Agenda and minutes

(Opening reflections by Jennifer King, NASUWT)

Opening reflections were received by Cherry Edwards OBE, in which tribute was made to former Councillor Bob Adams.

RESOLVED

              That Chris Burke be elected Chairman of the Standing Advisory               Council on Religious Education until the AGM in November               2022.

CHRIS BURKE IN THE CHAIR

RESOLVED

              That Cherry Edwards OBE be elected Vice-Chairman of the               Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education until the AGM    in November 2022.

Apologies for absence had been received from Jill Chandar-Nair, Gillian Georgiou, Dr Amanda Grant, Jennifer King, Elizabeth Moore, Mark Plater, Claire Simons and Shaun  Sian Wade.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:

           That the minutes of the previous meeting of SACRE held         on 6 July 2021 be approved as a correct record and       signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman reported that he had not received any correspondence since the previous meeting.

(To receive a presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Advisor, which outlines feedback from the RE Survey and the examination time allocation as part of the analysis of information from NATRE)

The Committee received a presentation from the RE Adviser, which provided an update on the RE Survey and Examination Time Allocation; recent Ofsted inspections and work with schools and CPD, covering items 8, 9 and 10 of the agenda.

Feedback from the RE Survey and Examination Time Allocation

The Committee received an update on the feedback received from the RE Survey and Examination Time Allocation. The Committee was advised that the survey had been sent out to all primary and secondary schools within Lincolnshire, of which only 17 primaries and 2 secondary schools had responded.

Of the 17 Primary Schools which that had provided feedback, data showed that:

• Most were delivering RE as a discrete subject with acceptable time allocation, with RE being delivered mainly by class teachers
• Only four primary schools were ‘extremely confident’, and three said they were not confident at all
• Two schools expressed concern about certain areas – this will be followed up
• A number of training needs had been identified in order to deliver RE more effectively
• RE had continued to be taught remotely during the covid-19 restrictions

The following feedback had been provided from the two Secondary Schools who had responded to the survey:

School 1

• RE was taught as a discrete lesson for one hour a week (KS3) and was taught by subject specialists

•       The Subject Leader was very confident that the school has a well sequenced and knowledge-focused curriculum and believed that teachers were very confident about their subject knowledge.

•       100% of pupils were entered into a GCSE examination for RE

•       The school had identified that they needed more resources to teach Hinduism

•       The school had not seen an impact on the teaching of RE as a result of Covid-19

School 2

•       RE was taught as a discrete lesson for one hour a week (KS3) and was taught by subject specialists

•       The school in question was an academy and therefore a different syllabus was used, with a focus on enquiry and skills

•       The Subject Leader was fairly confident that the school had a well sequenced and knowledge-focused curriculum and believed that teachers were fairly confident about their subject knowledge

•       Pupils were offered examination options, in which around 40% were entered for GCSE examination

•       There was no RE on offer for those not taking an examination course

•       The school identified a number of training needs including new assessment methods which enabled students to know and remember the substantive content of what they had been taught.

•       During the Covid-19 restrictions, RE had been taught via remote learning. There was no significant ‘catch up’ to be done, beyond a gap analysis

Members of the Committee were invited to ask questions on the feedback to the RE Survey, in which the following points were noted:

• It would be difficult for the RE Adviser to put together schemes of work that would cover all aspects of the syllabus that suited all schools. The Diocese had produced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

(To receive a presentation by Wendy Harrison, RE Advisor, which provides an update on Ofsted)

Information relating to this item was considered as part of a presentation under item 8 – Feedback from RE Survey and Examination Time Allocation.

(To receive a presentation from Wendy Harrison, RE Advisor, which provides an update on the work with schools and continuing professional development)

Information relating to this item was considered as part of a presentation under item 8 – Feedback from RE Survey and Examination Time Allocation.

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

The Committee had received a written update from the Diocesan RE Adviser, which was included within the agenda pack.

RESOLVED:

              That the report be noted.

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

Jennifer King and Claire Simons would be put forward for opening reflections at the next meeting.

(The next meeting is scheduled to take place on ____)

The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 22^nd March at 2.00pm. Due to concerns regarding Covid-19, it was yet to be confirmed whether the meeting would take place in person or via Microsoft Teams.