Present:-

Group A: Christian and Other Religious Denominations, not including Church of England

Mr R Halsey, Miss M Hext, Mrs K Hughes, Mr I Jamison, Mrs R Khreisheh, Mr B Lane, Ms M McCorry, Rev S Mackay, Dr J Saha and Caroline Walmsley

Group B: The Church of England

Ms P Hammett, 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 and Mrs G Winnall

Group D: The Local Authority

Councillors E Barisic, C Channon, A Hannan, M Squires and R Younger-Ross

Co-opted Members

Ms P Fletcher, Mr J Marshall, Mr J Roberts, Mrs S Spence and Dr B Wintersgill

Apologies:-

Mr K Denby, Rev C Edmonds, Mrs T Griffiths, Mrs C Hulbert, Mr R Lawrence, Mrs S Shute and Dr K Walshe

13 Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman and Group Spokespersons

On receiving nominations from its constituent Groups, it was

RESOLVED

(a) that Miss M Hext and Ms L Clay be elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively for the ensuing year;

(b) that the following be elected as Group Spokespersons:

Group A - Miss M Hext;

Group B - Mrs C Hulbert (in her absence, subject to her agreement);

Group C - Ms L Clay;

Group D - Councillor E Barisic

14 Minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2013 be signed as a correct record.

15 Devon SACRE Membership

It was noted that:

Mr Marshall had resigned as Buddhist Community representative and had been replaced by Ms Myfynwy McCorry;

there was a vacancy for a Church of England representative following Mrs T Griffiths resignation as Marjon representative (and subsequent appointment as a co-opted member);

The Chairman thanked Mr Marshall for his contribution as Buddhist Community representative and welcomed new members of SACRE to their first meeting.

Mr Pawson indicated that he would seek a nomination to fill the vacancy for a CofE (Marjon) representative and try to ensure that the Sikh Community was represented at future SACRE meetings. He reminded SACRE members that temporary substitution was permitted if they were unable to attend a meeting and that substitutes could attend SACRE meetings as observers for the purpose of familiarisation.

The Chairman paid tribute to the service given by Councillor Channon as previous Chairman of SACRE.

RESOLVED that Mr Marshall and Mr J Roberts, RE Adviser, be appointed as co-opted members of SACRE.

16 Update on SACRE Work

(a) SACRE Administration

It was reported that:

Mr G Langtree, RE Adviser, was making a phased return to work following illness but currently would not be directly involved in SACRE;

Mr Pawson had been seconded to Babcock LDP until July 2014 with overall responsibility for SACRE work;

Mr Roberts, formerly Headteacher of Uffculme School and Sidmouth College, had been engaged by Babcock LDP to lead work on the Agreed Syllabus Review;

Mr Pawson and Mr Roberts were each employed on a part-time basis for a specified number of days and bids would need to be made to Babcock LDP for extra funding to support work that could not be undertaken within existing time allocations.

During discussion, Mr Pawson confirmed that monitoring of Religious Education in schools was not covered by core funding from Babcock LDP and was not currently taking place; however Babcock LDP had agreed to fund up to 10 days additional time for monitoring work to be carried out and either Mr Langtree or Mrs Wintersgill could be contracted to undertake this role. Mr Pawson said that he would look into the possibility of training to enable schools to undertake their own monitoring and share information and experiences.

Mr Pawson indicated that Babcock LDP had agreed to reallocate one of the days allocated to him for Holocaust Memorial Day 2014 to Mr Langtree to enable him to staff the exhibition of schools work on Monday 27 January 2014.

(b) Working Groups

Mr Pawson reported as follows:

(i) Religious Education in Early Years

The review had been completed and the findings would be published on the SACRE website;

(ii) SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development)

Progress on the review of SMSC provision in Devon schools had been delayed by the absence of Mr Langtree and a bid had been made for external funding to complete this work. Babcock LDP had indicated that it would support the completion of the review and the working group s report if this was unsuccessful. SACRE asked for the review to be completed by the end of the Spring Term 2014;

(iii) SACRE Annual Report 2012/13

This would be submitted to the February 2014 SACRE meeting.

(c) Agreed Syllabus Review

Mr Roberts reported that the Steering Group appointed at the previous SACRE meeting to oversee the development of the new Agreed Syllabus had met for the first time on 11 October 2013 and that good progress had been made at that meeting. He indicated that the new Agreed Syllabus would necessarily reflect the philosophy of, and guidance in, the recently published Religious Education Council RE Review Report including a curriculum framework for Religious Education and the Ofsted Report on Religious Education: Realising the Potential , and envisaged it being based on the suggested enquiry model .

Mr Roberts was pleased to say that both Torbay and Plymouth SACREs were represented on the Steering Group and he anticipated that two further Steering Group meetings would be required to conclude the review, the first of which would be held on Wednesday 27 November 2013 (2.00pm) at the St Cuthbert s Conference Centre, Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh. He added that if professional expertise was needed on specific areas which was not available from within the Steering Group membership, this could be achieved through co-option onto the Group.

During discussion, Mr Roberts acknowledged the importance of support material to help teachers deliver the new Agreed Syllabus, much of which could be provided through the updating of existing documentation, and funding for implementation. He welcomed the concept of involving the different faith communities in syllabus delivery.

17 National Developments

Mr Pawson reported as follows:

(a) Religious Education Council RE Review Report

This report had been published recently following 18 months of development work and consultation and had resulted in:

a non-statutory National Curriculum Framework for Religious Education (NCFRE) to complement the new national curriculum programmes of study (2013) resulting from the Department for Education s review of the school curriculum, in which Religious Education had not been included;

an analysis of the wider context in which Religious Education found itself, including the opportunities and challenges that faced the implementation of the new curriculum framework;

a series of questions to inform future work and development;

recommendations relating to: the aims of Religious Education; the Religious Education curriculum; exemplification of good Religious Education; assessment (including qualifications); the NCFRE; and the promotion of Religious Education in all schools.

The National Curriculum Framework for Religious Education set out: the purpose and aims of Religious Education; the contribution of Religious Education to the school curriculum; the breadth of study for Religious Education; the place of Religious Education in the early years; the knowledge, understanding and skills of Religious Education for key stages 1 - 3; a framework for Religious Education in key stage 4 and 16-19; and a note on assessment.

A series of dissemination events would be held during November 2013 on a regional basis.

RESOLVED that the National Curriculum Framework for Religious Education and other proposals in the Religious Education Review Report be discussed in more detail at the February 2014 SACRE meeting.

(NB. a copy of the Religious Education Council Review Report may be viewed at:

http://religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/educators/news/2013-10-25/re-review-report)

(b) Ofsted Report Religious Education: Realising the Potential

Whilst acknowledging some improvements in Religious Education in schools in recent years, this report criticised the overall standard of teaching and resources for Religious Education. Ofsted had pointed out that many pupils left school with limited subject knowledge and understanding and that Religious Education teaching often failed to challenge and extend pupils ability to explore fundamental questions about human life, religion and belief. The report identified barriers to better Religious Education, provided examples of effective practice in using enquiry as a basis for improving pupils learning, high-quality leadership and management in schools and urged the Government to put measures in place to raise standards and help to more fully realise the potential of Religious Education.

Mr Pawson commented on the report from NATRE s perspective, outlining what religiously literate pupils could offer to society, the consensus on the need for improvement and possible ways forward.

SACRE members were informed that while an acknowledgement had been received, there had been no substantive reply from the Rt Hon Michael Gove, MP, Secretary of State for Education, to a letter following the previous SACRE meeting highlighting the need for urgent action to improve the supply of, and support for, Religious Education teachers to ensure that every pupil was taught Religious Education to a high standard. It was agreed that a further letter should be sent to the Secretary of State seeking a response to the representations made.

(NB. a copy of the Ofsted Report may be viewed at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/religious-education-realising-potential)

18 Summer 2013 Examination Results

Mr Pawson indicated that he would report on the Summer 2013 Religious Education examination results to the February 2014 SACRE meeting.

19 Holocaust Memorial Day 2014

Mr Pawson reported that planning for next year s Holocaust Memorial Day in Exeter on Monday 27 January 2014 was well advanced and outlined the proposed programme of commemorative events on 27 and 28 January 2014.

20 Learn, Teach, Lead Project Update

Mrs L Rudge, Project Director, reported on recent developments, research findings and proposed future plans for this three year project which aimed to improve the quality of Religious Education teaching, learning and leadership in all schools in the South West through better training and support generally for Religious Education teachers and more effective partnership working (a briefing paper was circulated at the meeting).

Mrs Rudge s update and the briefing paper focused on the work of hubs of Religious Education teachers and their leaders across the region and applications for funding to sustain and develop the project.

21 SW SACRE Conference 2014

Mr Pawson reported that next year s South West SACRE Conference on Building Effective RE in a New Educational Landscape would be held at Dillington House, Ilminster, Somerset on Thursday 20 March 2014. He hoped that Devon SACRE would be well represented at the conference and asked SACRE members who wished to attend to notify him as soon as possible.

22 Future Meetings

RESOLVED

(a) that the next SACRE meeting on Tuesday 11 February 2014 (10.00am) and the afternoon training session led by Alan Brine, HMI, National Adviser for Religious Education on the Ofsted Report Religious Education: Realising the Potential be held at St Cuthbert s Conference Centre, Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh;

(b) that SACRE meetings be held on Tuesday 3 June 2014 and Wednesday 5 November 2014 (both 10.00am at County Hall).

The meeting started at 10.00am and finished at 1.00pm.

Minutes of this Committee are published on the County Council s Website at: :