Agenda item

The Chairman informed SACRE Members that the government had announced it would not be renewing its funding to the national Inter Faith Network (IFN) – without this funding the IFN could not continue to function, and would be closing down. It was highlighted that the effectiveness of local networks was now even more important.

The SACRE RE Adviser said that the IFN network in Bromley had an overlap with the membership of the SACRE, and she had previously suggested bringing the two together. One idea discussed had been the development of the ‘REal Resources’ – these were being used in schools, had been well received, and would continue to be developed. At the last meeting, the possibility of holding an inter faith workshop had been discussed – for example faith representatives could be asked to talk about a concept from the primary RE curriculum, and materials from this could then be developed into resources for schools. In order to progress this further, the SACRE Adviser said she would be applying for Westhill Funding. The deadline for submitting the bid was the 31^st March 2024 – if successful, a working group would be established, and any SACRE Members interested in helping to develop the inter faith workshop could participate.

The SACRE RE Adviser noted that, in May 2021, Ofsted published a series of subject reports, and the report on RE had been discussed in depth – a follow up report was due to be published by December 2023, however this had been delayed. An extract from the Ofsted Annual Report regarding the general national picture of RE had been provided in the agenda pack. Ofsted appeared to have been generally disappointed with the RE delivered and the lack of quality – this was not the case in Bromley. The SACRE RE Adviser reassured SACRE Members that the Locally Agreed Syllabus contrasted greatly to some of the negative statements in the report.

The SACRE RE Adviser highlighted that she had added some questions underneath the extract which schools could contemplate. A Member considered that these questions were very thought provoking.

The SACRE RE Adviser noted that the NASACRE Conference and AGM would be taking place on 20^th May 2024 – the Ofsted Annual Report may be discussed at the event and, if so, further feedback could be provided at the next SACRE meeting.

A SACRE Member highlighted that the Church of England schools in the borough had their own network of primary schools which received training, including that provided by the Diocese. The SACRE RE Adviser said she would like to contact the Advisers at the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education regarding the potential to link the Church of England network sessions with those that she delivered for the Local Authority. It was considered that community schools could benefit from their collective worship resources/guidance, and vice versa as the REal resources covered a range of other religions and worldviews. It was agreed that a meeting would be arranged between the SACRE RE Adviser and a representative of the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education.    ACTION: SACRE RE Adviser / Lee Kings

The SACRE RE Adviser said the school Governor survey, which would be discussed under the next item, had been useful in helping to identify schools following a different RE syllabus. These schools could now be contacted, and provided an opportunity to open up conversations about the syllabus and good RE in general.

A Member said that he agreed with the proposals suggested – there was a good tradition in the borough of “doing things the Bromley way” and this seemed a good way of driving things forward. The Chairman encouraged SACRE Members to respond to any requests received from the SACRE RE Adviser.