Hampshire County Council Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education Meeting

Apologies have been received from:

• Cllr Pal Hayre, Cllr Henderson was in attendance as the substitute for the Conservative group.
• Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo
• Elizabeth Jenkerson
• Rhian Jones
• Yasmeen Hussain
• Noel Thorpe-Tracey

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.

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record.

There were no deputations received.

The Chairman welcomed Chris May, the new Secondary RE advisor and Adam Mori, the new SACRE Clerk from Democratic and Members Services to their first SACRE meeting.

The Chairman expressed her thanks on behalf of SACRE to Jackie Taylor, for her time as Clerk.

SACRE received a report from the Director of Children’s Services on the discussions of the Monitoring Group at its recent meeting on Wednesday 25 January 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:

·         Hampshire’s 2022 GCSE Religious Studies (RE) Examinations.

·         Professional Education Opportunities.

·         SACRE Monitoring Visits.

·         Reports from Primary & Secondary Ofsted visits.

·         Information gathered from other inspector/advisor visits.

·         Teacher vacancies and ITE provision.

·         Withdrawal from RE survey and monitoring collective worship.

·         2021 Census Results.

Highlights included the 9% drop in RE entries since 2019, where this had previously been consistent, however this was broadly in line with the national picture. It was also noted that the recent survey on withdrawal from RE and Collective Worship showed a very low withdrawal rate for Hampshire. Where this did occur, it was mainly due to the individual’s religious beliefs.

In response to questions members found that:

• The school specific data was not yet available, so it was not known if the 9% drop in RE entries was spread evenly across Hampshire or in certain areas.
• The ‘Understanding Christianity’ materials, alongside others, were available to support provision in Church of England schools.

Resolved:

That the SACRE notes the Monitoring Group report.

SACRE received a report from the Director of Children’s Services providing an overview of 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 noted The National RE Hubs Project, a national scheme to create a central website for LAs, universities, SACREs, Museums, ITT providers, RE groups and advisors across England and Wales.

Members received an overview of the Association of University Lecturers in RE (ALURE) efforts in relation to Secondary Initial Teacher Education, noting the current issues on recruitment. Members also received an update on the National Association of SACREs, the national body representing SACREs, and received details of its upcoming Conference and AGM.

Resolved:

That the SACRE notes the report.

SACRE received a verbal report from Justine Ball, County Subject Inspector on the activities of the South Central SACRE Hub, updating members on discussions from their recent meeting.

These included a discussion on approaches to diversity and on how this can be embedded and a look at the census results for each area. There was also consideration of recent ‘deep dive’ Ofsted inspections on RE and an ongoing exercise to improve websites, ensuring there were links to the current syllabus and online resources etc.

Resolved:

That SACRE note the verbal update on the activities of the South Central SACRE Hub.

SACRE received a report from the Director of People and Organisation proposing the creation of a Task and Finish Working Group to review the current Constitution for the SACRE. It was noted that the review of the Constitution was currently overdue and that a smaller group to review the Constitution in detail was considered the best way for it to be updated.

This group would meet ahead of the next SACRE meeting and feedback at that time. Any proposed change to the Constitution would be agreed by the full meeting of SACRE at this point and approved by the Executive Member for Education.

In response to questions members found that:

·         The Task and Finish Working Group would be fully supported by Officers of Hampshire County Council’s Children’s Services department, alongside members of both Democratic and Member Services and Legal Services.

SACRE adjourned for a short period to consider the recommendations in their groups, before returning to agree the recommendations with the addition of a co-opted member of SACRE to the group’s membership.

Resolved:

That the SACRE initiate a Task and Finish Working Group as a sub-committee of SACRE to review the current Constitution for SACRE in line with all relevant legislation, in particular the Education Act 1996, Sections 390-397.

That the SACRE approve the Terms of Reference for this Task and Finish Working Group as set out in Annex A, with the addition of the inclusion of a co-opted member of SACRE within its membership.

That the SACRE appoint members to the Task and Finish Working Group in accordance with the Terms of Reference as follows:

Group A                                 Chris Hughes

Group B                                 Reverend Jeff Williams

Group C                                 Jon Hamer

Group D                                 Cllr Chris Donnelly

Co-Opted Members               Chris Robinson

It was noted that SACRE had been asked for volunteers to lead on a moment of reflection or prayer scheduled ahead of an upcoming meeting of the full County Council. If anyone would be interested in this, please contact Justine Ball.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 2:00pm. It was noted that the summer SACRE meeting has previously been at a suitable school, however the venue was still to be confirmed