Present:-

Group A: Christian and Other Religion and Belief Communities (with the exception of the Church of England)

Mr K Denby, Mr R Halsey, Ms R Khreisheh, Mr B Lane, Rev Master M McCorry, Mrs N Nation and Caroline Walmsley

Group B: The Church of England

Mr M Dearden, Mrs C Hulbert (Vice-Chairman - in the Chair), Mr E Pawson and Mrs T Pritchard

Group C: Teachers Associations

Ms L Clay, Mr J Gooddy, Mrs W Harrison and Mrs G Winnall

Group D: The County Council

Councillor A Hannan

Co-opted Members

Mrs T Griffiths, Mr J Marshall, Mr J Roberts and Mrs S Spence

Apologies:-

Councillors E Barisic, C Channon, P Colthorpe and M Squires, Ms P Fletcher, Miss M Hext, Mr I Jamison, Mr R Nathwani, Mrs S Shute, Dr K Walshe and Mrs T Wilson

56 Minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2014 be signed as a correct record.

57 Devon SACRE Membership

The resignation of Rev C Edmonds and Mr N Swait from Group C: Teachers Associations was noted.

Mr Pawson outlined the proposed changes to the composition of Group C.

RESOLVED that the revised model for Group C: Teachers Associations (total of 10) set out below be approved and nominations be sought to fill the vacancies:

Educational Sector	Group	Representative
Secondary School Leaders	Association of School and College Leaders/National Association of Head Teachers/ Devon Association of Secondary Headteachers	Mr J Roberts
Primary School Leaders	Devon Association of Primary Headteachers	Vacancy
Teaching Union	Association of Teachers and Lecturers	Mr J Gooddy
Teaching Union	National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers	Ms L Clay
Teaching Union	National Union of Teachers	Mrs W Harrison
Teaching Union	VOICE	Vacancy
Further Education	University and College Union	Vacancy
Higher Education/Initial Teacher Education	University and College Union	Dr K Walshe
Religious Education Teachers Association	National Association of Teachers of Religious Education Primary	Mrs G Winnall
Religious Education Teachers Association	National Association of Teachers of Religious Education Secondary	Mrs S Shute

58 Update on SACRE Work

(a) Agreed Syllabus Review

Mr Roberts referred to progress on the introduction of the new enquiry-based Agreed Syllabus and to the importance of developing guidance on delivery and assessment for schools which were currently using various methodologies. This proposal was fully supported by SACRE members who gave examples of the difficulties faced by Religious Education teachers.

RESOLVED

(i) that a working group be formed to develop guidance on delivery and assessment of the new Agreed Syllabus and - subject to the necessary resources being available - report back to the November 2015 SACRE meeting;

(ii) that the working group take account of existing practice and research;

(iii) that SACRE members wishing to serve on the working group be asked to contact Mr Pawson.

(b) Monitoring Visits

Mr Pawson gave an overview of monitoring visits to five secondary schools in 2014/15 which had been the subject of concerns about statutory compliance and time allocation for Religious Education. Whilst acknowledging the competing factors in terms of time and financial resources, Mr Pawson commented that the management and teaching staff of the schools visited had responded very positively to suggestions for improved delivery of Religious Education and the support which had been offered.

59 GCSE Examination Results/Annual Report 2013/14

SACRE noted that consideration of this item would take place at the next meeting following validation of last year s exam results.

60 Safeguarding Issues - Involvement/Role of SACRE and Religion and Belief Communities

SACRE agreed to defer this item until the next meeting in the absence of Mr D Taylor, Chairman of the Devon Safeguarding Children Board.

61 Learn/Teach/Lead (LTL) Religious Education: The Next Steps

Mrs L Rudge, LTL Project Director, gave a presentation on progress on this Project which was a learning partnership for Religious Education focused on creating a community of enquiry and professional development across the south west. The Project aimed to improve the quality of Religious Education teaching, learning and leadership through better training and support for Religious Education teachers and more effective partnership working. The presentation covered the following:

year 3 of the Project 2014/15;

hub meetings - Spring 2015;

career progression for Project Leaders of Religious Education (PLREs);

bids for growth and continuation;

evaluation evidence;

LTL s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model;

principles of the model;

steering group membership and expansion (to include representatives of SACRE);

creative teaching and creative learning: the spirit of Religious Education.

Mrs Rudge commented that further affiliated local hubs to facilitate access to hub meetings could be formed subject to funding being available and their chairpersons receiving appropriate training.

62 Educating Ourselves

Mr K Denby gave a presentation on the principles of Humanism which embraced non-religious people seeking to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. Mr Denby responded to questions relating to the Humanist stance on Religious Education which involved its teaching as a non-statutory subject as part of broader studies in philosophy and ethics.

63 National Developments

Mr Pawson reported on the following:

NATRE conferences;

Religious Education teacher shortages, deficiencies in teacher training for Religious Education and discussions thereon with Mr Nick Gibb, MP, Minister of State for School Reform;

concerns about the impact of Government curricular/examination reforms requiring two world religions to be studied at GCSE and reducing the scope for moral/ethical debates on the number of students taking religious studies;

advice from NASACRE relating to Muslim teachers, pupils and their families following recent terrorist incidents in France;

a letter to SACRE Chairs from Lord Nash, Parliamentary Secretary of State for Schools, about the important role of SACREs and local authorities in supporting the good teaching of Religious Education;

a request from the Devon Interfaith Forum 4 Youth for financial assistance towards attending the Bristol Multi-Faith Forum s Diverse Doors Open Day faith trail on Sunday 22 February 2015.

RESOLVED

(a) that the Chair of Devon SACRE be asked to reply to Lord Nash:

welcoming the recognition that Religious Education is a vital part of the school curriculum and that SACREs play a central role in developing high quality Religious Education in schools;

acknowledging the continuing good support given to Devon SACRE by Devon County Council in helping it to fulfil its statutory responsibilities;

emphasising the importance of the statutory role of SACREs not being undermined by the voluntary status of SACRE members;

challenging the interpretation of values ;

and that copies of the reply be sent for information to:

Councillor J McInnes, Cabinet Member (Children, Schools Skills);

Councillor S Randall Johnson, Chairman of the People s Scrutiny Committee;

Mrs S Clarke, Head of Education Learning;

(b) that 100 be made available to the Devon Interfaith Forum 4 Youth to support attendance at the Bristol Diverse Doors Open Day on 22 February 2015.

64 South West SACRE Conference 2015: Dillington House, Ilminster, Somerset - Monday 16 March 2015

Mr Pawson reported that to date places had been booked at the Conference for two Devon SACRE delegates and asked any other members who wished to attend to signify their interest as soon as possible. The theme of this year s Conference was Confident SACREs: Confident RE and Collective Worship.

65 Holocaust Memorial Day 2015

Mr Pawson reported on this year s Holocaust Memorial Day events held in Exeter on Tuesday 27 January 2015, the theme for which had been Keep The Memory Alive. Mrs Spence thanked everyone who had been involved in the event which had been a great success and commented that she had been very impressed with the contributions that students from Devon schools had made. SACRE members hoped that more schools might participate in next year s events and that the students would have a wider audience.

Mr Pawson indicated that this year s event would be reviewed shortly by the HMD working group.

66 Dates of Future SACRE Meetings

Noted as:

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Wednesday 10 February 2016

(all 10.00am at County Hall).

The meeting started at 10.00am and finished at 12.40pm, following an adjournment from 11.05am to 11.15am

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