Agenda and minutes

The Executive Headteacher of the Cornerstone Federation to give the Reflection.

A reflection was given by Sylvia Clare

Apologies were received from Lionel Alexander, Cllr Critchison, Rebecca Lennon, Beryl Miller, Sue Rogers, Claire Slade-Carter and Nick Wilde

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

There were no declarations of interest.

1.    To confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2022.

2.    To discuss any actions arising from the minutes

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2023 be approved with the following amendments.

Sylvia Clare’s attendance be noted, and checks made that she is listed on modgov committee member list.

Spelling mistakes correction -Item 5, page 6, Alex Augustus, Lianne Chalmers, Janice Willmott.

Page 7 to replace RE instruction with RE education.

THAT it be noted that the work on the review of the SACRE constitution had been delayed and that the actions set for the March 2023 meeting had been put back to the June 2023 meeting.

A verbal update to be given on the membership of the SACRE and any changes.

The Professional Advisor to the SACRE gave a verbal update on the recent membership of the SACRE and any new developments.

It was stated that although 3 vacancies had recently been filled, there was still a vacancy to replace Alex Augustus, who had been one of the local authority appointees. There was also the hope that a Hindu representative would be joining the SACRE soon.

Norma Corney mentioned that she knew of somebody in her faith group who would be interested in coming along to future SACRE meetings.

Discussion took place about possible actions regarding members who had not fielded their apologies and had missed three consecutive meetings.

It was also suggested that Chris May who was now the Secondary RE Teaching and Learning Advisor for Hampshire be invited to the next meeting and a proposal to extend the invitation to Island School’s RE Leaders was put forward.

RESOLVED:

THAT Chris May be invited to the next SACRE meeting.

THAT the Island School’s RE Leaders be invited to the next SACRE meeting.

A written report to be presented by the Professional Adviser to the SACRE.

The Professional Advisor to the SACRE presented the Monitoring Group Report for discussion and noting.

The Monitoring Group consisted of the Professional Advisor to the SACRE, Cllr Debbie Andre, Harry Kirby and Beth Feltham. Their task was to evaluate the effectiveness of RE teaching and to give an update of the 2022 GSCE RE results. An update on the 2021 census results regarding religion was also shared.

It was noted that only a small number of secondary schools had entries for GCSE Religious Studies, which was a drop in numbers compared to previous years.

It was highlighted that teacher recruitment in general was problematic both nationally as well as on the Island, and that RS teacher recruitment was even more of a difficulty. The group had discussed ways to increase the awareness of the value of the subject for schools through training senior leaders and governors. It was agreed that the group would run training for governors on Religious Education during the next academic year.

The group also looked the possibility of bringing a youth voice to SACRE and how that could help raise the profile of Religious Studies as a GCSE option, as well as widening the discussion about the importance of the teaching of Religious Studies to a younger audience.

The Professional Advisor to the SACRE stated that two school visits had taken place since the last meeting of the SACRE, which focused on the RE curriculum, exploring how the subject was engaging, meaningful and interesting for all pupils.

RESOLVED:

THAT the Monitoring Group make arrangements for the training for school governors in matters concerning the SACRE.

THAT having a youth voice on the SACRE be further explored.

A verbal update to be given on the progress of the review of the SACRE Constitution

The work on the review of the SACRE constitution was awaiting input from the Monitoring Officer and Isle of Wight Council Legal Department. It was hoped that this work would be completed before the next SACRE meeting in June, where SACRE members would be required to vote to ratify any proposed changes and adopt the constitution.

RESOLVED:

THAT the SACRE bring the findings of the Monitoring Officer and the Legal Department back to the SACRE for comment and approval.

To receive a written report by the Professional Advisor to the SACRE.

The Professional Advisor to the SACRE presented a report considering key national and local updates, highlighting the work of the Religious Education Council REC, NASACRE as well as the Association of University Lecturers in Religious Education (AULRE) and initiatives being led by the Culham St Gabriel’s Trust.

It was explained that the National RE Hubs project, which aimed at creating a national web forum linking regional SACRES, schools, local authorities and universities to share RE news was being created.

RE blogs, job vacancies, resource centres, places of interest and school speaker training were to be features of this project to be shared by hyperlinks.

To receive a verbal update on the activities of the South Central Hub.

It was explained that the South-Central Hub met online and that SACRE members were most welcome to join the meetings. The recent themes discussed by the South-Central Hub included diversity and howthe RE syllabi included diversity within its teaching. Suggestions about what can be done regarding this and its monitoring, including a possible intent statement and an RE policy, were discussed.

To receive updates and notification of future agenda items.

The future meeting and AGM of the NASCRE in London on 22 May 2023 was discussed and it was agreed to nominate Harry Kirby for an award.

The next meeting to be held on Monday 26 June 2023 at 4pm. The venue to be confirmed.

The next meeting to be held 27 June 2023 at 4pm with the venue of Medina House as venue to be confirmed.