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

1.

Welcome to Claire Simons, Salvation Army and Sian Wade, Pentecostal Church

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Claire Simons from the Salvation Army as a new member on SACRE, to replace Neville McFarlane and Sian Wade, from the Pentecostal Church, who was attending the meeting as an observer.

 

The Chairman stated that he had been a guest at the launch of the St Therese of Lisieux Catholic Multi Academy Trust covering Lincolnshire and Rutland. The Academy leadership had promised to contact him about building links between Lincolnshire SACRE and the Academy Board.

 

 

2.

Opening Reflections by Cherry Edwards OBE

Minutes:

Cherry Edwards OBE gave the opening reflections.

3.

Apologies for Absence/Member Changes

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Swathi Screenivasan (Hindu Community), Amanda Grant (Jewish Community), David Clements (Church of England), Lynsey Norris (Church of England), Kay Sutherland (NAHT), County Councillor Bob Adams (Lincolnshire County Council) and Jack Dryden (Co-opted Member)

4.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

No declarations were made at this stage of the meeting.

5.

Minutes of the previous meeting of SACRE held on 12 March 2019 pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

          That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 March 2019, be            approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

6.

Correspondence received by the Chairman (if any)

Minutes:

The Chairman stated that he had not received any correspondence.

7.

Future venues for SACRE meetings

(Members will recall that the issue of venues for SACRE meetings was mentioned at the previous meeting following our visit/meeting at the Mosque in Lincoln. Members' views are sought on arranging the occasional meeting at places of worship)

Minutes:

SACRE considered venues for future meetings following the successful meeting held at the Lincoln Mosque.

 

Members welcomed the idea of SACRE alternating the venue of its meetings between the County Offices and other venues, subject to suitability, for example, schools and places of worship.

 

Elizabeth Moore stated that she would investigate whether SACRE could meet at Bardney Church of England and Methodist Primary School for its next meeting and would get back to the Clerk.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)  That meetings of SACRE alternating between the County Offices and places of worship and schools be welcomed.

 

(b)  That Elizabeth Moore offer to use her school for the next meeting of SACRE be welcomed.

8.

Use of Facebook to publicise SACRE

(This item was briefly discussed at the last meeting)

Minutes:

The Chairman referred to the brief discussion on the use of Facebook to publicise the work of SACRE at the last meeting. Examples were given of the type of information, including photographs, posted on Facebook. Members' views were sought including whether access should be open or by invitation. It was agreed that schools and faith communities should be better informed about the role of SACRE. The use of Facebook was considered to be an effective means of communication especially with those faith communities who were unaware of SACRE but there were issues of whether access should be open or by invitation.

 

The advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook were discussed. This included the posting of offensive material, ensuring that the logo reflected SACRE's role in relation to RE and schools. The possibility of including a picture of pupils as part of the logo was also discussed.

 

The procedures followed by the Salvation Army on their use of Facebook were outlined and welcomed.

 

It was agreed that the Chairman, Wendy Harrison, Gillian Georgiou and the Clerk should prepare procedures for the use of Facebook and that the details should be circulated to members for their views. Gillian Georgiou agreed to provide a photograph of children involved in a RE learning setting for the logo.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)  That the Chairman, Wendy Harrison, Gillian Georgiou and the Clerk examine the preparation of draft procedures for the use of Facebook for SACRE purposes and these details be sent to members for their views.

 

(b)  That Gillian Georgiou provide a photograph of children involved in a RE learning setting for the logo.

 

9.

Summary of Ofsted Inspections of Lincolnshire Schools with reference to provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) pdf icon PDF 474 KB

(To receive a report by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, summarising Ofsted Inspections with reference to SMSC since the previous meeting)

Minutes:

SACRE considered a report from Wendy Harrison which summarised inspectors' judgements on SMSC, including British values, in those schools inspected by Ofsted since the last report prepared for SACRE.

 

The increase in comments by inspectors about RE were welcomed and it was noted that this could increase further following the implementation of the new Ofsted Framework (September 2019) which would have a focus on the "wider curriculum", including RE. It was agreed that where necessary, schools should challenge inspectors about any negative comments on SMSC provision. Inspectors' judgments were evidence based and schools should submit as much evidence as possible to support SMSC provision and development. Headteachers should be supported by ensuring that staff were kept updated on RE matters in relation to the whole curriculum.

 

RESOLVED

 

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

 

                 The Spalding Parish CE Day School

                 The Cowbit St Mary's CE PS

                 Linchfield Community PS

                 Belmont Community PS

                 The Edward Richardson PS Tetford

                 Long Bennington CE Academy

                 The Saint Augustine's Catholic Voluntary Academy

                 The Morton CE PS

                 Billingborough PS Sleaford

                 William Hildyard CE Primary and Nursery School

 

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

 

Horncastle Community PS

John Spendluffe Foundation Technology College

 

10.

Lincolnshire SACRE Annual Report 2017-18 pdf icon PDF 374 KB

(To receive SACRE's Annual Report 2017-18 by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser)

Minutes:

SACRE received a presentation from Wendy Harrison in connection with SACRE's Annual Report 2017/18. The report had been sent to members before the meeting for their comments.

 

Wendy Harrison stated that the number of pupils in England and Wales taking the GCSE Religious Studies full course continued to fall. It was still a requirement that all schools, including academies, had a legal requirement to provide RE up to and including key stage 4. Data collected by NATRE suggested that the law was not being followed and not all pupils were receiving their entitlement as far as RE was concerned. It was still the case that there were many non-specialists teaching RE but the new Ofsted framework might help to address this.

 

Lincolnshire examination data 2018

 

Wendy Harrison explained that the new scale was aligned to key grades on the current A* to G scale. Grades 9, 8 and 7 were broadly equivalent to an A* and A. Grades 6, 5 and 4 were in line with B and C grades. A grade 4 was broadly equivalent to a C grade. A grade 3 would be broadly similar to a D grade, with 2 and 1 taking in grades E, F and G. There was still a U - ungraded - mark. She explained that because the data was a mixture of the old and new systems it was not possible to make a comparison with the previous year. However, the 2018 results for the GCSE Full Course showed that overall, schools were performing above the national average but girls were significantly out-performing boys. Wendy Harrison provided information about school that had performed well in the 2018 examinations and those that had not.

 

It was agreed that there was a need for universities and colleges to emphasise the importance of RE as an academic subject which encouraged pupils to think. There was a need for SACRE to support teachers with continuing professional development.

 

Because of the complex nature of its content it was agreed to give further consideration of this matter at the next meeting.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)  That the Annual Report 2017/18 be noted and approved and a copy sent to NASACRE, Lincolnshire County Councillors and Debbie Barnes OBE, Head of Paid Service.

 

(b)  That in view of the complex issues raised by the report it was agreed to give further consideration to this matter at the next meeting.

11.

NASACRE Annual Conference Report 2019 pdf icon PDF 460 KB

(To receive a joint report by Chris Burke and Mark Plater in connection with their attendance at the NASACRE Annual Conference 2019)

Minutes:

SACRE received a joint report by the Chairman and Mark Plater on their attendance at the NASACRE Annual Conference 2019. The report was welcomed.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the report be noted.

12.

New Ofsted Framework - update and presentation

(To receive a verbal update and presentation from Wendy Harrison, RE Advisor, on the new Ofsted framework and possible implications for RE)

Minutes:

SACRE received a verbal report by Wendy Harrison on the new Ofsted framework and its possible implications for RE. RE was mentioned several times in the new Ofsted framework and schools were reminded of their obligations. SACRE had responsibility to follow up issues around compliance and could challenge schools if necessary. Wendy Harrison drew members' attention to a letter sent by NASACRE to the DfE this year outlining issues around compliance.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the report be noted.

13.

School visits - update and presentation

(To receive an update and presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, on visits made to schools since January 2019)

Minutes:

SACRE received a verbal report by Wendy Harrison about visits made to schools since January 2019. She had been unable to visit many schools during the preparation of the Agreed Syllabus but following its completion she had been able to resume this aspect of her work. She provided members with details about schools visited. Schools (including academies and independent schools) received up to two hours support free of charge. If they requested further support such as a staff meeting, the school was charged. Centralised training would be offered by Wendy Harrison during 2019/20.

 

Gillian Georgiou stated that there was a qualified RE Specialist Leader in Education (SLE) at Lincoln Christ Hospital school who was providing RE advice to schools in the region and she suggested that this teacher should be invited to attend a meeting of SACRE.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted and that the RE SLE at Christ's Hospital School be invited to a meeting of SACRE to describe the RE support she gave to schools in the region.

14.

Resources - update and presentation

(To receive an update and presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, on the purchase of new resources to support school visits and training, as approved by SACRE at the previous meeting)

Minutes:

Wendy Harrison verbally reported that she had been able to purchase a range of resources, including artefacts, to support teacher training and visits to schools. The resources had had a significant impact already and she agreed to bring some of the resources to the next meeting.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

15.

Diocesan RE Adviser's Report pdf icon PDF 103 KB

(To receive a report from Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Adviser, in connection with work undertaken in the Diocese since the previous meeting)

Minutes:

SACRE considered a report from Gillian Georgiou in connection with work being carried out in the Diocese. She drew attention to the delivery of the REConnecting Lincolnshire project and the performance created to explore identity, belief and world views which focussed in particular on Christianity and Islam. This had been already seen by 1500 children. Feedback from Armed Forces personnel and parents who had seen the performance had had their views changed.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

16.

Reflections at the next meeting

(A volunteer is sought to do reflections at the next meeting)

Minutes:

Gillian Georgiou agreed to do reflections at the next meeting.

17.

Date and time of the next meeting - 26 November 2019

(Please note this is the AGM)

Minutes:

It was agreed that the next meeting would be arranged for 2.00pm at Bardney CoE and Methodist Primary School.

 

 
 
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