Agenda item

            Catherine Coster (SACRE Advisor) introduced to the Conference the proposed revised Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education as circulated with the Agenda for the meeting, which had been prepared in consultation with small working groups of teachers.  The main changes from the previous Agreed Syllabus were as follows –

-         A revision of the levels of attainment to fit with the Non-Statutory National Framework for QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority).

-         Guidance for those teaching pupils with special educational needs.

-         Guidance about issues of inclusion and links with ICT and citizenship.

-         Four curriculum maps to guide schools through the choices they might make for their particular school community at Key Stage 1 and 2.

-         New programmes of study for Key Stage 1 and 2, which will aid teachers in planning and assessment.

            In addition, the programmes of study for Key Stage 3 were circulated at the meeting in a revised format to match Key Stage 1 and 2 materials, together with a new Key Stage 3 unit of work ‘Encountering Islam: Living in Peace?’.

            The Conference noted that no material for Key Stage 4 had been included in the draft syllabus because the recommendation was that students would study a GCSE short or long course after Key Stage 3.  For those schools wishing to have a school accredited course a former set of Key Stage 4 material would be relevant, and it was agreed that that this could be included as an Appendix to the main document.

The Conference considered the draft syllabus in detail and agreed the following amendments –

·        Whole Document – The document refer consistently to ‘pupil’ instead of  ‘student’, subject to Ofsted guidance requiring the use of ‘student’.

·        Page 13 – Curriculum Overview – At Key Stage 3 there be no major or minor focus but the syllabus cover Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism, in addition to the principal focus of Christianity.

·        Page 19 – The term ‘Entry Level’ to be explained in a footnote.

·        Pages 36, 28, 40, 42 – Curriculum Maps – Some clarification be given to which topics are the major focus for study and where a topic is intended to be a one-off session within a term of study, and the topic summaries be amended to match those set out in the Programmes of Study.

·        Pages 43 – 110 – Programmes of Study – All references to ‘Muhammad’ throughout the programmes be replaced by ‘The Prophet Muhammad’.

·        Page 51 – Key Stage 1 – Islam – In the introduction to this section God be referred to as ‘the Most Merciful’ instead of ‘the Most Great’.

·        Page 57 – Key Stage 1 – Hinduism – The title of the Unit be changed to ‘How do Hindus worship at Home’, and the examples for Level 1, be changed from a focus on Ganesha, to a more general understanding of how Hindus worship God.  Catherine Coster, in consultation with the Hindu Community representatives, make other adjustments to the Programmes of Study as required to correct this focus.

·        Page 62 – Key Stage 1 – Sikhism – The text be amended to separate the exploration of Guru Nanak’s birthday from events at Baisakhi, as these are celebrated at different times of year.

·        Page 79 – Key Stage 2 – Islam – In the introduction the Prophet Muhammad be referred to as a ‘man’ not an ‘ordinary man’.

            The Conference divided into their four groups to vote upon the revised syllabus, subject to the incorporation of the amendments set out above and to the SACRE Advisor making any further amendments required to correct formatting and factual errors.

            Resolved: – (1) That one Councillor (Councillor Maurice Fanning) be sufficient to constitute the Councillors Group for the purposes of the Agreed Syllabus Conference; and

            (2) That the four Groups of the Conference unanimously agree that the Agreed Syllabus as revised be formally approved.