To welcome members to SACRE and receive a prayer

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and thanked Adam Robertson for stepping in at such short notice.

Anna Nugent delivered the thought for the afternoon around Inter Faith week and read out an act of commitment by the faith communities of the UK for a shared act of reflection and commitment, which was made at the House of Lords as part of the Millennium celebrations:

“In a world scarred by the evils of war, 
racism, injustice and poverty,
we offer this joint Act of Commitment as we 
look to our shared future.

We commit ourselves,
as people of many faiths,
to work together
for the common good,
uniting to build a better society,
grounded in values and ideals we share:

community,
personal integrity,
a sense of right and wrong,
learning, wisdom and love of truth,
care and compassion,
justice and peace,
respect for one another,
for the earth and its creatures.

We commit ourselves,
in a spirit of friendship and co-operation,
to work together
alongside all who share our values and ideals,
to help bring about a better world
now and for generations to come.”

This was followed by a minute of reflection.

The Chair informed the group that she was able to send (through a charity associate visiting London), a bouquet of flowers from Herefordshire SACRE to Hyde Park, in respect of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Chair also announced that Anna Nugent would be stepping down from her role in SACRE in January 2023 and wished her well for the future.

Apologies were received from Cllr Harvey, Cllr Hewitt, Stephen Pett, Geoff Sallis and Alison Naylor.

To receive any details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the Committee.

Louise Tanner substituted for Alison Naylor.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th July 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of 8^th July 2022 were unanimously approved as accurate and correct.

No questions were received from members of the public.

To appoint and approve a primary school representative for the committee.

Ms. Tracy Westlake was unanimously approved as the primary school representative for Herefordshire SACRE.

A provisional planning update for primary and secondary 2023 RE conference activity.

Adam Robertson provided an update on primary and secondary conferences for 2023.

Secondary Conference

Three Counties Secondary Conference, Thursday 22 June 2023, Packrup Hotel, Tewkesbury, GL20 6EL

Agenda:

·       Worldviews, diversity, disciplines and personal knowledge: applying new thinking in RE

·       Progressed learning about Muslim worldviews from Y7 to GCSE: 5 practical and inspiring examples

·       Decolonising RE? Interpretation, context and power

·       Global RE, Global Christianity: startling examples of a worldview you thought you knew

·       Non-religious worldviews: studying diverse expressions

·       Evaluations

Key points raised by the council:

-          Chair happy to open the conference.

-          The committee felt that it was a strong programme and were particularly interested in decolonising RE.

-          Praise for the venue (Puckrup Hall Hotel), which allowed for attendees to car share.

Primary RE Conference

Council decided on July 4^th as a date.

The council felt the event should be in-person. With recordings (if permitted) of speeches and workshops made available after the event - to encourage people to turn up on the day

The council members were keen to see the following featured at the primary school conference:

-          A workshop on assessment and effective ways of assessing.

-          Impactful teaching and ways of remembering.

-          Multidisciplinary RE and how to approach and evidence it (link with EYFS)

-          Ofsted and RE

-          EYFS RE

-          Ways in through art: encountering religions

Special needs conference could be held in the autumn, but would have to be in person.

To discuss the membership and proportionality of SACRE.

SACRE discussed issues surrounding membership and proportionality.

Key issues discussed were:

-        Need for Sikh, Islam and Hindu representatives.

-        Difficult to find members from minority faiths in some instances they can’t attend every meeting, so perhaps the board could approach them for input as required.

-        Need to encourage people who will be able to communicate well in a school environment.

-        Use Spotlight, teacher networks and hospital chaplain to reach out for members.

Action: Ruth Stanier to approach local Muslim contact about providing input on Islam.

Action: Louise Tanner/Alison Naylor to put message out through Spotlight.  

A briefing on recent world views activity.

Adam Robertson provided an update on World Views.

It was explained that in relation to World Views the RE community had move on organically (rather than being led by government) and that the RE Education Council had commissioned Stephen Pett to produce a World View resource. This resource was intended to build a framework on which syllabus writers might be able to develop a curriculum that took into account and drew from the World View approach:

REC Draft Handbook Religion and Worldviews in the Classroom: developing a worldviews approach (religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk)

It was explained that the approach would provide a statement of entitlement, which would present a recommendation and guidance as to how much every child should be entitled to in terms of quality and breadth of education.

It was noted that religions were not fixed or set in stone and that they changed over time. The resource would provide a vision as to what might help people on their journey.

SACRE was shown and talked through the World View mixing desk, which was a tool that would enable certain themes to be faded up and a down depending on individual preference, this would be useful in gaining an insight into individual or group thinking on a variety of themes.

The resource would assist in envisaging what the next RE syllabus in Herefordshire might look like and the conferences would help bring this in.

It was stressed that the resource and World Views was not a checklist of expectations, but a mechanism for selecting content. Not everything would be included, in the same way that the syllabus for history would not attempt to cover all of history.

It was pointed out that local schools could start looking at how they could incorporate World Views into their existing syllabuses, rather than waiting for the new syllabus.

It was decided that Herefordshire SACRE would be provided with additional training on World Views to be delivered over the course of forthcoming meetings.

A discussion around the RE Today contract.

Herefordshire SACRE unanimously agreed that it wished to renew/extend its contract with RE Today if that was possible. The Chair explained she would discuss renewal/bid options with RE Today to see if it could freeze its rates - with a view to suggesting a rollover to the finance office.

Action: Louise Tanner to contact Malcolm Green about available options and consider changes to procurement roles. Join up with Malcolm Green and Alison Naylor. Cllr John Stone to assist with pitch if necessary.

An update and discussion on Herefordshire School Workforce data.

Adam Robertson briefed the council on the data provided, but stressed that the data was not to be considered as complete:

Herefordshire Workforce Data 2022.pdf

It was questioned whether tutor time in assembly was sufficient to cover off an adequate amount of RE education. Certain schools in the county may need following up, especially with regards to Key Stage 4 teaching.

The council considered whether subjects such as history/geography would be taught in tutor time/assembly and concluded they wouldn’t.

Action: Alison Naylor to follow up on Adam’s research and seek clarification from schools about delivery and quantity of RE. Pick up in March meeting.

A discussion to agree the format and content of the annual SACRE report for 2021-22.

Nothing to report.

Approved: Stephen Pett to circulate information to the Council members in preparation for the next meeting.

Updates from RE today including discussion on NASACRE.

The Herefordshire SACRE update provided in the agenda was taken as read:

Herefordshire SACRE RE Updates Autumn 2022.pdf

The Chair explained that for an extra £50 NASACRE were offering a deal whereby anybody on the council could participate in NASACRE seminars on the website for the whole year.

Approved: The Council unanimously agreed to take up the NASACRE deal.

Any other business.

None.

Date for next meeting of SACRE in 2023:

10^th March 2023

10^th March 2023