Agenda and minutes

1)    The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

1) Mr Maddison expressed a view that a 73% spend was a positive sign.

2) Mr Chambers expressed an interest in Bromestone Primary School applying for financial assistance in gaining an RE Quality Mark.

3) Mr Foster advised that Mr Chambers contact either himself or the clerk to progress this. He also informed SACRE that he had received no other requests for additional funding.

4) Mr Foster posed the question that should any advance spend be allocated to the Primary RE conference event.

5) The Chairman confirmed it was intended that funding for this be included in the business plan. In regards to how much would be allocated he further confirmed they would aim for accuracy in meeting the event’s needs.

6) Mr Fowler agreed there was a need to look ahead and plan accordingly with such events in mind.

1) Mr Foster introduced the update on the Annual Report.  He explained to SACRE that the version found in the agenda was updated and complete following receiving the final results data on 2 January. The results displayed in the Annual Report were explained to use the full GCSE course as the main indicator. There was still no data on the RE short course.

2) Mr Foster stated that it was still a small proportion of students taking the full course. The Kent syllabus does require that Key Stage 4 students are entered for an RE course and Mr Foster expressed a view there needed to be a follow up on this.

3) Mrs Joyce stated that unless accurate data for the short course was received the data in the annual report would differ from the benchmark. She also emphasised to SACRE that offering the full course would become increasingly difficult to schools due to financial issues.

4) Mr Foster advised that key issues that had been raised by the annual report were summarised on page 15 and that a meeting with senior officers would be arranged to discuss pursuing or tackling them.

5) Mr Chambers expressed a view that it would be important when revising the Kent syllabus we look into directing it to being more creative and stimulating.

6) Mrs Burke expressed a view that she  did not feel the new short course had sufficient focus on the Indian religions. She also stated that there were challenges in regards to pacing and the GCSE being expected to be completed over the course of three years.

7) Mr Maddison gave thanks to all the hard work of Officers who assisted in the annual report and the data within it.

1) Mrs Corbyn introduced the item and explained the following to SACRE:

a)    The amount of schools that could be accommodated at such an event was limited.

b)    Canterbury Christchurch University was unable to host the event this year.

c)    Highworth Academy, in Ashford, has offered to host the event this year.

d)    At the event Sixth Formers would also be used to facilitate activities for the children attending the event.

e)    Mrs Corbyn also advised it could be appropriate to prioritise those schools that were disappointed by being unable to attend last year. In response to further queries about this it was confirmed this between 20 and 30 schools.

2) The Chairman congratulated Mrs Corbyn and her colleagues on finding a venue.

3) Ms Corbyn confirmed that there were no CRB implications for this event.

4) There was further discussion in regards to the location of these events and the accessibility and distance for schools. Mrs Younosi expressed a view that a location suitable for all schools in Kent would be difficult due to the size of the County and it was agreed Ashford was a good location for Mid Kent schools.

1) Mrs Younosi stated that it was agreed that the Secondary Youth SACRE event would be taking place again in 2016.

2) It was confirmed the event would be set up around November 2016.

1) Mr Foster introduced the Development Plan and gave the following information;

a)    The 2016 Development Plan was along the same lines as the previous year.

b)    Mr Foster confirmed his time allocated to work on SACRE had been significantly reduced.

c)    He also encouraged further collaboration with the Diocese when establishing the Development Plan.

d)    In response to a query he explained revision of the syllabus was not listed as a priority of SACRE as it is something that they must do. The list of actions prioritised is only relevant to what further activities Kent SACRE has decided to do.

e)    He confirmed that the present syllabus runs until September 2017 and that the start of the next review has been delayed to achieve further funding.

f)     For SACRE’s further information Mr Foster also explained other SACRE were unsure on how to respond to the current situation and there was a mixed picture over those that were already reviewing their syllabus and those that were waiting to see if there is a change in Government syllabus.

2) A view was expressed that RE in the UK is changing too rapidly and schools need clarity on how to respond.

(i)            NASACRE Conference and AGM 2016 Tuesday 17^th May 2016, Central Hall Westminster, London

(ii)          Conference to Review Agreed Syllabus – update

(iii)         RE Hub

(iv)         NATRE letter and NASACRE briefing.

1) In regards to the NASACRE Conference and AGM 2016 Tuesday 17^th May 2016 at Central Hall Westminster, London it was confirmed the Chairman would be attending with Mrs Younosi.

2) In regards to the conference to review the agreed syllabus the Chairman confirmed that this would be progressed soon and had been discussed with Mr Gough, Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform.

3) In regards to the RE hub Mrs Paterson confirmed she attends this 4 times a year. She further confirmed there had been two projects for Primary RE; one on British values and the other on Christian Values. For Secondary RE the focus was more put into research projects.

4) Mr Foster confirmed he would draft a document for the next SACRE meeting providing interim guidance for teachers before the syllabus review.

5) Mr Foster asked the Chairman enquire how are SACRE’s are moving forward at the AGN meeting.

6) In regards to the NASACRE briefing Mr Foster expressed a view that he hopes members follow the report for their information and that it was important it be brought to SACRE member’s attention.

7) It was suggested Professor Trevor Cooling of Canterbury Christchurch, now head of their Religious Education Council, could be invited to a future SACRE meeting to inform SACRE further on the consequences of the information displayed in the NASACRE briefing.

1) Mr Foster advised it may be useful to see if Kent County Council could assist in making SACRE easier for the Sikh representative to attend.

2) The patterns of attendance for 2015 were noted.