Agenda item

Contact:        Jo-Anne Sanders – Service Director, Learning and Early Support

                     Mark Janes – Chair of SACRE

The Panel considered an Annual Report from the Kirklees Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) by Emma Brayford, Senior Learning Partner, and presented by Mark James, Chair of SACRE. The Panel were advised that the SACRE Panel was formed from members of faith communities, councillors and teachers.

SACRE’s key responsibilities were:

• To produce an agreed Religious Education (RE) syllabus.
• To monitor the delivery of RE and collective worship in Kirklees.
• To support the teaching of RE through teacher conferences.
• Determination where a parent requests that their child is withdrawn from RE.

Priorities from the last year were:

• To revise the locally agreed syllabus and provide support for teachers. The syllabus was built around six “Big Ideas” in RE, pathways that children follow throughout their school education, exploring the ideas in relationship to faith. This approach was compliant with the new non-statutory guidance from the RE Council, the National Content Standard.
• Kirklees was represented at the locally agreed syllabus conference on 12^th March 2024, by Council Officers, and the launch and training event was attended on 18^th April 100 teachers and Headteachers.
• There had also been a focus on the introduction of the new inclusive, Collective Worship Award for schools, working with school improvement partners to identify schools in need of support.  Honley School, Crossley Fields Primary School and Netherton Infants School were successful in completing the Kirklees SACRE Award and were presented with awards at the RE Network.
• SACRE also monitored data, to see how well children were engaging with RE. Data indicated that there was a variety of engagement levels within schools in Kirklees.

SACRE advised the Panel that they were grateful for the funding from Kirklees Council, which enabled RE to be delivered well in schools, contributing to community and cohesion, giving children the opportunity to understand and practice empathy for people different to them, and providing opportunity for imagination and exploration of the world they lived in.

Ian Ross advised the Panel that RE was locally determined and not part of the National Curriculum, and was the only subject that the Council had any control over. SACRE was pleased with the uptake of the locally agreed syllabus within all schools in the Local Authority, including the Academies which had mostly adopted the syllabus. The RE syllabus was shared between 4 local authorities in West Yorkshire, which contributed to the bigger picture of West Yorkshire and provided economies of scale.

The Panel was informed that SACRE’s recommendations were to review the annual funding, at 2% of the Central School Services Block (CSSB) National Funding and to ask that the Council help SACRE to review its membership to be representative of the local area. There were currently vacancies for Muslim representatives on the Board. The Panel were asked to consider and accept the report presented. Ian Ross asked the Panel for permission to investigate with Secondary Learning Partners and Emma Brayford the position for RE for non-examined students at Key Stage 4. Data suggested that 70% of students did not take a GCSE exam in RE and may not be receiving their statutory requirement of RE teaching. Permission was also sought to investigate how SACRE could work with the Communities Team to look at, and be an active member in, work around community cohesion.

In response to a question regarding inclusivity on the Board of SACRE, Ian Ross advised that SACRE worked with the Faith and Belief Forum for North and South Kirklees to encourage a breadth of representation on the board. Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Bahai and Humanist representative Board Members shared their understanding of their faiths and non-religious world beliefs. The Panel was informed that successes included an online Interfaith Conference with Primary Schools which would be extended to Secondary next year. An online Interfaith Autumn Festivals event was also held in November 2024, with 2,000 pupils taking part in a question and answer session with faith and world belief representatives. More work was needed to enable pupils to access community events and for community members to visit schools to share their lived experience and promote community cohesion.

The Panel questioned how RE was taught in faith schools, whether the syllabus would ensure coverage of other religions and beliefs, and asked how RE was taught to children with no background of religious belief. Ian Rossadvised that the syllabus had been revised from a traditional religious studies approach which centred on learning facts about each religion, to an approach of six conceptual pathways which are inclusive of all faiths and people of no faith. At each key stage, faiths and beliefs were recommended for each unit of work, which best demonstrated the concept, which gradually built a knowledge and understanding of a range of faiths and beliefs.

The Panel asked how the impact of inequality on community cohesion was addressed in the RE syllabus and Ian Ross advised that due to the range of world views across the 4 local authorities involved in creating the syllabus, all voices were represented in the syllabus, promoting equality. Lived experience was a key driver in the curriculum, with importance placed on children meeting people of faith and people of non-faith. Work had been done to quality assure visits and visitors, and this had now been passed on to RE Hubs, a national organisation.

RESOLVED –

(1)  The Panel noted the report and thanked Officers and the representatives of SACRE for their contributions.

(2)  The Panel gave their support to work which would be undertaken in the future, to investigate the position for RE for non-examined students at Key Stage 4, as those not taking an exam may not be receiving their statutory requirement of RE teaching.

(3)  The Panel also supported plans for SACRE to work with the Communities Team to be involved in work around community cohesion.