Agenda and minutes

(Opening reflections by Claire Simons)

Opening reflections were received from Claire Simons which reflected on the devastation caused by the on-going war in Ukraine.

It was suggested that Claire Simons share the words used for her opening reflections with the Committee.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor M A Whittington, Peter Crosby, Sian Wade and Jill Chandar-Nair.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Committee reflected on the content within minute item 8 for the Ofsted Update, noting that there had been no mention of positive outcomes from Ofsted inspections. 

The Local Authority Adviser and the Democratic Services Officer acknowledged the wish to receive a report detailing the positive results of recent Ofsted inspections at a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

              That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 December 2021            be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

No correspondence had been received.

(To receive a report from Mark Plater which provides an update on several matters in relation to religious education, in particular the LAR-D project and the RE ITE Covid cohort-study)

The committee received an update from Mark Plater on a number of issues including the LAR-D project (learning about religion through dialogue); survey of secondary RE-ITE students 2020-21; the Farmington Secondary RE teacher support group; Lincolnshire RE hub & email group and Gcse & A levels in Lincolnshire. Details of which could be found within the agenda pack.

Consideration was given to the update and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• Jennifer King representative reflected on her involvement in the Farmington Secondary RE Support group and highlighted the positive opportunity it offered to meet other teachers, share resources and connect with colleagues.
• The difficulties faced within the teaching profession in recent times were acknowledged. The Farmington Secondary RE Support group allowed teachers to communicate offered valuable support and sought to ensure teachers felt valued. 
• It was confirmed that there were currently only nine places available for the special Farmington Research opportunity being offered to secondary school teachers from schools close to Lincoln City Centre. It was hoped that the success of the current programme would encourage Farmington to offer more opportunities like this, and therefore the importance of providing positive feedback was emphasised.
• Mark Plater extended an offer to the Committee to be added to the Lincolnshire RE Hub and email group which shared resources.
• Previously, under a different curriculum, many A Level students would have chosen to study RE at AS level and continued with their studies at A Level. The elimination of AS levels meant that some students needed encouragement to take RE as an A level.
• Bishop Grosseteste University had bid for a project which would provide funding for work to produce a syllabus which was based on religion and world views, focussing on ‘big ideas’ rather than being solely based on religion.
• The Chairman congratulated Jasmit Kaur Phull for her appointment as the first Sikh Sherriff of Lincoln. It was suggested that Jasmit be invited to a future meeting of the Committee.

(To receive a report from Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which invites the Committee to consider the draft SACRE Annual Report 2020-21)

Consideration was given to a report by the RE Adviser, which invited the Committee to consider and comment on the the draft SACRE Annual Report 2020-21 prior to it being finalised.

It was noted that no examinations had taken place within the 2020-21 academic year.

It was acknowledged that an introduction from the Chairman was yet to be included.

The use of photographs within the report was welcomed.

Should any members of the Committee have any further comments, it was requested that they be sent to the Democratic Services Officer for inclusion prior to the report being finalised.

(To receive a verbal report from Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which provides an update on school visits)

Consideration was given to a verbal report by the RE Adviser which provided an update on school visits and training.

School visits from RE Advisers had recommenced and were currently taking place both virtually and in person. The value of communicating with children in person during the visits was emphasised.

(To receive a verbal report from Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which provides an update on SACRE’s budget for 2022-23)

Consideration was given to a verbal report by the RE Adviser which provided an update on the Budget for 2022-23.

The RE Adviser was pleased to report that the budget for Religious Education and SACRE had remained the same as for the previous year. 

(To receive a verbal report from Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser and Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Adviser, which invites the Panel to review the agreed syllabus)

Consideration was given to a verbal report by the RE Adviser which provided an update on the review of the agreed syllabus.

When reviewing the syllabus, Officers would consult with teachers to seek their views, as well as taking note of changes to Ofsted and developments in thinking on knowledge and progression. An update would be provided at the next meeting of the Committee.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• It was confirmed that the agreed syllabus would apply to all primary and secondary maintained schools. Academies were able to choose their own syllabus, however many chose to adopt the Lincolnshire Syllabus.
• It was also noted that two local authorities, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, had bought into the Lincolnshire Syllabus.
• Schools were legally obliged to outline their curriculum on their website and anybody wishing to view the curriculum should look online.

Comments received from inspections had indicated that Ofsted inspectors were satisfied with the RE syllabus provided within Lincolnshire.

(To receive a report by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which provides an analysis of Ofsted reports from September 2021 – February 2022)

Consideration was given to a verbal report by the RE Adviser which provided an update on the review of the analysis of Ofsted reports from September to February 2022, details of which could be found within the agenda pack.

The distinction between Section 5 inspections in which a full inspection was carried out; and a section 8 inspection which was a shorter inspection, was noted. Most schools would receive a section 8 inspection unless significant change or concern had been raised, in which they would usually receive a more thorough inspection. A section 5 inspection was required to be carried out to change the overall Ofsted rating for a school. The complicated nature of the new Ofsted inspection process was acknowledged.

A deep dive into RE had been carried out at Utterby Primary Academy and findings suggested that the curriculum was deemed to be strong, but the school’s teaching of British Values was not as strong as it could be.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• The need for RE teachers to have an understanding of a range of religions and cultures was emphasised.
• It was acknowledged that teachers may need to travel to other localities to obtain a wider understanding of other religions and cultures. There was a suggestion that exchange programme could be used to support a further understanding.
• Assurance was provided there was a support network of training and information surrounding different religions available to teachers but a need for more first-hand experience of other cultures to understand the complexities of other religions was acknowledged.
• The Committee were reassured that schools had access to support from the RE Adviser and the Diocesan RE Adviser who would ensure communication with schools was effective. SACRE’s role in promoting and supporting faith leaders to encourage and support learning within other faiths was highlighted.

(To receive a report by Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Advisor, which provides an update on her work with schools)

Consideration was given to the Diocesan RE Adviser which provided an update from the Diocese.

A key focus for the Diocese in recent months had been the agreed Lincolnshire syllabus in secondary schools.

Many of Lincolnshire’s primary schools were using Lincolnshire’s agreed syllabus and learning within primary schools as meeting higher expectations. It was noted that as many of them were academies, very few secondary schools used the Lincolnshire locally agreed syllabus for RE as the basis of their RE curriculum. Many secondary schools had acknowledged a need to re-think their curriculum as many children starting secondary school had showed evidence of good knowledge in RE as the primary RE curriculum had been based on the Lincolnshire locally agreed syllabus for RE.

The Committee welcomed the creation of a podcast series which was being developed to explore religion with a focus on wider world views. The series would be co-written with children and include conversations with experts on a range of topics.

(This item invites the Committee to consider a summary of the report by the RE Education Council which aimed to test out the recommendations of the Commission on RE regarding SACRE’s. This item is for information only)

Consideration was given to a report by the RE Adviser, which invited the Committee to consider a report by the Religious Education Council – Still Standing. An Executive Summary was set out within the agenda pack.

It was proposed that some of the recommendations within the report be explored in detail at the next meeting of the Committee.

(This item is to inform the Committee that the NASACRE Annual Conference will take place on Monday 24 May 2022)

Volunteers were sought to attend the NASACRE Annual Conference which was scheduled for Monday 24^th May 2022.

It was agreed that the Chairman, Mark Plater and Amanda Grant attend the conference on behalf of Lincolnshire SACRE.

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

It was agreed that Councillor A J Baxter give opening reflections at the meeting on the 7  June 2022.

(The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 14^th June 2022)

The next meeting was scheduled for 14 June 2022 at County Offices, Lincoln.

Following a request, it was agreed that details of the Farmington research project would be shared with the Committee. It was suggested that a member of the project group be invited to a future meeting to present their research which had focussed on vocabulary and curriculum.