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Hampshire County Council
Councillors: 78
Wards: 76
Committees: 50
Meetings (2025): 163
Meetings (2024): 156

Meeting

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education - Hampshire

Meeting Times
Scheduled Time
Start:
Monday, 4th November 2024
2:00 PM
End:
Monday, 4th November 2024
6:00 PM
Meeting Status
Status:
Confirmed
Date:
04 Nov 2024
Location:
Ashburton Hall, EII Court, Winchester
Meeting Attendees
Committee Member
Carson Elday

Group C - Hampshire Teachers' Liaison Panel

Present, as expected

Deputy
Robert Sanders

Group B - Church of England

Not required

Committee Member
Rachel Jackson

Group C - Hampshire Teachers' Liaison Panel

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Group B
The Rev'd Dominik Chmielewski

Group B - Church of England

Present, as expected

Councillor Christopher Donnelly photo
Vice-Chairman
Councillor Christopher Donnelly

Conservative

Apologies

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Deputy
Imam Sayfullah Nasir

Group A - Muslim

Not required

Committee Member
Revd Peter Rayson

Group A - Methodist

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Vacancy

Group A - Baha'i

Expected

Committee Member
Vacancy

Group A - Baptist

Expected

Committee Member
Vacancy

Group A - Buddhist

Expected

Committee Member
Chris Hughes

Group A - Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

Present, as expected

Deputy
Joyce Wan

Group A - Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

Not required

Committee Member
Vacancy

Group A - Hindu

Expected

Committee Member
Chris Robinson

Group A - Humanists

Present, as expected

Deputy
Mary Wallbank

Group A - Humanists

Not required

Committee Member
Danny Habel

Group A - Jewish Community

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo

Group A - Muslim

Apologies

Committee Member
Yasmeen Hussain

Group A - Muslim

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Father John Chandler

Group A - Roman Catholic Church

Absent

Committee Member
Rhian Jones

Group A - The Salvation Army

Apologies

Deputy
Captain Victoria Crawford

Group A - The Salvation Army

Not required

Committee Member
Harjinder Virdee

Group A - Sikh

Absent

Committee Member
Noel Thorpe-Tracey

Group A - Society of Friends

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Vacancy

Group A - United Reform Church

Expected

Committee Member
Maria Ackland

Group B - Church of England

Absent

Committee Member
Sue Bowen

Group B - Church of England

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Jeff Williams

Group B - Church of England

Apologies

Committee Member
Maureen Barnes

Group C - Hampshire Teachers' Liaison Panel

Present, as expected

Committee Member
Julie Kelly

Group C - Hampshire Teachers' Liaison Panel

Absent

Co-opted Member
Gill Heron

Academy Schools

Absent

Co-opted Member
James Pitkin

Governors

Apologies

Co-opted Member
Rhiannon Love

Higher Education

Present, as expected

Co-opted Member
Alasdair Richardson

Higher Education

Absent

Councillor Wayne Irish photo
Committee Member
Councillor Wayne Irish

Liberal Democrat

Present, as expected

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Councillor Pal Hayre photo
Committee Member
Councillor Pal Hayre

Conservative

Present, as expected

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Councillor Jackie Branson photo
Conservative Deputy
Councillor Jackie Branson

Conservative

Not required

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Councillor Jackie Porter photo
Liberal Democrats Deputy
Councillor Jackie Porter

Liberal Democrat

Not required

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Councillor Elaine Still photo
Chairman
Councillor Elaine Still

Conservative

Present, as expected

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Councillor Juliet Henderson photo
Conservative Deputy
Councillor Juliet Henderson

Conservative

Not required

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Agenda
1 Apologies for Absence
To receive any apologies for absence.
Minutes Apologies had been received from:

·         Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo, Group A – Muslim Representative

·         Rhian Jones, Group A – Salvation Army Representative

·         Jeff Williams, Group B

·         Cllr Donnelly, Vice-Chairman, Group D

·         Rev James Pitkin, Co-opted Member for Governors
2 Declarations of Interest
All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

No declarations were made.
Minutes 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.
3 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.
Minutes The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed as an accurate record.
4 Deputations
To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.
Minutes There were no deputations received.
5 Chairman's Announcements
To receive any Chairman’s announcements.
Minutes The Chairman welcomed The Rev'd Dominik Chmielewski, newly appointed Church of England representative for Group B.

The Chairman also noted that SACRE members may be aware that the Department for Education was undertaking a Curriculum and Assessment Review. A MS Teams meeting had been arranged by Officers to update the SACRE on this and discuss their contribution to NASACRE’s response to it.
6 Membership Update
To receive a verbal update from the Director of Children’s Services on the membership of Hampshire’s Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education.
Minutes The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a verbal update from the Director of Children’s Services regarding the membership of SACRE.

The SACRE noted that vacancies remained for Group A representatives for the following belief groups; Hindu, Buddhist, Baha’i and Baptist. There are also a number of vacancies for the deputies for members of Group A, alongside Group’s B & C.

It was noted that there had been progress on finding a Baha’i and Baptist representative but there was not yet a named individual.

RESOLVED:

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the verbal update on their membership.
7 Monitoring Group
To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services regarding the activities and discussions of the monitoring group in relation to the monitoring of RE and the implementation of Living Difference IV.
Attachments:
Minutes 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 1 October 2024. It was noted that SACRE had a statutory responsibility to monitor the effectiveness of the locally agreed syllabus, which was undertaken through this Monitoring Group.

Members noted a summary of the following areas discussed by the Monitoring Group, including:

·         Reports from Primary and Secondary Hampshire Ofsted Visits,

·         Update on Work with RE and Disadvantaged Groups,

·         Professional Education Opportunities,

·         Monitoring of Living Difference IV in schools,

·         SACRE Monitoring Visits,

·         Information gathered from other inspector/adviser visits,

·         Update on teacher vacancies and ITE provision.

Officers drew attention to the Collective Worship training course taking place on 27 November for Hampshire’s schools and that the SACRE had won a Westhill Award grant for the reestablishment of a secondary youth voice event in July 2025. It was noted that the reintroduction of bursaries had led to an increase in the number of teachers training to teach R.E. to GCSE level.

It was noted that all members of SACRE can undertake Monitoring Visits to witness religious education produced in a classroom, and that it would be beneficial for their monitoring role if more members endeavoured to do so.

RESOLVED:

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the Monitoring Group report.
8 Key National and Local RE Matters
To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services on developments in relation to the work of the Religious Education Council, RE Research and other key national and local RE matters.
Attachments:
Minutes The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out key national and local RE matters.

Members noted the update on the work of NASACRE, RE Hubs, the Association of University Lecturers in Religious Education (AULRE) and initiatives being led by the Culham St Gabriel’s Trust.

Officers provided a summary of the RExChange Conference organised by Culham St Gabriel’s in October 2024, noting that the sessions had been recorded and were available to view by those interested.

RESOLVED:

That the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education notes the report on key national and local re matters.
9 Hampshire SACRE Annual Report 2023-24
To receive from the Director of Children’s Services Hampshire SACRE’s Annual Report for 2023 to 2024.
Attachments:
Minutes The Standing Advisory Panel for Religious Education received a report from the Director of Children’s Services setting out the proposed annual report for 2023 to 2024 for Hampshire’s SACRE.

Officers summarised the annual report which included an overview of the key activities of Hampshire’s SACRE throughout the 2023/4 year and details of how SACRE had undertaken it’s role to monitor the quality of RE.

In response to questions members found that:

·         The report noted that 15.9% of Hampshire’s students opted for GCSE Religious Studies, however this figure also included students educated at schools where this subject was compulsory. This was consistent with the recording of national figures.

RESOLVED:

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

28th Jan 2025

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

4th Nov 2024

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

11th Jun 2024

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

27th Feb 2024

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

7th Nov 2023

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

4th Jul 2023

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

28th Feb 2023

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

1st Nov 2022

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

20th Jul 2022

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

1st Mar 2022

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Future Meetings
Meeting

1st Jul 2025

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

3rd Nov 2025

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Meeting

27th Jan 2026

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

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