Issue - meetings

Briefing Item ED13110

SACRE Members received a report which updated them on the progress of the Bromley New RE Agreed Syllabus 2013.

The New Agreed Syllabus was sanctioned by the SACRE committee at their meeting in May 2013. Unfortunately the process was held up due to a change in the agreement to fund the design and production of a CD but this was resolved in September 2013.

The RE Consultant and a designer had worked together and the New Syllabus was being made into a CD to be given to all Bromley schools. This would be launched at an event at the Civic Centre in Bromley on 20^th November 2013, to which all members of the SACRE committee were invited, as well as representatives from all the schools and Academies in Bromley. The Mayor of Bromley would be attending the event and the recently retired Chairman of SACRE would be speaking on “The Importance of RE in the 21^st Century”.

The law states that Academies are able to choose which agreed syllabus to use while maintained schools must use the locally agreed syllabus. It is hoped that the Academies in Bromley will choose to use the new Bromley agreed syllabus which teaches all the main religions and also has a thematic unit for each year group. Also included are a number of explanatory pages, a section on assessment, a section on the Early Years Foundation stage and a number of pages of resources and suitable websites for teachers to use.

Rachel Archer, Teacher and RE Co-ordinator from Valley Primary School commented that her school was part of a cluster of seven primary Academies which had agreed to adopt the New RE Syllabus.

Mr Mahmood asked if a copy of the CD could be given to Darul Uloom and also suggested that it could be sent to independent schools in Bromley. Following discussion, SACRE Members agreed to recommend that the New Agreed Syllabus should be put on the Bromley Council website.

Resolved that

(i) progress of the New RE Agreed Syllabus and arrangements for the Syllabus Launch be noted, and

(ii) arrangements be made for the New RE Agreed Syllabus to be put on the Bromley Council website following the Syllabus Launch.

(Councillor Adams, Mr Mahmood and Mr Riat left the meeting after consideration of this item)