Agenda item

(A progress report by Wendy Harrison, RE Advisor, in connection with the new Lincolnshire Agreed Syllabus and the SACRE is requested to discuss the new proposals)

The SACRE received a report in connection with the new Agreed Syllabus (AS) which gave details of its proposed structure and content.

The Chairman reminded the meeting that SACRE had agreed to establish an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC) to produce an Agreed Syllabus and it was that group that would make any key decisions. At the previous meeting some concern had been expressed about aspects of the proposed structure of the new Agreed Syllabus, particularly regarding Judaism and its non-inclusion in the "compulsory elements" section. Wendy Harrison had written to all members to ask them to let her know of their specific concerns following that meeting and had only received one response though one member had informed the Clerk to the SACRE that she preferred to express her views during the meeting.

Wendy Harrison stated that it was unfortunate that both she and Gillian Georgiou had been unable to attend the previous meeting to address the concerns raised by members. She was now able to explain the rationale behind the decision of the ASC on the compulsory elements of the Agreed Syllabus. She clarified the separate roles of the ASC, SACRE and the local authority in terms of decision making. The teacher's working party had a key role to play in preparing the draft documents. She stated that it was necessary to review the current AS because there was a statutory duty to do so, it was not fit for purpose, there had been significant changes in society reflected in the 2011 Census, there had been an increase in the amount of RE teaching by non-subject specialists, and it was considered that the current AS was no longer supporting teachers in the way that it should.

Wendy Harrison stated that there was no change to the statutory requirement to ensure that Christianity remained compulsory throughout the RE curriculum. The new AS would also include compulsory elements of Islam and Hinduism. Alongside these there were to be "additional" units which would allow schools to teach other faiths such as Judaism or themes, such as a local study.

Gillian Georgiou stated that the additional elements were not optional, though there would be opportunities for schools to develop them as they thought appropriate. She emphasised that schools would be able to decide about what was relevant to their area. She gave an example of the use of the theme of "light" which had significance in many of the main religions.

Comments made by the SACRE and responses of officers included:-

·    There was some potential for confusion, particularly for very young children and Christianity should only be emphasised at this early stage. However, the present syllabus stated that religions other than Christianity should be taught at all key stages. Officers stated that RE teaching should be appropriate to the age of the pupil and would allow schools to focus on more of an in-depth study of religion which they consider appropriate.

·    There was nothing to prevent a school including aspects of Judaism in the teaching of other faiths and beliefs. The distinction was made between using Old Testament texts to support the teaching of Christianity and teaching about Judaism as a religion on its own right.

·    There was a need for teachers to have an understanding of RE. In an earlier report Ofsted identified Christianity as the religion that was taught very badly.

·    The largest faiths in Lincolnshire were Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

·    The cultural heritage of the UK was Christian and therefore there was a legal obligation that Christianity was a compulsory element of the AS. In this respect the law and the AS had not changed.

·    Comparisons between different religions were already taught in schools.

·    Officers stated that the additional elements still required examination. This would be something for the teachers' working party to attend to.

·    25% of schools in Lincolnshire were Church schools. Officers stated that CofE Voluntary Controlled schools had a legal obligation to follow the local AS.

·    Judaism was fundamental to understanding Christian issues and was important to understanding Jewish issues today. This was different from teaching about Judaism in its own right.

The Chairman thanked members for their comments which would be considered by the ASC.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted and that the comments of the SACRE be referred to the ASC.