The Panel will consider the Annual Report for 2020-2021 from the Kirklees Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).
Contact Officers:
Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director (Learning and Early Support
Ian Ross, SACRE
Alastair Ross, Religious Education Consultation (Learning and Early Support)
Minutes:
The Panel considered theKirklees Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) Annual Report for 2020 – 2021 presented by Mark Janes, Chair of Kirklees SACRE, which highlighted that:
The Panel noted the various groups within the membership and asked a question regarding how the perspective and views of other faiths were considered who were not in the group. Ian Ross, Associate Learning Partner with responsibility for RE and SCARE responded and advised that SACRE sat within a national organisation, NASACRE (National Association of SACRE) where advice was sought from representatives of faith groups that were not represented in Kirklees. Ian Ross also advised that SACRE were members of the RE Council which represented all faiths and people of no faith who they could also go to for advice.
Mark Janes advised the Panel that SACRE was actively seeking to recruit members from other faith communities that were not currently represented and advised that Ian Ross had engaged in some work regarding the balance of overall teaching.
The panel highlighted the poor attendance and questioned whether there had been an issue in terms of encouraging people to attend. The Panel also asked about the funding formulas and whether Kirklees was honouring its funding, which appeared slight in terms of importance. Mark Janes responded in relation to poor attendance and advised that colleagues in the Church of England could step up to their responsibility and there were other forums where the issue could be raised. Mark Janes further explained that as in person meetings had resumed, they could become more topical and raise participation.
Ian Ross further added that 4 councillors had been appointed to SACRE and traditionally attendance had been low. Ian suggested having an alternative representative would be helpful.
Ian Ross advised the Panel that in relation to funding, the recommended amount was 2% of the CSSB (annual budget that was available to Local Authorities). A freedom of information request sent to all Local Authorities highlighted Kirklees was near the top, nearly at the 2% mark. Ian advised that there were other creative ways to raise funds.
Councillor Marchington highlighted the need to encourage people who might be interested in SACRE to attend, including those people with links to communities of different faith or who have other world views, who could make a positive contribution.
The Panel acknowledged Relationship, Health and Sex Education (RSHE) was valuable in ensuring appropriate and quality education, and that there was a need for a varied and balanced view which SACRE helped with.
Councillor Marchington highlighted that the message from SACRE was about the importance of healthy relationships and promoting that, which would equip children and young people to view relationships in a positive context.
The Panel highlighted the virtual visits and agreed it would be good for this to happen in a variety of places of worship, acknowledging that in terms of capturing children and young people’s interests, what they can see is more attractive than what they are told or can hear.
The Panel highlighted the membership and number of vacancies, and that the most concerning vacancies were primary school and secondary school teachers.
In response to a question by the Panel regarding the difficulty in relation to filling the vacancies, Ian Ross advised that Headteachers had been spoken to personally with an incentive to have resources for free, and meetings could be accommodated locally. The Panel was informed that there were a few Headteachers who had agreed to take this matter to the Heads Forum to consider who could be responsible and join the meetings. Mark Janes added that attendance seemed slightly better when there was a specific task relating to schools. Jo-Anne Sanders agreed to speak with constituent groups. Jo-Anne acknowledged the past couple of years had been difficult for Headteachers but that this was a real opportunity to shape, link up and secure representation.
RESOLVED:
The Panel noted the Kirklees Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) Annual Report 2020 – 2021 and thanked Mark Janes, Ian Ross and Jo-Anne Sanders for their contributions.
Supporting documents: