Present:-
Group A: Christian and Other Religious Denominations, not including Church of England
Mr K Denby, Mr R Halsey, Miss M Hext, Mrs K Hughes, Mr I Jamison, Mr B Lane, Mr R Lawrence and Dr J Saha
Group B: The Church of England
Ms T Griffiths, Mrs C Hulbert, Mr E Pawson, Mrs T Pritchard and Mrs T Wilson
Group C: Teachers Associations
Ms L Clay, Mr J Gooddy, Mrs W Harrison, Mr N Swait, Mrs G Winnall and Dr K Walshe
Group D: The Local Authority
Councillors E Barisic, C Channon (Chairman), P Colthorpe, A Hannan, M Squires and R Younger-Ross
Co-opted Members:
Mrs S Spence and Dr B Wintersgill
Apologies:-
Rev C Edmonds, Ms P Hammett, Rev S Mackay, Mr J Marshall, Mrs S Shute and Ms C Walmsley
1 Minutes
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2013 be signed as a correct record.
2 Devon SACRE Membership
The Committee noted the appointment of:
Mr K Denby to replace Mr P Faulkner as the Devon Humanists representative;
new local authority representatives, namely: Councillors E Barisic, A Hannan, M Squires and R Younger-Ross;
Mrs S Spence as a Co-opted Member.
The Chairman welcomed the new members to their first meeting, while acknowledging Mrs Spence s long service on SACRE as a County Council representative. She also mentioned that Mr G Langtree, the Religious Education Adviser, was absent from work due to ill health.
3 Update on Agreed Syllabus Review
Mr Pawson reported that preparatory work on the new Agreed Syllabus to be produced in partnership with Plymouth and Torbay SACREs had been delayed by the absence of the Religious Education Adviser. However, it was now clear that the development of detailed proposals would be premature pending guidance from the Department for Education on the new National Curriculum which was expected to be published in September 2013, the current Agreed Syllabus would to remain in force until September 2014.
SACRE members wanted to be able to proceed with the development of the new Agreed Syllabus without delay when the guidance was received and split into constituent groups to nominate members to serve on a Steering Group.
RESOLVED
(a) that a Steering Group with the following membership be formed to oversee the development of the new Agreed Syllabus:
Group A: Christian and Other Religious Denominations, not including Church of England - Mr K Denby, Miss M Hext and Mrs K Hughes and co-optees from other religious denominations;
Group B: The Church of England - Mrs Hulbert, Mr Pawson and Mrs T Pritchard and the following co-optees: Mrs T Wilson, Ms T Griffiths and Mrs K Gray (Headteacher of Branscombe and Broadhembury Primary Schools);
Group C: Teachers Associations - Ms L Clay and Mr N Swait;
Group D: The Local Authority - Councillors C Channon and A Hannan (or substitutes);
(b) that Plymouth and Torbay SACREs be invited to be represented on the Steering Group;
(c) that Devon County Council and Babcock Devon Learning and Development Partnership be reminded of the need for an appropriate level of professional support for the development of the new Agreed Syllabus, and the work of SACRE in general.
4 National Developments: Religious Education Council, Religious Education Review, Ofsted Update and Subject Leadership, NASACRE, NATRE
Mr Pawson reported as follows, with contributions from other SACRE members:
(a) Ofsted - the latest Long Report on the national picture for Religious Education in primary and secondary schools following Transforming Religious Education (2010) was now due to be published next month.
(b) NATRE (National Association of Teachers of Religious Education) - the survey of primary school teachers had revealed concerns about training/specialism levels for Religious Education teaching and the time allocated for the subject. Relevant SACRE members were encouraged to complete the survey of secondary school teachers. NATRE had asked the Department for Education to consult them on the proposed new I Level qualification to replace the GCSE and provide an evidence base for the change.
(c) REC (Religious Education Council) - as Religious Education would not be included within the new National Curriculum being developed by the Department for Education, the REC had prepared, and was consulting on, a new National Religious Education Curriculum which would be published in September 2013 alongside the National Curriculum being developed by the Department for Education.
5 All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Report on Religious Education
Dr Wintersgill drew attention to the recent publication of RE: The Truth Unmasked on the supply of, and support for, Religious Education teachers following an Inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education. The Report drew on over 400 sources of evidence and concluded that there were some serious issues which needed to be addressed if schools were to provide high quality Religious Education for every young person.
A summary of the Inquiry s findings was as follows:
over fifty per cent of those teaching Religious Education in secondary schools have no qualification or relevant expertise in the subject;
in more than half of the 300 primary schools participating in the Inquiry, some or all of the pupils were taught Religious Education by someone other than their class teacher;
a quarter of all primary schools that responded said the lesson was given by a teaching assistant;
primary and primary trainee teachers lacked confidence and expertise in teaching Religious Education, especially in diverse and multi-cultural classrooms;
support for Religious Education teachers at a local level had been dramatically reduced by local authority funding cuts and the academies programme;
bursaries for Religious Education trainees had been removed and there had been a radical reduction in applicant numbers for 2013/14;
because of this lack of training and support many of those teaching Religious Education were unable to meet the Department for Education s Teaching Standards.
The Report included recommendations for primary and secondary schools, teacher training providers, local authorities, Ofsted, those providing professional development opportunities for teachers and the Department for Education.
RESOLVED
(a) that the Chairman be asked to write to the Rt Hon Michael Gove, MP, Secretary of State for Education highlighting the need for urgent action to improve the supply of, and support for, Religious Education teachers to ensure that every pupil is taught Religious Education to a high standard;
(b) that a survey be undertaken of the position in Devon regarding the withdrawal of bursaries for Religious Education trainees and applicant numbers for 2013/14 before writing to the Secretary of State;
(c) that the letter to the Secretary of State be copied to Devon Members of Parliament and that SACRE members be encouraged to lobby their local MPs.
6 Working Groups - Progress Reports
There were no progress reports at the time of the meeting.
7 Holocaust Memorial Day 2014 Planning
Mr Pawson reported that the Holocaust Memorial Day 2014 event in Exeter would take place on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 January 2014 in the Guildhall and Exeter Mint Church and that the theme would be Journeys . He referred to the brief meeting after SACRE for those members who wished to help with the organisation of the event.
8 Learn/Teach/Lead RE Project Update
Mrs Wilson reported on the progress of the Learn/Teach/Lead RE initiative which was a 3 year project funded by the St Luke s College Foundation that aimed to improve the quality of Religious Education in all schools in the South West (Cornwall, Devon, Torbay and Plymouth) through: building communities of RE teachers across the region in hubs; engaging in research; disseminating best practice; and creating partnerships with others. This year s Annual Conference for the Project would be held on 24 and 25 October, 2013.
9 Faith Community Presentation - Devon Buddhist Community
This matter was deferred until a future meeting in the absence of Mr Marshall.
10 Analysis of Devon Census Data 2001 - 2011: Changes in Religious Affiliation and Ethnic Demography across the County
Mr Pawson gave a presentation on census data relating to religious affiliation and ethnic demography in Devon which could be used to inform Religious Education and help with the review of the Agreed Syllabus. Members raised issues about interpretation and further breakdowns of the available information.
11 Representation of College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth/Ms T Griffiths
Ms Griffiths reported that she had resigned from her post at the College of St Mark and St John to take up alternative employment with the University of Exeter and therefore could no longer represent the College on SACRE.
RESOLVED that a replacement representative be sought for Group B: The Church of England from the College of St Mark and St John and Ms Griffiths be appointed to serve on SACRE as a Co-opted Member.
12 Events
Mr Pawson referred to: a public meeting on education organised by the Devon and Cornwall Quakers in Southernhay United Reform Church Hall, Exeter on Saturday 19 October 2013; and a meeting of the Devon Faith and Belief Forum at the Coaver Conference Centre, County Hall, Exeter on the evening of Thursday 20 June 2013.
Mr Halsey referred to events in July 2013 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the building of the Exeter Synagogue which was undergoing a major restoration.
The meeting started at 10.00am and finished at 12.20pm.
| Minutes of this Committee are published on the County Council s Website at: : |