Agenda and minutes

(Opening reflections by Sian Wade)

Opening reflections were given by Sian Wade.

Members were advised that the meeting was inquorate and therefore would operate as an informal meeting, with any decisions made to be ratified at the next meeting.

AGREED:

          That Chris Burke be elected as the Chairman of SACRE for 2023/24, subject to ratification by SACRE. 

AGREED:

          That Cherry Edwards be elected as the Chairman of SACRE for    2023/23, subject to ratification by SACRE.

The Chairman welcomed the newly co-opted Humanist Representative to the meeting.

Apologies for absence had been received by Claire Simons, Elizabeth Moore and Chris Thompson.

None were declared.

It was agreed that Mark Plater be added to the attendance of the minutes of the meeting on 20 June 2023.

RESOLVED:

          That the minutes of the previous meeting of SACRE held on 20 June    2023 be approved subject to the above amendment and ratification          by SACRE. 

None had been received.

(To receive an update from Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which provides an analysis of recent Ofsted Reports)

The RE Adviser provided analysis of Ofsted Reports, as referenced at pages 11-32 of the agenda pack.

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were recorded:

• Members highlighted lack of reference to learning on spirituality.
• It was suggested that the RE Adviser begin to analyse reports over the next year to analyse any issues that needed to be addressed. Members welcomed further analysis of reports over a period.
• Members acknowledged that Ofsted reports often did not fully represent the depth of the investigation and the areas covered and communicated to schools as part of the process.
• The need for children to be exposed to different cultures than their own to understand cultures, was emphasised. There was a need to ensure that syllabus, training and support for teachers and communities reflected this and for SACRE to ensure support was in place.
• It was confirmed that Deepings St James Community Primary School were signed up to a Lincolnshire curriculum.
• It was clarified that academies must include RE as part of their curriculum, but they did not need to adopt the Lincolnshire Curriculum or notify the Local Authority of which curriculum they were using.
• The Lincolnshire Curriculum was sent to all Lincolnshire’s schools free of charge, including academies. 
• Concerns were raised over a lack of deep dives into RE during Ofsted inspections, which was a concern of many other organisations in the RE world.

(To receive a presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which invites SACRE to approve the plans for the Agreed Syllabus)

As the meeting was inquorate, the Agreed Syllabus Conference could not be established. An invite to an Agreed Syllabus Conference would be sent to members of SACRE via email.

(To receive an update from Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser)

The Local Authority Adviser provided an update on her recent work with schools, highlighting that many schools did not feel supported in their planning of RE lessons and did not fully understand the current syllabus and how to apply it to lessons. Face to Face support continued to be provided to teachers.

(To receive an update by Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Advisor)

Lynsey Norris provided an update on behalf of the Diocesan RE Adviser, advising that training continued to be provided to schools with a main focus on 3 areas of R.E – substantive, disciplinary and personal knowledge around assessment. The Diocesan RE Adviser was working on an 18-month project on R.E and assessment with schools.

(To receive a report from Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Adviser, which provides an analysis of recent SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspections)

Lynsey Norris provided an update on behalf of the Diocesan RE Adviser which highlighted the introduction of a new SIAMSs framework,

SIAMS inspections had been carried out in 22 schools in the previous year and were all graded good and above, with 5 graded excellent. For collective worship, which was graded separately, 7 had been rated excellent and one requires improvement.

A new SIAMs framework had been introduced in September 2023, which had removed criteria for ‘pass or fail’ style judgements and instead rated schools Judgement 1 or Judgement 2. Judgement 2 would highlight things schools were required to work on as a matter of priority.

40 schools were to be inspected this year, with 2 inspected since September.

Consideration was given to the update and the following points were recorded for consideration:

• The rating of judgement 1 or 2 was completely narrative and would outline areas of development or priority. The judgement would be discussed in the feedback given to the school, rather than it being published within a written report.
• Schools would continue to be supported until expectations were met.
• Some members commented that inspections would seemingly still have a pass or fail status without the label, as judgement 2 would be seen as a fail. There was an emphasis on language used within inspections to alleviate stress to teachers and school leaders. 

The move was welcomed by some members, who highlighted it as a more positive way of inspection.

(Following publication of the 2021 Census data and in light of newly published guidance, SACRE are invited to discuss whether SACRE may wish to advise Lincolnshire County Council to review SACRE’s constitution to include Humanist Representation as part of Committee A)

Given that the meeting was not quorate, it was agreed that this item be deferred to the next meeting.

(To review the action plan created to further the development of SACRE and its members)

Members supported agreement of the action plan, subject to the change in the start and finish date from 2024 – 2026. Progress against the action plan would be reported at future meetings. 

AGREED:

          That the action plan be agreed, subject to ratification at the next        meeting.

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

Councillor Ashley Baxter volunteered to give reflections at the next meeting.

(The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 13 February 2024)

Members noted that the next meeting was scheduled for 28 February 2024.

SACRE members are invited to review the training opportunities offered by NASACRE, which can be found at the following link: Training and Support - NASACRE

This item was for information only.