Karen Butler said that the minutes from the last meeting were attached to the agenda. New films were in the pipeline for Catholic, Orthodox Jewish and Sunni Muslim faiths, with a number of people on the Hub approaching people of different faiths to see if they would be interested. The Hub wanted the films to be useful to schools and it was good to know that they were being watched and used. It would be good if a teacher could write a short article on how the films had been useful in the classroom, this could then be published in the RE newsletter. The review of the syllabus was discussed, it was clear that this was now not the time for a syllabus review. It was agreed that there some changes that were needed but these were not radical changes. The responses to the survey had been limited, there had been 56 in total from the whole of Berkshire. Karen Butler said that training for the future was also discussed, what sort of training was needed to move RE forward and any specific areas which should be focused on. There was discussion on how training should be best delivered to ensure that the most value was gained.

Thomas Kingsley-Jones agreed that training could be packaged into after school meetings to ensure that time was utilised well.

Barbara Meaney said that a good way of delivering training was to allow teachers to review a resource, for example a film, and then they could bring their thoughts and ideas to the training session to share.

Clare Roberts added that anything that broadened subject knowledge would be gratefully received.

Dai Prendiville said that he had attended Strictly RE and hearing from those who were from a particular faith was particularly useful to try and aide understanding.

Anne Andrews said that the Hub could look to deliver training in some form, some could be done across Berkshire and some could be done with SACRE. At RE Network meetings, each one had been held in a different place of worship which allowed teachers to improve their knowledge of various faiths. SACRE could revisit the forward plan and make it more school focused, to allow SACRE to become the facilitator.

Sarah Bradley said that an opportunity to be with specialists had value and definitely had a place. Some teachers had expertise in particular religious traditions and they could share resources with other teachers. A question and answer session with a local faith representative would allow teachers to gain subject knowledge as well as asking some of the deeper questions, this could encourage links and allow for visits to religious venues and talks at schools. It would be useful if events could be recorded for those that could not come, the summer term was the best time to engage with teachers as they had a bit more capacity for other things. On the survey, Sarah Bradley felt that it could be streamlined, with a shorter survey available which would be more accessible.

Karen Butler thanked teachers for their comments and feedback. There were some good suggestions which could be taken back to the Hub. The question and answer suggestion was the motive behind the films, it had been difficult to gain funding to allow pupils to travel to religious venues.