Agenda and minutes

(To receive opening reflections by Councillor Ashley Baxter)

Opening reflections were received from Councillor A Baxter.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J Brockway, Councillor M A Whittington, Peter Crosby (Baptist Church), Swathi Sreenivasan (Hindu Community), Dr Amanda Grant (Jewish Community), Claire Simons (Salvation Army), Elizabeth Moore (NAHT) and Jayne Watson (NAHT).

It was agreed that a letter of thanks be sent to Peter Crosby, Baptist Church Representative, following his resignation from the Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was noted that Bishop Grosseteste University’s bid for a funding for the project which would provide funding for work to produce a syllabus which was based on religion and world views had been unsuccessful.

RESOLVED:

          That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 March 2022 be        approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

No correspondence had been received.

(To receive a report by Gillian Georgiou, Diocesan RE Adviser, which provides an analysis of recent SIAMS Reports)

Consideration was given to a report by the Diocesan RE Adviser, which provided an analysis of recent SIAMS reports, as detailed at pages 25 – 27 of the agenda pack.

The Committee was advised that SIAMS reported on the religious character of Church of England and Methodist schools, focussing on the effectiveness of curriculum and the impact of collective worship. Inspections in voluntary controlled church schools reported on the effectiveness of religious education (RE) in relation to the school’s strategic vision but did not report on pupil progress.  Inspections in voluntary aided church schools also commented on progress and standards in RE. The Committee were assured that the SIAMS inspections process was rigorous.

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

• The difference between the inspection of religious education within Voluntary Controlled schools and Voluntary Aided schools was explained. Voluntary Controlled schools had a legal duty to use the locally agreed syllabus for RE and the quality of education in RE curriculum for RE would be inspected by Ofsted. Voluntary aided schools could choose whether to adopt the locally agreed syllabus or adopt an alternative syllabus for RE. Ofsted would not report on the quality of education in RE within those voluntary aided schools; instead, it was the responsibility of the denominational authority (i.e. SIAMS) to do this.
• There had been significant legal questions raised relating to the current statutory requirement to provide collective worship that was ‘wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian nature’ in all schools and academies in England. However, the importance of collective worship for celebrating all religious and non-religious world views as emphasised by the Committee.

It was requested that a breakdown of figures for the total number of faith schools and schools of religious character in comparison the total number of schools in Lincolnshire be circulated.

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

Consideration was given to a report by the Diocesan RE Adviser which provided an update on her work with schools.

The Committee congratulated the Diocesan Adviser on her success to secure a funding bid from RE Council of England and Wales which she would lead a team to Develop an RE curriculum framework based on the RE Council’s draft…National Statement of Entitlement and associated guidance.

The Committee considered the update and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• Three groups were involved in the project including groups which would look at peace and reconciliation across world views and a group which would develop a curriculum that could be used across the multi-academy trust.
• The framework for the projects would be in line with the RE Council’s draft National Statement of Entitlement. This document and its associated guidance for syllabus and curriculum writers.

During this item, the Local Authority RE Adviser gave an update on a scheme of work which had been developed by Discovery RE which was being widely purchased by academies across the county. The scheme of work was attractive to schools where there was no specialist in RE as it provided a structure to learning which included topics to cover each term and lesson plans.

The scheme of work was distinct from the local syllabus and therefore the RE Adviser was being employed to individual schools to attempt to adapt the Discovery RE Framework to the Lincolnshire Syllabus. However, without a copy of the Scheme of Work, at around £900, the RE Adviser was experiencing challenges in monitoring the quality of the scheme and effectively support schools with the adaptation.

Following a proposal, the Committee supported the purchase of the Discovery RE scheme of work by the Lincolnshire County Council for the RE Adviser’s benefit. It was noted that the cost would not be absorbed by Lincolnshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).

The Diocesan RE adviser expressed her concerns that the Discovery RE scheme of work was not well aligned to current development in RE. The Committee acknowledged the preference that the scheme of work not be adopted as a long-term solution within Lincolnshire and expressed their preference for an alternative scheme of work to be produced by Lincolnshire’s advisers which would provide better quality of RE learning for Lincolnshire’s academies.

It was clarified that academy did not have to use the Lincolnshire agreed syllabus, however SACRE’s still had a responsibility to provide a locally agreed syllabus and support schools to use it.

RESOLVED:

          That support be given to the purchase of the Discovery RE scheme   of work to allow the RE Adviser to provide effective support and guidance to schools using the scheme. 

(To receive a presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which details the findings of the Religious Education Council Report)

Consideration was given to a presentation by the RE Adviser, which provided an overview of the Religious Education Council’s report on SACRE’s – Still Standing. This report made reference to the recommendations of the findings of the Commission for Religious Edcuation (2018).

The findings of the report were outlined, highlighting the need for legislation around RE and SACREs to be reviewed and reformed to provide clarity to SACREs and schools about the nature of high quality 21st century RE in schools and that consideration needed to be given to the current committee structure of SACREs. The report had also considered the implications of the academisation programme, and whether the creation of a locally agreed syllabus for SACREs operating with only one state school within their area was a good use of public money.

The Committee also noted the suggestion that SACREs review their membership to ensure that it represents their local community, and its representative religions and worldviews.

The Committee considered the presentation and during the discussion the following points were noted:

-       It was requested that the presentation be circulated.

-       The Committee noted the opportunity to review its membership and terms of reference

The importance of making and maintaining contact with academies was emphasised and considered a priority to the Committee. The Committee commended the expertise of the RE Adviser and Diocesan RE Adviser in supporting Lincolnshire SACRE.

(To receive a presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Adviser, which provides an analysis of recent Ofsted Reports)

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

(To receive a report which invites the Committee to consider the SACRE Annual Report 2020-21)

The Committee reviewed the SACRE Annual Report for 2020-21 and were satisfied with the contents of the report.

(To receive a report by Councillor Chris Burke and Mark Plater, which provides an update following the NASACRE Annual Conference)

The Committee received an update from Mark Plater on the Annual NASACRE Conference which took place virtually on Monday 23^rd May 2022. A summary of the conference was set out at page 29 of the agenda pack.

Attendees of the conference had also been invited to attend up to three follow up workshops, one of looked at the tools for reviewing the SACRE syllabus.

In relation to a question, it was confirmed that there had been no detailed discussion on the Education White Paper (Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child) at the conference. It was requested that the synopsis of the white paper be circulated to the committee for information.

Questions were raised on the future role of SACRE’s given that all schools would become academies by 2030, as outlined in the white paper.

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

Atikur Rehman Patel volunteered to give opening reflections at the next meeting.

(The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 22 November 2022)

The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 22^nd November 2022. There was a possibility that the meeting would take place at either Bishop Grosseteste University or Lincoln Mosque.