Agenda and minutes

Apologies have been received from John Lester.

Apologies were received from John Lester, Kevin Walsh and from Councillor Dilip Patel.

Clare Beach was welcomed as a new member representing teachers.

It was noted that Pamela Coles would cease to be a member of SACRE following the next meeting.

To elect the new Vice-Chair of Havering SACRE.

Following a proposal put forward by John Smailes and seconded by Pamela Coles, John Lester was unanimously elected as Vice-Chair of Havering SACRE.

To agree as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2017 (attached) and to authorise the Chairman to sign them and to address any matters arising therefrom.

It was noted that apologies for absence had also been received from Councillor Stephanie Nunn.

The minutes were otherwise agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Under matters arising, it was confirmed that letters had now been drafted tio schools identified as giving cause for concern over RE teaching offered following SACRE’s monitoring and evaluation of school websites.

To receive reports from the Primary and Secondary phase representatives and Professional Advisers and to comment on them or propose action as necessary.

Feedback from the Strictly RE Conference had been given at the primary subject leaders meeting and a new app had been launched to assist primary RE teaching. New posters had also been produced showing key words relating to various places of worship. Dolls were also available to assist with the teaching of RE. Teachers had welcomed the new techniques which meant children were doing more action learning. Teachers were also now more positive about the new syllabus.

The revised SACRE terms of reference had now been agreed by the Council.

To discuss the attached data on the Religious Studies exam performance of local schools

Following a review of Religious Studies exam data for local schools, it was agreed that the SACRE professional advisers should write to congratulate those schools that had received good results.

Whilst certain schools appeared to be having very few teaching hours for RE, it was pointed that this could be classified under another subject heading. It was also clarified that Academies only had to make provision for RE, rather than necessarily follow the Havering syllabus.

Several schools appeared to be offering less than the number of recommended hours of RE lessons. It was further agreed that the professional advisers would write to schools which appeared to have poor exam results or low numbers of hours allocated to RE and seek further details.

It was noted that very few students were sitting the Religious Studies entry level qualification as this did not count towards performance levels.

RE in the Ofsted reports of 3 Havering schools. SACRE to discuss Ofsted’s findings and decide upon any necessary actions.

The professional adviser explained that OFSTED had found there was insufficient subject knowledge for RE teaching in some Havering schools. OFSTED inspections only looked at the impact on learning and so may not always report on RE. One OFSTED report on a local school had shown a lack of confidence in the school about the teaching of Islam. It was noted that the new RE subject leader for this school was attending the relevant networks etc. Mr Siddiqui offered to assist where possible with the teaching of Islam.

It was noted that the State of the Nation Primary Survey was due in the next six months and it would be useful if this could be used to establish the level of confidence for the teaching of RE in Havering.

To receive reports and to comment on or propose action as appropriate. Update from professional advisers attached.

It was noted that the national NASACRE conference would be held in London on 24 May. Luthaneal Adams indicated he wished to attend and could report back to the group and it was agreed that the professional advisers would enquire if the Council was able to pay for a delegate to attend the conference.

Anyone interested in standing for a place on the NASACRE Executive Committee was asked to contact the SACRE Chairman or professional advisers. It was also agreed unanimously to support payment of the increased NASACRE membership fee of £105 per year.

The professional advisers would circulate details of a planned two-day conference in October 2018 in Crewe, once these were available.

An on-line resource on sacred texts was available from the British Library and it was agreed that the cost implications of this resource should be checked prior to publicising this to schools. There was also a need to develop proper lesson plans around this resource if it were to be used. A SACRE list of recommended resources to support the teaching of RE could also be developed.

The BBC was working to mainstream religion within programmes and had designated 2019 as a ‘year of beliefs’ across the organisation. It was suggested that the Council could use the Council’s Living in Havering magazine to publicise this work and that of SACRE more generally. The clerk would supply to the professional advisers details of relevant Council officers who could assist with this.

It was agreed that SACRE members would bring ideas for how the ‘year of beliefs’ could be marked locally to the next SACRE meeting. It was suggested that faith representatives could discuss with their communities what events could potentially be held. Possible venues for a multi-faith event included a school, Queen’ Theatre or the former Carphone Warehouse building in the Brewery.

It would agreed that an item to discuss ideas for these events would be included on the agenda for the next meeting of SACRE.

To consider with advisers the use of the NASACRE Self-Evaluation Form (copy attached).

The group worked on the NSACRE self-evaluation tool which could be used to begin to develop a development plan for Havering SACRE. All written comments were retained by the professional advisers who would produce a summary document for consideration by SACRE at its next meeting.

As this was the final SACRE meeting before the Council elections, the Chairman thanked those Councillors who had been members of SACRE for their work and input.

The Chairman also recorded thanks to the outgoing clerk and welcomed the new clerk of SACRE.

To agree a venue for the SACRE meeting scheduled for 12 July 2018 and, if possible, set dates for future meetings.

The next meeting would be held at 6 pm on 12 July 2018, provisionally at Romford Evangelical Church, Brentwood Road. Should this not prove possible, the professional advisers agreed to investigate the possibility of using St Andrew’s Church, Hornchurch as an alternative venue for the meeting.