
Meeting
Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) - Doncaster
Scheduled Time
Thursday, 6th July 2023
4:30 PM
Thursday, 6th July 2023
8:30 PM
Actual Time
Thursday, 6th July 2023
12:00 AM
Thursday, 6th July 2023
12:00 AM
Confirmed
06 Jul 2023

Mr Bob Kiddle
Present, as expected
Danielle Heath
Apologies
Mrs Pahani Kaur
Present, as expected, virtual
Lucy Saxton
Absent
Mary Sivaanbu
Present, as expected, virtual
Mr S Syed
Absent
Mr B Teimoori
Present, as expected, virtual
Tara Moxon
Apologies
Mrs Sally Faulkner
Present, as expected
Mr Andy Wright
Present, as expected
Harvey Kasin
Present, as expected, virtual
Jemma Gelder
Apologies
Vanessa Greogory
Present, as expected
Jane Reed
Present, as expected
Sameena Choudry
Absent
Amy Roddam
Apologies
Jugtinder Singh
National Education Union Teachers Association
Present, as expected
- Document Minutes of Previous Meeting 29 Jun 2023
The Chair, Bob Kiddle, commented that he had spoken with Jane Reed, Head of Service, Education and Skills, and had some discussions as to what they would use the budget for to have the most positive effect in the coming year and they were satisfied that this could be done.
RESOLVED that the update on the SACRE Budget 2023/24 be noted.
Lat reported that he would provide a full report on how the course went at the next meeting of SACRE but it was an extremely positive training course for Doncaster to be holding with a lot of interest put forward. He added that in fact they were slightly ahead of their counterparts in this respect, with the need for work in the area of Special Educational Needs in the area of RE only just becoming apparent.
The Vice Chair, Councillor Glynis Smith confirmed that she would be attending on behalf of Doncaster’s SACRE and if anyone else wished to attend, they would need to communicate with Sameena Choudry who had arranged the training.
RESOLVED that the update be noted.
- Document 1 RE Today SACRE news Summer 2023 29 Jun 2023
Members noted the following points of interest:-
· Census Data and Religion and World Views in our local area - Members noted this was a useable piece of data that provided helpful information. Lat advised he would recirculate the table with the correct data links
· Spirited Arts 2023 – this was a great competition for schools to get involved with
· New RE Lead appointed to Ofsted – The Committee noted that there had been a new subject lead for RE appointed at Ofsted.
· Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza – Members were informed that an interview had been carried out with the Children’s Commissioner which made for a very good read.
· BBC provides early years RE resources – The Committee noted that the BBC has widened its range of resources for RE in primary education, particularly in relation to Early Years with some useful activities and programmes.
· Educate against Islamophobia – this group had produced a number of educational materials for Early Years, Primary and Secondary School levels with a wide range of reflective material to encourage knowledge and awareness.
· Anti Racist materials – within the update, attention was drawn to the work of Jonathan Marshall and the resources he highlighted which complimented NATRE Anti Racist materials and was very useful for educators.
· RE Connect Environmental programme – the RE Connect Program was reported to be a fantastic initiative and Lat Blaylock commented that he would love to see one of Doncaster’s schools volunteer for this programme.
After the update had been provided, Members were asked for any comments. The Chair commented that there were a huge amount of resources and support available to them as a SACRE and it was important that Members took the time to follow it up and utilised the resources.
RESOLVED that SACRE noted the National Update from RE Today.
Key points of interest to note in the report included the following:-
· Publication of the REsources Project, which would soon be circulated in all Doncaster Schools;
· The success of the achievement of the Westhill Grant;
· SACRE had provided a lot of CPD to Primary School teachers across the borough over the past year and were continually working to strengthen the link with secondary schools;
· SACRE and a number of Doncaster teachers had visited a Mosque and Gurdwara in Doncaster City Centre and had proven helpful and informative.
Members welcomed the report and were pleased to see it was reflective of all the positive work undertaken by the SACRE Committee over the past year. There were still a number of areas they would be focussing on in the coming year, that would look to further strengthen the work of the Committee and there was a lot of work to be done, but as an overview, Members agreed that it demonstrated a lot of positive work had been carried out.
RESOLVED that once finalised, the report would be signed off by SACRE and forwarded to the DfE for approval.
They had both found it to be a very worthwhile event, and had provided a lot of information and resources that could be used by SACRE Members in the future.
It was noted that there had been some very meaningful discussions with individuals from all religious backgrounds and different world views which was invaluable.
The Chair informed the Committee that there had been information on a number of future events that could also prove very useful and invited all Members to log on to NASACRE and take a look.
RESOLVED that the update from the NASACRE Annual Conference be noted.
The REsources project is a directory of representatives from across all faiths in Doncaster, providing contact names and numbers if schools wished to use this resource for any Religious Education.
It was hoped that once this was projected into schools and teachers realised the benefit of utilising this directory, it would become more widely used in the future.
RESOLVED that the update on the REsources project be noted and the work be continued to complete and promote the project.
Members heard that the Sub Committee that had been formed at the previous meeting had been successful in their application and had won an amount of £3940 to use for the implementation of the project. Jugtinder Singh reported that the event would be held at her school, Willow Primary, Bessacarr and would host a range of activities for a colourful multicultural event. Members were invited to volunteer if they felt that they could assist in any way with this event.
Jugtinder reported that they would be holding a meeting at Willow School on 17 July, 2023 to discuss this event further and were advised to contact her for more information if they wished to help. The Chair reported that he would send a diary invite to those who had expressed an interest.
RESOLVED that:-
1) SACRE note the update with regard to the Westhill Grant;
2) Councillor Yetunde Elebuibon and Pahani Kaur be notified of all arrangements for future meetings with regard to this.
RESOLVED that the Chair’s comments be noted.
Tara Moxon, Teacher representative had been due to attend the meeting and give a presentation to the Committee on the RE work carried out within her school but had unfortunately had to submit her apologies. This would therefore be given at the next meeting.
Members proposed that in addition to this, it would also be beneficial to hear from a secondary school alongside Tara, who would be giving information on Primary education and see the differences experienced. In addition to this, it was noted that many secondary schools were not meeting the legal requirements for the provision of RE and it would be interesting to hear a schools perspective. The Chair, at the request of Members informed the Committee he would look to contact Hunger hill Secondary School and enquire as to whether or not someone could attend the next meeting to give their perspective on this.
Jugtinder Singh, Teacher representative commented that she too would love to present information on her school in the future. At Willow Primary, Bessacarr, they were working towards the achievement of an RE Quality Mark and had some very positive work recently, including an assembly at school with the Imam from the Mosque who had been very engaging and informative with the children.
The Vice Chair, Councillor Glynis Smith reported that the Children’s Project Worker from the Church in Hatfield had visited all local schools recently and had provided a very positive and engaging experience for the children. Additionally, the pupils from Ash Hill Academy had attended Morning Communion on a Wednesday morning, which many of the children had very much enjoyed.
The Committee agreed that it was examples such as these, that were making a positive difference for RE in schools and it was important that this engagement continued.
RESOLVED that:-
1) Tara Moxon’s presentation be deferred until the next meeting of SACRE, giving her perspective of Early Years RE; and
2) An invite be extended to the RE Department at Hungerhill School to attend and provide an overview of the Religious Education provided there.
Members noted that over the past year, the current Members of the Committee had all committed to the successful operation of the SACRE and it was important that this momentum didn’t stop. The Chair therefore urged all Members to get more involved where possible and if there were any other areas in which they felt they could contribute they were asked to do so,
Join the Discussion
You need to be signed in to comment.
Sign in