Agenda and minutes

To be provided by  SACRE member Harry Kirby

A reflection was given by Harry Kirby.

Ben Britten, Sister Stella and Muhammed Bahar sent their apologies

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

None were declared at this stage

1.    1.To confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2022.

2.    To discuss any actions from the minutes.

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2022 be amended with the following change:

(Membership Update to read) Nikki Mobley stood down as SACRE member and was thanked for her service.

(Membership update to read) A list of all the vacancies would be populated and circulated

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the 23 March 2022 be approved with the above changes.

To receive a verbal update on future membership.

It was stated that the Church of England Diocese had been contacted for advice regarding members going forward, and it was anticipated that information on replacements would come through soon.

A Head Teacher had contacted the SACRE adviser to express interest in being a SACRE member and she was hoping to attend the next SACRE meeting in October.

There was currently still no Hindu member of SACRE, but the committee was looking to some leads in London to help with this.

If a Hindu member was to be found who was not from the Island, the possibility of attending remotely would be discussed at a future meeting of the SACRE

It was stated that Muhammed Bahar was looking forward to reconnecting with the SACRE and was hoping to be at the next meeting.

To receive a verbal update with a focus on how Equality and Diversity is promoted through SACRE and Living Difference IV

The Professional Adviser to the SACRE explained that 2 big launches of Living Difference IV had taken place earlier on in the year and that initiatives resulting from the launches were being implemented in time for the new school year in September.

The main changes involved the ‘Golden Threads’- belonging, community, special and love. These strands were woven through the RE curriculum, from primary through to the end of secondary education. The thinking behind the Golden Threads was to help ensure that the RE curriculum developed through the use of these golden threads, which are present throughout a child’s time at school, and that these would help ensure progression in the RE curriculum and continuity within the curriculum at secondary school.

Pupils were also given the ability to help choose what they studied in the RE curriculum through the introduction of pondering time for one unit of their RE.

RE curriculum packs for the primary phase were in the process of being updated and made available to teachers. It was stated as an action point that SACRE members were able to get an overview of The Bay’s coverage of the Golden Threads in their RE curriculum, to help show an example of how the golden threads might be used

It was explained that the Hampshire RE Moodle was a very beneficial resource in the teaching of RE and that the SACRE Adviser had published a newsletter which highlighted all the resources that were available on Moodle. This had been sent to all Island Primary Head Teachers and RE Leaders.

It was asked if the Hampshire RE Moodle was available to parents and carers involved in home education. It was stated that Moodle was available to all.

The committee discussed how equality and diversity were being promoted through the SACRE and Living Difference IV and the SACRE Adviser gave examples of how she considered equality and diversity were being promoted in the training and resources for RE leaders.

It was stated that when considering equality and diversity, the Committee should not only consider how to broaden the thought and concepts of equality and diversity in training and resources, but also how accessible the syllabus is to people. It was asked if Living Difference was available in larger text, Braille and or other languages for example. The SACRE Adviser said that she would ask about this.

Due to donation funding, The Bay had recently managed to buy Ukrainian, Polish, Spanish and French Bibles. It was explained to the Committee that the grants for funding projects existed in the wider RE world and that in future, a bid could be put in to seek funds for RE projects that would benefit the Isle of Wight Schools for example.

The subject of reading lists and the GCSE RE curriculum was discussed and how RE leads had brought this to the attention of NASACRE.

RESOLVED:

THAT the report be noted.

THAT the Overview on The Bay’s coverage of the ‘Golden Threads’ be sent  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive a verbal update on the Monitoring Group meeting which took place on 20 June 2022

It was explained that the Monitoring Group, which fulfilled the statutory requirement of the SACRE to monitor the effectiveness of the agreed RE syllabus, consisted of Justine, Harry, Beth and Alison and that the group focused on the teaching of RE and collective worship within Schools. This year, the monitoring group was doing a half day training with primary and secondary schools, to share best practice concerning good collective worship. The group had also discussed visits to schools to provide advice and monitor the effectiveness of the RE syllabus.

It was deemed important to see if there were volunteers within the SACRE who would go into the schools to talk about their faith.

Regarding the group who would review the SACRE Constitution, it was decided that Justine, Harry, Sylvia and Norma would undertake this work with the option for Debbie to contribute as the forthcoming new Chairman.

The difficulty of recruiting RE teachers to Island Schools was highlighted to the Committee, as was the topic of GCSE results for the current cohort. It was the first time in 2 years that formal exams were being taken due to the pandemic.

RESOLVED:

THAT the report be noted.

THAT the working group on the SACRE Constitution would comprise of Justine, Norma, Harry and Sylvia.

THAT volunteers get in touch with Justine about going into schools to talk about their faith.          

To include an update regarding activities of national and regional RE events and meetings, including South Central Hub and Future NASACRE meetings.

To include an oral presentation on the teaching of Judaism and Antisemitism to secondary school students

Lionel Alexander gave a presentation to the committee about the teaching of Judaism and antisemitism in schools and the anticipated programme that the Board of Deputies intended to launch next year.

Norma Corney updated the Committee about her attendance at the NASACRE conference in June.

RESOLVED:

THAT the activities of the above be noted and that the link to the Board of Deputies be shared

To receive updates and notification of future agenda items.

In line with the SACRE constitution, the Committee was told that Beth’s time in the Chair had now come to an end, and she was heartily thanked for all her work. It was explained that under normal procedures the Vice Chairman would step up to be the next Chairman.

RESOLVED:

THAT Debbie Andre takeover the Chair of SACRE from the next meeting as was custom for the Vice Chair to assume the Chair after 2 Years.

THAT a new Vice Chairman, from Group A members, be picked at the next SACRE meeting, as was custom to alternate the position around the different Groups.

THAT the self-evaluation template be discussed at the October meeting.

THAT the future timings of SACRE meetings be discussed at the October. meeting

THAT the possibility of attending SACRE meetings remotely be discussed at the October meeting.

The next scheduled meeting is on Monday 17 October 2022 at 16:00 in County Hall, Newport.

The next meeting to be held on 17 October 16:00 at County Hall, Newport