Agenda and draft minutes

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education - Tuesday 11 June 2024 2.00 pm

Venue: Ashburton Hall, Winchester

Contact: Email: members.services@hants.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

86.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies had been received from:

  • Danny Habel – Jewish Representative
  • Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo – Muslim Representative
  • Sue Bowen – Church of England
  • Rev James Pitkin – Co-opted – Governors Representative

 

87.

Declarations of Interest

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

 

No declarations were made.

Minutes:

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

88.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 96 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed as an accurate record.

89.

Deputations

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

Minutes:

There were no deputations received.

90.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive any Chairman’s announcements.

Minutes:

The Chairman shared news of the recent announcement at the NASACRE conference in York of Hampshire SACRE being selected as one of three award winners for the annual Westhill SACRE award.

This is an award of up to £4000 that SACRE’s can apply for and the theme this year was “Education into Diversity” for local schools. Hampshire’ SACRE had been awarded a sum to help reestablish and develop the Youth Voice in Secondary Schools, which will culminate in a Youth Voice conference next summer.

91.

SACRE Monitoring Group pdf icon PDF 96 KB

To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services regarding the activities and discussions of the monitoring group in relation to the monitoring of RE and the implementation of Living Difference IV.

 

Minutes:

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services providing an update on the activities of the Monitoring Group at its recent meeting on the 7 May 2024. It was noted that SACRE had a statutory responsibility to monitor the effectiveness of the locally agreed syllabus, which was undertaken through this Monitoring Group.

 

Members noted a summary of the following areas discussed by the Monitoring Group, including:

  • Reports from Primary and Secondary Hampshire Ofsted Visits,
  • Update on Work with RE and Disadvantaged Groups,
  • Professional Education Opportunities,
  • Monitoring of Living Difference IV in schools,
  • SACRE Monitoring Visits,
  • Information gathered from other inspector/adviser visits,
  • Update on teacher vacancies and ITE provision,
  • Update on other National projects relating to Hampshire.

 

It was noted that all members of SACRE can undertake Monitoring Visits to witness religious education produced in a classroom, and that it would be beneficial for their monitoring role if more members endeavoured to do so.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the Monitoring Group report.

92.

Key National and Local RE Matters pdf icon PDF 121 KB

To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services on developments in relation to the work of the Religious Education Council, RE Research and other key national and local RE matters.

 

Minutes:

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out key national and local RE matters.

 

Members noted the update on the work of the Religious Education Council (REC), NASACRE, RE Hubs, the Association of University Lecturers in Religious Education (AULRE) and initiatives being led by the Culham St Gabriel’s Trust.

 

Officers provided a summary of the National Association of SACRE’s conference in York on 20 May which included their AGM, were a proposal to move to a new constitution was received. Additionally, it was announced that Hampshire SACRE had won a Westhill Award for the reestablishment of a secondary youth voice event in July 2025.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the report on key national and local re matters.

93.

Confirmation of Three Year Action Plan pdf icon PDF 65 KB

To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services seeking the approval of SACRE’s three year plan, following the proposed amendments from SACRE’s last meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out SACRE’s Three Year Action Plan as amended at the last meeting.

 

Following a brief review the plan was agreed to have been accurately updated as per the recommendations at the previous meeting.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education agreed its Three Year Action Plan as attached in appendix 1 to the report.

94.

Summary of the Ofsted National Subject Report on RE for England pdf icon PDF 107 KB

To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services providing a summary of the Ofsted National Subject Report on RE for England.

Minutes:

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out a summary of the Ofsted National Subject Report on RE in England published in April 2024.

 

Members noted that the previous Ofsted Subject Report for RE was published over ten years ago in 2013, with a research review for RE being published in 2021. Officers provided a summary of the key findings for England, highlighting areas for Hampshire SACRE to consider.

 

Members discussed the concerns surrounding a superficially broad curriculum  not providing pupils with the depth of knowledge required for future study and the impact of long gaps between lessons hindering pupils’ recall.

The report noted that in cases where the curriculum prioritised depth of study, pupils learnt much more and when the timetable was organised so that pupils had regular RE lessons, they remembered more.

 

During discussion it was noted that:

·         This was a rare report for RE and some elements were very critical and disheartening on a national level.

·         The contents of the report would be communicated to Hampshire’s schools and governors would be informed via planned training events.

·         Visits to religious places of speakers coming into school is a strong way to assist learning.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the summary of the Ofsted National Subject Report on RE.

95.

SACRE Membership

To receive a verbal update from the Director of Children’s Services regarding the membership of Hampshire’s SACRE.

Minutes:

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a verbal update from the Director of Children’s Services regarding the membership of SACRE.

 

Several new members were welcomed, including deputies and the current vacancies and attempts to recruit to them was noted. All members of Group A were reminded that they could nominate a deputy to attend if they were unable but that these individuals would be required to undertake the formal appointment process.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the verbal update on their membership.