Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education
Thursday 5 March 2015 6.00 pm
ROYAL BOROUGH OF WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD
STANDING ADVISORY COUNCIL ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (SACRE)
5 March 2015
PRESENT: Mike Gammage (Chairman), Karen Butler (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Natasha Airey, Louise Ceska, Deborah Firth, Felicity Gunn, Joan Hicks, Rev Gary Homewood, Councillor Richard Kellaway, Barabara Meaney, Councillor Eileen Quick, Ravinder Singh and Anthea West.
Officers in attendance: Anne Andrews, Rob Cowan, and Jo Fageant.
 | | ACTION | ||
| 1 | Welcome | | ||
| The Chairman welcomed the SACRE Members to the meeting. | | ||
| 2 | Apologies for Absence & Declarations of Interest | | ||
| Apologies for absence were received from Ila Gongotra, Hilary Harris and Liz Jenkins. | | ||
| 3 | Minutes | | ||
| Members approved the minutes of the previous meeting on 4 November 2014. | | ||
| 4 | Membership Update | | ||
| The SACRE noted the current membership of the SACRE:
| | ||
| 5 | Letter from Lord Nash | | ||
| The SACRE noted the letter from Lord Nash on page 2 of the agenda. The Chairman noted that the letter recognised the importance of the SACRE however the professional advisor questioned whether Lord Nash completely understood the complexities of the situation regarding faith schools.
| Anne Andrews | ||
| 6 | SACRE Self-Evaluation Framework – Section 1 Conclusions | | ||
| The SACRE agreed the Section 1 conclusions on page 5 of the agenda. | | ||
| 7 | SACRE Dashboard | | ||
| The SACRE noted the GCSE results at page 6 of the agenda. It was noted that there was no indication of whether the courses studied were short courses or whether exams were sat in year 10 or 11. It was requested that data be provided with more information in the future. The professional advisor highlighted Ofsted’s new found focus on promoting British values and preparing children for life in modern Britain. Members discussed whether RE should be part of the English Baccalaureate. Although disappointment was expressed that RE had been left out, it was noted that to include it would mean it would have to be chosen over history and geography, therefore leaving RE out put it in a stronger position. Members noted that many primary school teachers did not possess enough subject knowledge of RE. Those who recognised that they did not were the ones who would make the effort to seek it out. Additionally, not all teachers were willing to organise trips to places of worship such as synagogues or mosques. | | ||
| 8 | RE Teacher Training and Support | | ||
| The SACRE considered the schemes of work from Discovery RE and the Oxford Diocese. The Oxford scheme was described as cheaper and provided a greater depth of progression. However the Discovery scheme included some great questions. Both schemes followed a similar approach of engage, explore and communicate. The Oxford scheme had been written specifically for the Pan-Berkshire syllabus. It was noted that the SACRE was not necessarily in place to promote one scheme or the other, but to make schools aware of the schemes which could be done through the newsletter. The SACRE noted the decision of the Chairs of the 6 SACREs in Berkshire to make a bid for funding from Culham St Gabriel’s for training for hosts of places of worship. The bid had to be approved by assessors and the board of trustees. The proposal sat along side another proposal to train teachers which would be the focus of the summer term meeting of the 6 SACREs. The SACRE considered the draft newsletter. It was noted SACRE members would need to write it to avoid it reading like a LA newsletter. It was noted that the schemes of work could be discussed neutrally, inviting feedback. Locally focused units should be highlighted such as West Berkshire’s website for local religious trails. It was noted that the information regarding training could be broken down into training for the different key stages. Members noted that there was an ambition to create a website however the content was already online. | | ||
| 9 | SACRE Self-Evaluation Framework – section 5: the Contribution of SACRE to Promoting Cohesion Across the Community | | ||
| The SACRE considered the questions in section 5 of the SACRE Self-Evaluation Framework. They made the following conclusions: The SACRE had a membership which broadly reflected the religious diversity of the local community, but could do more.
SACRE Members’ knowledge of the religious, cultural and ethnic dimensions of the local community, or of local interfaith activities, was limited. Action: The SACRE will look for opportunities to better appreciate diversity in the Royal Borough, and to engage with local interfaith groups where appropriate. Action: The SACRE will seek to make this explicit in the next locally Agreed Syllabus and related guidance. It might be helpful for SACRE members to be better informed about initiatives to promote community cohesion, by the Royal Borough or by others. Action: The SACRE will experiment with a slot on its agenda for a briefing from the Royal Borough on its community cohesion programmes. There may also be scope for a regular, perhaps annual, engagement with local interfaith groups. | | ||
| 10 | Any Other Business | | ||
| Councillor Quick highlighted the Magna Carta celebrations taking place in June. | | ||
| 11 | Dates of Future Meetings | | ||
| The SACRE noted that the dates of future meetings were to be confirmed. The meeting which began at 6pm ended at 7.55pm. | |