of Reverend Beth Brown to Group B (Church of England) for a four year term to end September 2015.

2)  That the SACRE Advisor continues to seek suitable representatives for the two Group C (Teacher Organisations) vacancies.

It was agreed at the last meeting it might be helpful for the SACRE to receive regular updates from Members of the SACRE who are teachers on what is happening locally in RE and examples of recent projects or work. 

On this occasion, Janet French will give a short presentation to the SACRE on examples of Key Stage 1 Religious Education.

It had been agreed at the last meeting that it might be helpful for the SACRE to receive regular updates from the SACRE members who are teachers, on what is happening locally in RE and examples of recent projects or work.

Miss Janet French presented to the SACRE examples of Key Stage 1 RE, which her Year 1 class had recently completed on a RE Unit on ‘ Why do Christians pray?’ and ‘Is there such a thing as a ‘good’ prayer?’.  The SACRE broke into small groups to undertake some of the tasks that the children had been given, to understand the skills of reflection and questioning used, and how these might apply in other RE units.  

Resolved – That the example of Key Stage 1 RE be noted, and Miss Janet French be thanked for her demonstration.

The SACRE received a report on National Developments in RE, including information about the a) National RE Conference held on 1^st / 2^nd October, b) the ARIEAC Conference, and c) best practice guides for SACREs from the National Association of SACREs (NASACRE) on the statutory responsibilities of Local Authorities to support SACREs and the roles of the Clerk and Advisor.

Ms Katy Staples and Mrs Sarah Lane-Cawte had both attended the national RE Conference and reported back. One of the purposes of the conference was to discuss the RE Council becoming an umbrella organisation for all other RE national bodies, in order to give a stronger advocate voice for RE at a national level.   Sarah Lane-Cawte advised that the RE Council had since adopted its Strategic Plan, which could only be achieved through collaborative working.  The purpose was to strengthen RE from within.  She advised that additional information on the Plan and the Conference was available on the RE Council website.

It was noted that the RE Council had been discussing its position on provision on Collective Worship.  It was noted that the SACRE would be considering revising its guidance as part of the next agenda item.

Ms Katy Staples advised on the ARIEAC (Association of Religious Education Inspectors, Advisors and Consultants) Day Conference in Birmingham, which had discussed the direction of the proposed general national curriculum.  It was anticipated that this would move towards end of key stage statements in place of levels, and how this might work for RE was discussed.  The conference also received a report from Alan Brine, Ofsted's subject specialist adviser for RE, about assessment in RE.  This highlighted that RE was the worst assessed subject of any of the humanities subjects, and the variety of factors which led to this across the Country.

The SACRE also noted the NASACRE statement on SACREs, the Local Authority’s responsibilities to set up a SACRE, and the SACRE Clerk and Advisors’ roles.

Resolved –1) That the report and the update on national developments in RE be noted.

2) That the SACRE Clerk, Advisor and Local Authority Representative be thanked for their work for the SACRE.

The SACRE received a report on its Development Plan for 2011/13, and a progress update.  Ms Katy Staples confirmed that a half-day training session on the Locally Agreed Syllabus would be offered to teachers at the Nythe (or Drove) Training Centre on 1^st May, in accordance with Target A (1). 

The SACRE Advisor suggested that a Sub-Group of the SACRE be set up to report back to the SACRE with revised guidance on Collective Worship, which could be recommend to all schools to meet Target B (1).

It was agreed that Teachers should be asked to provide examples of RE work to include in the Annual Report, which would be produced for the next meeting (Target C (1)).

Resolved – 1) That the SACRE notes the updates to the SACRE Development Plan for 2011/13.

2)  That the arrangements for a half-day training to be offered to teachers on the Locally Agreed Syllabus on 1^st May 2012 be welcomed.

3)  That a SACRE Sub-Group be established to include Mr David Burbidge, Miss Janet French, Mrs Sarah Lane-Cawte, Mr Paul Sunners, and Mrs Mandy Saddleton, in addition to any other SACRE members interested, to review and update the Guidance on Collective Worship, and report back with recommendations to a future meeting of the SACRE.

4) That teachers be invited via Schools Online and Network Meetings to submit examples of RE work and events which took place from September 2010 to September 2011, for inclusion in the SACRE Annual Report.

The SACRE received the minutes of the last Humanities Teaching and Learning Group for RE for secondary academy schools, which had replaced the secondary network meetings.  It was noted that the Group were keen to benefit from the SACRE Advisor’s support, if suitable dates could be agreed.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Primary Network would be taking place on 19^th January 2012 at Orchid Vale Primary School and would focus on Developing Spirituality in RE.  

Resolved – That the network meeting update be noted, and the involvement of the SACRE Advisor in the Teaching and Learning Group for RE be welcomed.

The next meeting of the SACRE is on 27^th March 2012 at 6 pm at a venue to be confirmed.

The next meeting of the SACRE would be held on 27^th March 2012 at 6 pm at a venue to be confirmed.