a) London SACREs event
b) Youth SACRE – update
c) Islamic Competition
d) SACRE annual report for 2011-2012
e) National RE - update
Minutes:
a) London SACREs event -
Annual meeting of the London and South East SACREs
The Chairman and Councillor Mrs Manning had attended the above event on 6th November 2012 at the National Zoroastrian Centre in Harrow, Middlesex.
The Chairman commented on the address by John Keast which included a report on the work of the RE Council. (A copy of the presentation was circulated at the meeting.) There had also been a presentation by Mary Myatt on the Religious Education Quality Mark.
Religious Education was not in a good state nationally and there were a lot of challenges. Local SACREs needed to be more pro-active. Suggested points for action in Bromley:
(i)Invite more schools to ‘present’ about RE at SACRE meetings
(ii) Try to capture what the learners feel about RE – pupil surveys?
(iii) Engage more with academies.
The RE Adviser commented that pupils’ opinions had been expressed in the survey sent to the Bromley Schools RE co-ordinators earlier in the year. She suggested that some of these opinions could be included in the SACRE Annual Report for 2011-2012. (Action PSO)
Notes of the annual London and South East SACREs meeting are attached to these minutes (Appendix 1). Also attached for information, NASACRE updates: June to October 2012 (Appendix 2).
b) Youth SACRE - update
The RE Adviser reported that there had not been a meeting of the Youth SACRE during the previous term but a meeting was planned for the 21st November 2012 at Coopers Technology College.
c) Islamic Competition
This would take place from 7 - 9pm on 15th November 2012 at Darul Uloom. Mr Mahmood informed the meeting that four schools were participating; Bullers Wood, Bishop Justus, Langley Park School for Boys and Coopers Technology College. All SACRE members were welcome and were asked to arrive by 6.50pm. A modest dress code was required; ladies should wear a long loose dress/skirt and a headscarf. SACRE Members were asked to notify Mr Mahmood if they wished to attend. The SACRE clerk would circulate further details by email. (Action CR)
The Chairman remarked that arrangements had been made for students from Darul Uloom to visit St. Nicholas Primary School in Chislehurst on 14th November 2012. Mr Mahmood commented on the keen interest which was always shown by the SACRE Chairman and stated that Mr Sweet was a great asset to the Council. Mr Mahmood asked for his comments to be formally recorded in the minutes.
(Councillor Adams, Mr Riat and Rev Varney left the meeting after consideration of this item.)
d) SACRE Annual Report for 2011 - 2012
The RE Adviser was preparing the annual SACRE report for 2011 - 2012 and would incorporate pupil comments (see item 5a above). The report would be checked by the Chairman before being sent to NASACRE and the Department for Education in December 2012. The report would also be distributed to all Bromley schools, SACRE Members, the Portfolio Holder for Education and members of the Education Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee. The Chairman suggested, and SACRE members agreed that a copy of the annual report should be sent to Michael Gove MP and Liz Truss MP with a covering letter. It was further agreed that a copy of the report should be sent to the local Members of Parliament drawing their attention to the fact that the report had been sent to the above named MPs.
e) National RE Update
National RE Review: The RE Adviser reported that earlier that day she had attended a meeting of the RE Council, as a member of the Association of Religious Education Inspectors Advisors and Consultants (AREIAC). She had been given a copy of a report on Phase 1 of the National RE Review which had been release from embargo that afternoon. (The review was to run alongside the review of the National Curriculum.) The report had been prepared by a Panel of four experts who had interviewed 50 people; teachers, pupils, advisors and inspectors. From 12th November until 3rd December 2012 there was going to be a public consultation on the document. The RE Adviser would forward the report and questionnaire to SACRE Members and encouraged them to respond. (Action PSO)
RE Quality Mark: This had been discussed at the RE Co-ordinators meeting. Details of the Quality Mark can be seen on the following website: www.reqm.org (see also Appendix 1). The RE Adviser would be happy to assist schools who wished to pursue this.
RE Council – Sponsored Walk: In order to help support the costs of the RE Review the RE Council would be having a sponsored walk in May 2013. This would also coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the RE Council. Further details would be circulated when available.
Inter Faith Week: This would take place from 18th – 27th November 2012. Resources can be found on www.interfaithweek.org Patricia Colling (the Catholic representative on SACRE) said that she had been asked to produce something on “what you see when you go into church” and understood that other religious groups had been asked to do something similar. The RE Adviser said that she was not aware of this but it might be something which could be a useful resource for schools. Mrs Colling said that she would make some more enquiries about the project.(Action PC)
(Mr Town left the meeting after consideration of this item.)