Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room Three, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln Lincs LN1 1YL. View directions

Contact: Steve Blagg  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

31.

Opening Reflections by Jack Dryden

Minutes:

Jack Dryden gave the opening reflections.

32.

Election of Chairman

Minutes:

On a motion by Tanweer Ahmed, seconded by Mark Plater, it was -

 

RESOLVED

 

That Chris Burke be elected Chairman of SACRE for 1918/19.

33.

Election of Vice-Chairman

Minutes:

On a motion by Chris Burke, seconded by Councillor Mark Whittington, it was -  

 

RESOLVED

 

That Cherry Edwards be elected Vice-Chairman of SACRE for 2018/19.

34.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Andrew Hornsby (Methodist Church), Swathi Screenivasan (Hindu Community), Chris Rose (Society of Friends), David Clements (Church of England), County Councillors Bob Adams and Jackie Brockway.

35.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

No declarations were made at this stage of the meeting.

36.

Neville McFarlane, Former Chairman - Retirement from SACRE

Minutes:

Members paid tribute to Neville McFarlane's service to SACRE over many years, making particular reference to his wisdom and calm influence as Chairman of SACRE and wished him a happy and healthy retirement.

 

Neville McFarlane thanked members for their best wishes stating that it had been a pleasure to be a member of SACRE. He stated that while the last few years had been difficult they had been interesting. He thanked everyone for their cooperation and wished everyone well for the future.

37.

Minutes of the previous meeting of SACRE held on 10 July 2018 pdf icon PDF 151 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 July 2018, be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

38.

Annual Review of SACRE's Membership

(SACRE is required under its Constitution to annually review its

membership. The vacancies are currently in the process of being filled. SACRE's membership is detailed on the agenda)

Minutes:

SACRE was required to review its membership annually. The Clerk stated that replacement members were being sought for the vacancies for the Salvation Army, Ground Level Network, Church of England and the Teachers' Panel.

 

The Chairman stated that he had approached Sian Wade from the Active Faith Network to see if she was interested in becoming a member of SACRE.

 

39.

Correspondence Received by the Chairman (if any)

(This is an opportunity for the Chairman to report any correspondence he has received since the previous meeting of SACRE)

Minutes:

Tanweer Ahmed stated that the mosque in Lincoln was now open and invited SACRE to have one of its meetings there. Members thanked Tanweer for his invitation and Steve Blagg agreed to let Tanweer Ahmed have dates and times of future meetings.

 

The Chairman drew members' attention to the publication of a new book called "Echoes of Contempt" which was an engaging and vivid account of the tragic history of the church’s relationship with Jewish communities over two millennia. Mark Plater stated that the book was due to be launched at Bishop Grossteste University, Lincoln on 11 December 2018 and invited members to attend the launch.

40.

Summary of OFSTED Inspections of Lincolnshire Schools with Reference to the Provision of Pupils' Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC) pdf icon PDF 280 KB

(A report by Wendy Harrison (RE Adviser), which summarises inspectors’ judgements on schools’ provision for pupils’ SMSC development, including British values, in those schools inspected by OFSTED since the last report prepared for SACRE on 10th July 2018)

Minutes:

SACRE received a report from Wendy Harrison which summarised inspectors' judgements on schools' provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values in those schools inspected by Ofsted since the last report prepared for SACRE.

 

After summarising the inspectors' comments Wendy Harrison made the point that one school had no comments relating to SMSC. In the past she had not included schools with no comments in her summary but it was agreed that she should in future so that SACRE could inform Ofsted.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a) That the following schools receive a letter from the Chairman congratulating them on the positive remarks made by the inspectors:-

 

Boston CE Primary School

Hartsholme Academy, Lincoln

The National Junior School, Grantham

St Peter and St Paul CE Primary School, Skegness

Helpringham School, Sleaford

The Horncastle St Lawrence School

Aegir – A Specialist Academy, Gainsborough

 

(b) That the following schools receive a letter from the Chairman expressing concern about the various weaknesses identified by Ofsted:-

 

St Giles Academy, Lincoln

The Northcotes CE Primary School

Heckington St Andrews CE Primary School, Sleaford

 

41.

Lincolnshire SACRE Annual Report 2016/17

(A power point presentation by Wendy Harrison (RE Adviser) which examines in more detail examination data in the Annual Report which was agreed at the last meeting)

Minutes:

SACRE received a presentation from Wendy Harrison regarding examination data in the Annual Report 2016/17. She stated that the statistics showed that the number of students being entered for Religious Studies had fallen year both nationally and in Lincolnshire. This was due to a number of factors such as the impact of the EBacc, the increase in academies, lack of subject specialists, etc. Members considered issues such as gender differences in results and schools where results were poor. Wendy Harrsion emphasised the need for caution when interpreting results as the wider context needed to be taken into account. It was agreed to compare outcomes with 2018 results at a future meeting.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a) That the power point presentation be circulated to all members.

 

(b) That the examination statistics be re-examined in more detail when the 2018 results were received.

42.

Commission on RE: Final Report

(A power point presentation by Wendy Harrison (RE Adviser) and Gillian Georgiou (Diocesan RE Adviser) on the recommendations in the final report. Members attention is drawn to the following links - https://www.commissiononre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Report-of-the-Commission-on-RE.pdf Executive summary: https://www.commissiononre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Report-Exec-Summary-of-the-Commission-on-RE.pdf)

 

 

Minutes:

SACRE received a power point presentation from Wendy Harrison in connection with the recommendations of the "Commission on RE: Final Report". She stated that the Commission had been set up to examine the teaching of Religious Education in schools. The report took into account a number of factors including the changing religious landscape of the UK. It proposed making changes to RE to make it more fit for purpose. Wendy Harrison went through the main recommendations and members discussed some in detail, e.g. a National Entitlement for schools, a new role for SACRE and right of withdrawal.

 

Members commented on the effects of social media on religious education, the need for pupils to be aware of a range of world views and the need to ensure that teachers had as much information as possible to enable them to meet the needs of all pupils.

 

It was agreed to circulate the power point presentation to members and that members should be asked to submit their comments on the Final Report to Steve Blagg, in the first instance, who will then forward them to the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and Wendy Harrison. Wendy Harrison agreed to prepare a draft response for circulation to members.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a) That the power point presentation be sent to all members.

 

(b) That members be asked to submit their comments on the Final Report to Steve Blagg, in the first instance, who will then forward them to the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and Wendy Harrison.

 

43.

Diocesan Adviser's Report

(To receive a report (which will be tabled at the meeting) by Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Adviser, in connection with the latest developments of Diocesan RE activities)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

SACRE received a report from the Diocesan RE Adviser's. Gillian Georgiou stated that the focus continued to be on the promotion of the "Balanced RE" approach to RE curriculum design, particularly in light of Ofsted's renewed focus on a broad and balanced curriculum in schools.

 

Gillian Georgiou stated she had been involved in the training of teachers about the new Agreed Syllabus and was uploading material on the Diocesan website to help teachers to deliver the new syllabus. She was carrying out research in preparation for writing a short booklet on religious literacy and RE and was currently finalising the funding for the second phase of RE Connecting Lincolnshire, a large scale project that aimed to develop religious literacy for pupils, teachers and parents.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

44.

Dates and Times of Future Meetings

(SACRE normally meets three times a year. The following dates

and times of future meetings are suggested – Tuesday 12 or 19 March

2019, Tuesday 16 July 2019 and Tuesday 26 November 2019. Meetings to

start at 2.00pm)

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the dates and times of future meetings be agreed as follows:-

 

12 March 2019 at 2.00pm

16 July 2019 at 2.00pm

26 November 2019 at 2.00pm

 

 
 
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