Agenda item

Report CSD21035

The Bromley SACRE Adviser was seeking to support the creation and development of a wide range of electronic resources that could support the delivery of the new Agreed Syllabus. These resources would be made available to schools via the SACRE section of the Bromley Education Matter website.

The SACRE RE Adviser reminded Members that the idea to create videos demonstrating personal faith to share with schools had been discussed at the last meeting, and thanked those that had already sent in video clips. It was noted that the creation of videos was not just limited to the faith representatives on the SACRE and any Member wishing to do so could submit a clip.

There were four key questions to be addressed which related to the Curriculum Map:

-  “What do I believe about how the world began?” (Year 1);

-  “What buildings/places are important to me/do I use for worship, and how do the features or items here show what I believe [about God] and value as important?” (Year 3 and 5);

-  “What do I wear that shows my beliefs/values?” (Year 2); and

-  “What do I believe happens when we die?” (Year 5).

A SACRE Member enquired it there was the potential for others to contribute to the videos. It was suggested that the Bromley Three Faiths Group could collaborate on a video, if it would be considered helpful, to show an aspect of community cohesion. The SACRE RE Adviser agreed and said that she would like to expand on this idea even further by setting up and recording a debate between representative from a number of different faiths. Depending on the question, this would help to demonstrate to pupils both the similarity and vast differences of the response received from members of different faiths. Following a brief discussion, SACRE Members agreed that this sounded like a good way forward, however, it was highlighted that there was a need to ensure that all those being interviewed were provided with the questions in advance to allow responses to be prepared.

In response to a question, the SACRE RE Adviser said that clips had been received covering responses to the four questions. “What do I believe about how the world began?” had been covered from the aspects of Judaism and Christianity, and a clip covering “What do I wear that shows my beliefs/values?” and “What do I believe happens when we die?” had been received from Islamic faith representatives. The Chairman had also agreed to film a tour of his church and the Islamic faith representative would be filming a tour of a mosque. The Jewish faith representative had spoken with members of her reformed synagogue and would be looking to put together responses to some of the other questions and a tour. It was highlighted that the more responses received for each question the better, as it would allow pupils to discuss and compare.

The SACRE RE Adviser informed Members that she had also approached friends with regards to creating video clips, and noted that a school had contacted her to advise that parents had prepared a video of worship in the Hindu home, which was an idea that she would share and discuss in further detail with teachers at the network meetings. A Member highlighted that if those creating the videos included their own children, if there was the capacity to do so, it would be beneficial as children often liked to listen to other children talking.

A Member suggested that Richard Martin, who had written a number of books on inter-faith relations, could be approached to see if he would like to provide an overview. The Chairman agreed that this was something that could be pursued.      ACTION: Chairman

Another Member suggested that SACRE Councillor representatives could consider providing a clip focussing on religion and how it was dealt with in public life, including explaining why the SACRE was in existence and the impetus behind it.

The SACRE RE Adviser noted that a meeting would take place over the next couple of weeks to discuss how the videos could be uploaded and shared. The Chairman advised that this may be via a secured private page on Youtube, which would safeguard against any of the materials being misused.