Agenda and minutes

Mr Pawson to report

RESOLVED

(a) that J Roberts and M Hext be elected Chair and Vice Chair respectively for the ensuing year; and

(b) that M Hext (Group A), C Hulbert (Group B), L Clay (Group C), and Councillor C Channon  (Group D) be appointed as the group spokespersons.  

Minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2018 (previously circulated)

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2018 be signed as a correct

record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There was no matter raised as a matter of urgency.

Mr Pawson to report

Mr Pawson welcomed Mr Philip Randall (Secondary Headteacher) (Group C), Ms Ruth Flanagan (Group C) and Mr Bill Becher (Group A) to their first meeting as new members.

Mr P Cornish, Ms K Walshe and Mr M Dearden had resigned.

Mr Pawson to report

The Chair reported that the performance data for 2018 had not been received by Babcock for inclusion in the draft Annual Report and therefore this matter would be considered at the next meeting.

Mr Pawson to report

Tatiana Wilson reported on the LTLRE conference held on 12 October 2018 at St Mellion, Saltash which had been well attended with 73 delegates including students and speakers. A briefing paper was circulated to the meeting outlining the programme, the theme and the key note speaker (attached).

Mr Pawson reported that financial support from the Devon SACRE for the Devon Hubs was increasing in recognition of the important work undertaken. Mr Gooddy concurred that the hubs were an important aspect of continuing Career Professional Development for RE teachers across both primary and secondary phases as such training would otherwise be difficult for Schools to access.

Arising on a question about provision and support for Special Schools, Mr Pawson indicated that there was no specialist provision but that lead teachers would be welcome to attend the Hubs and Mrs Spence offered to contact special teachers and inform them accordingly.     

Ed Pawson to report

The Council received Mr Pawson’s RE newsletter for schools in the Devon, Torbay and Exeter Diocese and a presentation on the Commission on RE and its eleven recommendations one of which was that the subject should be renamed ‘Religion and Worldviews’. Another recommendation had been to rename SACREs - the Local Advisory Network for Religion and Worldviews. The meeting discussed the associated possible funding issues.

The details of the Commission’s recommendations would be brought to the next meeting for further consideration (The CRE Report is attached).

Members were asked for their views on the recommendation to rename RE to ‘Religion and Worldviews’, and responses included:

·         the proposed change and clear National Entitlement applicable for all schools would help facilitate greater accountability and help achieve consistency and assist the Ofsted inspection process;

·         the proposed name reflected different life experiences and personal perspectives and was likely to be more relatable for pupils and create a more philosophical approach;

·         care would be needed to avoid any confusion in terms of governmental foreign policy; 

·         the humanist view was generally supportive of the proposed change with the more philosophical approach; and

·         the change did not mean RE was being abandoned and reflected inclusive modern RE teaching of different faiths and worldviews.     

The proposed status and role of SACREs would be examined at the next meeting.

Ed Pawson to report

Mr Pawson reported on the success of the Interfaith Conference held on 9 November 2018 on ‘Dying Matters’. The Conference allowed for engagement with speakers and medical practitioners from across the spectrum of faith and beliefs and was attended by over 100 people including pupils from Clyst Cale Community College and St Peters secondary school, Exeter. The event    organised by Devon SACRE and Devon Faith Belief Forum explored the value of human life, end of life care, assisted dying and palliative care and linked in GCSE Religious studies suitable for KS4 students.

Mr Randall indicated that he would highlight such events at his DASH meetings. 

The meeting also received details of the Interfaith Week 10 – 18 November 218 and on Faith and Belief visitor training -January/March 2019.

Mr Pawson to report

Mr Pawson reported on the arrangements and plans for HMD on Sunday, 27 January 2019 with the theme ‘Torn from Home’.

The meeting acknowledged the support from Exeter City and Devon County Councils.

(a) Minutes of the Agreed Syllabus Conference meeting held on 24 September 2018, attached

(b) Presentation from Lat Blaylock and Stephen Pett from RE Today

Mr Pawson reported a meeting of the Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC) on 24 September 2018 and the conclusions of a RE Primary Survey. The Survey had indicated a need for well-resourced and supported curriculum material.  The ASA had agreed that the current Agreed Syllabus required a radical overhaul. 

There were two options identified:

Option 1

Devon SACRE to commission a consultant to write an Agreed Syllabus, using well regarded materials written by Helen Matter as central teaching resources;

Option 2

RE Today syllabus to provide a detailed, balanced curriculum with medium term planning and accompanying schemes of work.

Mrs T Wilson outlined the value of utilising the excellent curriculum resources produced by Helen Matter and advocated that SACRE should consider integrating them into a full RE syllabus.

The Council received a presentation from Lat Blaylock and Stephan Pett from RE Today on an Agreed Syllabus proposal for Devon SACRE (Option 2) in line with current proposals from the RE Commission and which allowed for flexibility according to local circumstances. The cost options were outlined in the presentation.  

Mr Blaylock and Mr Pett answered Members’ questions relating to the details of the proposal.

Note: following the SACRE, a meeting of the Agreed Syllabus Conference was held that afternoon and it accepted the RE Today proposal. As a result, Mr Pawson would now seek approval from Devon County Council for the new Agreed Syllabus, and this would then be subject to ratification by SACRE. This would be carried out by email, asking for any objections to be made known within a particular time-frame and a special meeting of SACRE would be convened to confirm the decision (in mid-December). This would enable planning, setting up the roll-out and launch events in a timely manner.

Tuesday, 5 February 2019

Recommended: Tuesday, 4 June 2019

Tuesday, 5 February 2019 and Friday, 14 June 2019 at 10 am at County Hall, Exeter.