Minutes:
The Chairman reminded SACRE members that at the last meeting on 6th December 2017, a possible plan to cover the SACRE Advisor role had been suggested, with Ms Virginia Corbyn using some of her time to cover the primary elements, and Mr Jed Stone the secondary. As Mr Stone had since resigned from his role on the Committee, the Chairman and LBB officers were considering a way forward, and welcomed any suggestions from members.
In response to a question, the Chairman said that every Local Authority had a pot of money allocated for School Standards. In previous years, when the pot of money had been larger, SACRE had been allocated its own budget. As this was no longer the case, the SACRE would need to bid for money required from the School Standards budget. There was an argument that the School Standards budget should only be used to the benefit of the schools that the Local Authority had direct responsibility for. However, very few schools were left, as most within the Borough had become Academies.
Members considered that if there was not a SACRE Advisor, the SACRE would be unable to fulfil its statutory duties. Previous SACRE Advisors had arranged teacher training events and activities for schools. These were highly valuable and it was felt that all students should benefit, whether they attended Local Authority schools or Academies. Reverend Varney noted that during the previous academic year there had been money available, indirectly, to fund the time of Mr Kieran Osborne, and at the last meeting it had been agreed that Bromley SACRE would draw on Ms Corbyn’s expertise, which it was assumed would not be cost free. The Chairman stated that it had been planned to share the cost of Ms Corbyn’s time with the London Borough of Bexley, but a definitive amount had not yet been decided. Reverend Varney said that some of the required elements of work to be undertaken were known; leading on school visits and writing report; attending meetings and following up any actions; and contributing to the SACRE Annual Report. The required hours to deliver these could be roughly calculated, and a bid for funding submitted. It would then be up to the London Borough of Bromley to decide if they would fund the role. Members understood that there was a structural problem in the method the money was drawn down, but this was not the SACRE’s issue and they needed an Advisor’s time and expertise in order to deliver their statutory role.
Reverend Varney offered to meet with the Chairman and LBB officers to discuss the SACRE’s requirements. The Chairman agreed that this would be beneficial and requested that a meeting be arranged after Easter for himself, the LBB Head of Early Years, School Standards and Adult Education, the LBB Head of School Standards and Reverend Varney to agree the requirements of funding a SACRE Advisor role. It was noted that Ms Corbyn had agreed to assist with the primary elements of the role, but a secondary advisor would still need to be identified. If Ms Corbyn was to facilitate the revision of the Bromley Agreed Syllabus, the work required by the secondary advisor would be reduced. Members considered that as most secondary schools in the Borough were Academies, the RE leaders were able to facilitate network and communication methods via a different model to primary schools. The Chairman noted that before Mr Osborne had left his role as LBB RE Advisor, he had been exploring the possibility of forming a wider schools network with the Heads of RE at Hayes School and Ravens Wood School. The Chairman said he would contact Mr Osborne and see if this had been established, and if so, enquire if and how it could be ‘tapped into’. ACTION: Chairman
RESOLVED that a meeting be organised after Easter to discuss a bid to fund a SACRE Advisor role.