Agenda and minutes

Herefordshire Agreed Syllabus Conference, Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) - Friday 5 July 2024 2.00 pm

Venue: Conference Room 2 - Herefordshire Council, Plough Lane Offices, Hereford, HR4 0LE. View directions

Contact: Henry Merricks-Murgatroyd, Democratic Services Officer

Items
No.	Item
98.	WELCOME AND THOUGHT FOR THE DAY To welcome members to SACRE and receive a thought for the day. Minutes: The Chair welcomed members and gave the thought for the day.
99.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Lou Barker, Tracy Westlake, and Cllr Justine Peberdy.
100.	NAMED SUBSTITUTES (if any) To receive details any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee. Minutes: There were no named substitutes.
101.	MINUTES PDF 189 KB To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 March 2024. Additional documents: Printed minutes 15032024 1430 Standing Advisory Council for Religious Edu , item 101. PDF 393 KB Minutes: The Board unanimously approved the minutes for the meeting held on 15 March 2024.
102.	RESPONSE TO WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS (if any) To answer any pre-received written questions from members of the public. Minutes: No public questions were received.
103.	AGREED SYLLABUS CONFERENCE PDF 174 KB To consider updates and amendments to the agreed syllabus ahead of its launch in 2025. Minutes: Stephen Pett presented an overview of the updates and amendments being made to the agreed syllabus. Some of the key points made were: 1. The bulk of the syllabus is the same with some tweaks to language including, for example, a change from ‘religion and belief’ to ‘religion and worldviews’ in line with CoRE and REC Handbook 2024. 2. Making non-religious worldviews, specifically Humanism, more visible. 3. Taking advantage of opportunities to provide more examples of religions from around the world. 4. Scope for SACRE to provide more examples of local places of worship and celebrations in Herefordshire and the West Midlands. Midge Ault asked how the Bahai faith would fit in with the syllabus. Stephen Pett responded that there is scope in the thematic units in the syllabus where other worldviews can be referred to in addition to the minimum requirements that reflect the local area. It was noted that the document would be sent out to board members allowing for any further changes to be requested before the next SACRE meeting by the end of September. Stephen Pett added that it is important that a launch conference is in place, particularly to reach out to as many schools as possible to have some training and think about applying the revised syllabus in the best way possible. The Chair agreed that it is important to get as many people to attend the launch conference as possible to pinpoint some of these changes and the expectations that exist alongside the revised syllabus. Peter Fawcett asked why the term ‘worldviews’ is used alongside religions. Stephen Pett noted that the use of ‘worldviews’ helps to encompass issues that are broader than religions and cover non-religious beliefs such as Humanism.