SACRE Members reflected on the sad passing of Rabbi Lee Sunderland who had reached out and worked alongside a number of other faiths. SACRE Members held a minute’s silence in remembrance. 

Apologies for absence had been received from Stephanie Ellner, Ruth Everett, Marlene Wylie, Cllr Tumilty and Dawn Ladbrook. 

As there were no Group B (Church of England) representatives in attendance, the meeting was not quorate and therefore any decisions would be deferred to the next meeting. 

In the absence of Cllr Tumilty, Dr J Lester chaired the meeting. 

Congratulations were passed onto Mr T Mahmood for his recent recognition by being awarded an MBE.  

Absence from the following Members was noted:  

Peter Feinson, Pastor Aloysius Peter, George Prinn, Sansar Narwal, Nasir Mubashar, Luthaneal Adams, Bal Degun. Kathryn Everitt, Terry Riches and Cllr P Ruck. 

There were no new or substitute Members in attendance. 

To agree as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024 (attached) and to discuss any matters arising.

1.    The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024 were received and agreed as a true record. The minutes however, would need to be ratified at the next meeting due to being inquorate.  

ACTION: HGS 

2.    Matters arising from the minutes, not included elsewhere on the agenda, were as follows: 

1.            Collective Worship (Minute 3.3.2, refers):The clerk confirmed

that the governor discussions regarding Collective Worship were currently being collated, and would be brought to the next meeting. 

ACTION: HGS

It was noted that training on Collective Worship had been provided for governors and Headteachers; JDC advised that since then, she had been invited into 2 schools to support them to develop their Collective Worship provision. 

2.            Working group (Minute 3.3.5, refers):A briefing document on the

determination proves had been sent out following the previous meeting as discussed. 

3.            BBC programme link (Minute 4, refers): A copy of the link to

Sidra Naeem’s assembly on Ramadan featured on the BBC had been shared. 

4.            School letters (Minute 6, refers):JDC advised that school letters

would be sent out once the monitoring had been completed, and evaluated. 

5.            Website audits (Minute 7, refers): The Clerk confirmed that the

template and the list of schools had been shared. 

To receive and discuss the SACRE Local update report (Summer 2024).

SACRE Members received the report on the Local Activity.  

S Naeem reported that Harold Wood Primary School and Rise Park Junior School, had invited herself and T Mahmood to visit them to lead a session on Eid. 

JDC referred to the report and advised that Havering Subject Leaders have received 3 CPD sessions; the meeting in May had focused on the published Ofsted report into Religious Education. The next session would include a discussion on non-religious World Views. 

To receive and discuss the SACRE National update report (Summer 2024).

SACRE Members received the report on national developments. 

The report provided a summary of the key outcomes of the Ofsted subject report into Religious Education titled ‘Deep and Meaningful?’ which was published on 17 April 2024. The report included recommendations not only for schools, but syllabus writers and the Government. The report also included examples of good practice in order to provide clarity to schools. JDC explained that the RE Subject Leaders had gone through the technical definitions included within the report so that they were effectively able to reflect on about their own school’s RE provision. 

It was questioned if there were any actions required of the LA highlighted within the report. JDC explained that the report did include recommendations around CPD, however Havering already provided 6 twilights and 1 full days’ worth of CPD for subject leaders. 

JDC agreed to present to the group at the next meeting with regards to the report. 

ACTION: JDC 

It was questioned if Religious Studies remained an option for undergraduates at university; JDC confirmed that there remained degree options. There was now a bursary available if learning to teach RE, however the funding was not as much as some other subjects and therefore attracted a smaller number of students. 

A SACRE Member asked if there was a national decrease in religion. JDC responded that the census data had shown that there was a reduction in people who had a religious world view, however the BBC had reported that there had not been a reduction in interest in religious programming. It was felt that anecdotally, there had been a drop in formal religiosity, but a definite increase in people identifying as being spiritual in some way. There was also a wider number of different faiths and therefore, it was even more important for people to be understanding of each other’s beliefs. 

To review progress made against the SEF (March 2023), and discuss how to evaluate and monitor RE in Havering moving forward.

It was noted that the Chair had made the suggestion to have a general discussion, on how SACRE could look more broadly, or creatively to build better relationships with schools so that the monitoring of RE, was more effective and meaningful. 

K Siddiqui advised that SACRE Members used to go into schools, observe the teacher, and advise schools on how best to teach about their faith. JDC explained that this was a time where LAs had full time RE Advisors, and part of their role was to train SACRE Members on how to undertake school visits; this was no longer the case and SACRE Members would no longer be welcomed into schools in that capacity. At the time, all schools were also maintained schools, and therefore there was greater jurisdiction from the LA regarding such visits. JDC stated that if this was a route that Havering SACRE wished to pursue, they would need to invest in training and visit other SACREs (such as in Bedford), which had more experience in this. It was acknowledged that not all SACRE Members would have the time to visit schools due to other commitments. 

It was agreed that for many schools, without having an established, trusted relationship, having SACRE Members coming in to comment on their RE provision would not be welcomed, and might see the visit as an intrusion. It was suggested that another way to build relationships might be to invite school staff to a SACRE meeting to share their good practice as an opportunity to celebrate their school. 

SACRE Members discussed the option to organise a ‘youth interfaith’ day or ‘youth conference’ where pupils and teachers from multiple schools would be invited to attend and learn about different Worldviews through various activities. It was suggested that all activities could be based on a common value, such as respect, or light (as examples). 

Regarding venue, J Fox advised that the Salvation Army in Romford may be able to host the day, depending on availability. 

JDC suggested inviting pupils from Year 5 and Year 8. 

A working group would meet to discuss the details further, and bring an update to the next SACRE. JDC also offered to help if needed as she had organised a number of similar days. 

ACTION: Dr J Lester / W Brice-Thompson / S Naeem and K Van Coevorden 

Cllr McArdle advised that she would be happy to speak with Havering Changing, regarding potential funding for the project. 

ACTION: Cllr J McArdle 

To receive feedback from the working party regarding any progress made in developing a determination process for Havering.

It was noted that the working party had not had the opportunity to meet. It was agreed that JDC would contact SACRE Newham to see if they would be happy to share their process which, once tweaked to suit Havering, could be adopted. 

To discuss and agree a local project for schools and to agree next steps regarding a potential Youth SACRE.

JDC reported that RE Subject Leaders had been enthusiastic about the display idea which had been drafted by Ruth Everett. SACRE Members in the summer term 2025 could look at the displays submitted. It was suggested that the Romford Recorder could be advised of the project to help raise the profile of RE and SACRE. 

ACTION: Cllr Taylor / HGS

JDC would approach Newham to see if Havering SACRE could visit their Youth SACRE. 

ACTION: JDC

To receive any feedback following training undertaken.

No training had been undertaken since the previous meeting. 

1.    S Naeem advised that the Interfaith Forum was running a‘Cleanliness

in our Creed’ session on Wednesday 24 July and asked for a volunteer from the Church of England. Karen Van Coevorden agreed to approach a member of the Romford Baptist Church. 

ACTION: Karen Van Coevorden 

2.    Thanks were passed to Barry Smith for hosting the meeting, providing

such a welcoming venue. 

Date for the autumn term meeting to be confirmed.

The date of the next meeting would be confirmed by the end of the summer term. 

ACTION: HGS 

The meeting closed at 7.30pm.