Hampshire County Council Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education Meeting

Apologies have been received from:

• Fazle Abbas Datoo - Muslim Representative
• Yasmeen Hussain - Muslim Representative
• Rev Jeff Williams - Church of England Representative
• Rev Howard Wright - Church of England Representative
• Julie Kelly - Teachers' Liaison Panel Representative
• Jon Hamer - Teachers' Liaison Panel Representative
• Gill Heron – Academy Co-opted Member
• Alasdair Richardson - Higher Education Co-opted Member
• James Pitkin - Governor Co-opted Member

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

No declarations were made

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed.

There were no deputations received.

The Chairman noted the scenes of ongoing distress and suffering in the Israel-Gaza conflict, and expressed her thoughts and prayers for all the innocent victims of that and every conflict across the world. The Chairman noted that, in the context of current world affairs, the importance of multi-faith groups like SACRE working together is particularly highlighted.

The Chairman went on to remind SACRE members that it was the annual Interfaith week beginning the following Sunday, noting that the aims of Inter faith week are to:

• Strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels,
• Increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, in particular celebrating and building on the contribution which their members make to their neighbourhoods and to wider society,
• Increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services providing an update on the activities of the Monitoring Group at its recent meeting on the 3 October 2023. It was noted that SACRE had a statutory responsibility to monitor the effectiveness of the locally agreed syllabus.

Members noted a summary of the following areas discussed by the Monitoring Group with included:

·         Professional education opportunities

·         SACRE monitoring visits

·         Reports from primary and secondary Ofsted visits

·         Information gathered from other inspector/advisor visits

·         Update on teacher vacancies and ITE provision

·         Preliminary GCSE results and information

In response to questions members found that the Ofsted deep dive topics are selected based on a number of factors, including areas of concern presenting from the data held on the school. It was noted that EBacc subjects tend to have a higher priority but that the head teacher can have some input.

RESOLVED:

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education noted the Monitoring Group report.

The Standing Advisory Panel for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out key national and local RE matters.

Members noted several initiatives funded by the Culham St Gabriel’s Trust, the largest grant giving body supporting RE. Members also received an update on the National RE Hubs Project, a national scheme to create a central resource website for LAs, universities, SACREs, Museums, ITT providers, RE groups and advisors across England and Wales.

Members also received an update on several other initiatives, as detailed in the report, including the National Association of SACREs - the national body representing SACREs.

RESOLVED:

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education noted the report.

The Standing Advisory Panel for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out the proposed annual report for 2022 to 2023 for Hampshire’s SACRE.

Officers summarised the annual report and set out the various elements contained within, including the key activities of Hampshire’s SACRE in the last year and it’s role in monitoring the quality of RE. This included an overview of the three year action plan, which was noted as needing a more full review.

RESOLVED:

That the Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education approved its Annual Report and forwarded to the relevant internal and external bodies.

The Standing Advisory Panel for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out a proposed review of the membership of Group A within Hampshire’s SACRE.

SACRE noted that their constitution had recently been reviewed and that a examination of the composition of Group A was also timely. In order to do so SACRE was provided with an overview of the relevant law and judicial decisions, NASACRE guidance on this area and the 2021 census result.

Members of Hampshire’s SACRE received an overview of a proposed process for joining the SACRE and considered the recommendations in their individual Group’s before returning to vote unanimously on the recommendations.

RESOLVED:

·         That SACRE agreed the composition of Group A as set out in Appendix B of the report.

·         That SACRE will regularly review membership of Group A on the basis of local context, seeking advice on this where appropriate.

·         That any potential members of Group A be invited to attend three meetings of the SACRE as an observer to see if they wish to join SACRE.

·         That any potential members of Group A be representative of their organisations/ communities which would usually be expected to also be members of the RE Council of England and Wales.