RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th February 2019 be confirmed as a correct record subject to the following amendment:

‘… this would be the last meeting that Church of England representatives, Virginia Corbyn and Reverend Steve Varney, would be attending’.

B) MATTERS ARISING:

Minute 30: Oral Update & Publications – A.) Ramadan 2019 – A Guide for Schools

The SACRE RE Advisor said that a copy of the 2019 Ramadan Guide had been provided to Members of the Health and Wellbeing Board. Councillor David Jefferys, Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board noted that Board Members had been pleased to receive the document, and had passed on their congratulations for an excellent piece of collaborative work.

Board Members had asked if there was any information available regarding how the document had been distributed to schools, and if it was known how many schools had used the document. As a result, the SACRE RE Advisor would be gathering feedback on the document from schools during the RE network meetings.

The SACRE RE Advisor said that three secondary RE co-ordinators had attended the network meeting held just prior to the meeting of the SACRE, none of whom had previously seen a copy of the Ramadan Guide. The LBB Head of Schools Standards confirmed that the document had been circulated to the Headteachers of all schools via the School Circular, and it was also uploaded on to the Fronter system for schools to access it. The SACRE RE Advisor said that she had introduced the document at the teacher network meetings, and had handed out copies. In response to a question, the LBB Director of Education confirmed that the School Circular was the primary method for getting information to schools and it had recently been modernised which enabled data indicating if items had been read. A Member noted that there may be a Consultative Advisory Committee that the document could be circulated through, and the LBB Director of Education said that he would be happy to enquire about this.    ACTION: LBB Director of Education

A teacher representative noted that Headteachers were more likely to have forwarded the Ramadan Guide on to pastoral staff, rather than RE coordinators. Following a discussion, it was agreed that the SACRE RE Advisor would liaise with Dr Omar Taha to update the document with the dates of Ramadan for 2020, and recirculate the guide to schools. It was suggested that when the updated guide was sent to schools, it should be highlighted that the document should be forwarded. It was noted that the document was suitable for all members of staff, and should therefore be shared with everyone at the school.    ACTION: SACRE RE Advisor

The Chairman said that it would be ideal to have the document available on a dedicated web page, and for a reminder to then be sent to schools at an appropriate point in the year. Members considered that enquiries could also be made as to obtaining a slot at the Heads’ Forums to advise them about the Ramadan Guide.    ACTION: LBB Head of School Standards

Minute 31: SACRE Annual Report

The SACRE RE Advisor noted that national RE exam statistics had not been available at the time the SACRE Annual Report had been produced. It was hoped that this information would be available for the SACRE meeting on the 13^th November, and would be included in the SACRE Annual Report 2018-19.

  ACTION: SACRE RE Advisor / LBB Head of School Standards

Minute 32: Ofsted Draft Framework Consultation

The Chairman advised Members that the Local Authority had submitted a contribution to the consultation. The new Ofsted framework had now been passed, and would be implemented from September 2019.

At the invitation of the Chairman, the LBB Director of Education provided an overview of his role at Bromley.

The LBB Director of Education thanked the Chairman for his invite to attend the meeting, which allowed him the opportunity to reconfirm the Local Authorities support for the SACRE. The work of the SACRE was important, and the extension of the advisory support stood them in good stead going forward.

The LBB Director of Education set out his ambition to further enhance and build effective relationships and partnerships with schools, partners and communities. The department was to be more outward looking, and open to learning from partners in order to support children and adults in education. They would seek to improve the sharing of information with schools and other partners, as the current system, Fronter, was felt to no longer be fit for purpose. It was planned for an ‘open access’ website to be implemented, which would enable public access, but would be targeted at professionals and partners. It was hoped that the initial system would be in place for September 2019, and would allow information sharing to happen in a meaningful way.

It was intended for there to be a specific SACRE web page, which would allow documents such as the Ramadan Guide for Schools to be available all year round, and for it to be the “go to” place for information. A Member noted that it would be good to see the web page available to all, however the department may need to be prepared to answer more questions. The LBB Director of Education agreed, and said that the evidence was that there would be an increased focus on engagement. Similar work had been undertaken in relation to Special Educational Needs (SEN) and working to get the best service had led to more calls and emails, but they were open to having this type of engagement.

The Chairman noted that there was a Bromley SACRE Facebook page, which he added posts to. Members were encouraged to use the page to support and encourage what was happening in relation to RE.