Archived decisions

Item 2

AT A MEETING of the STANDING ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday 1 November 2005.

10. APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Ms M. Allder; Ms R. Costambeys; Revd P.G. Davey; Councillor D.A. Kirk; Mr M. Riyami; Mr J.L. Sharma; Mullah M. Sheriff; and Mrs S. Thatcher

11. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

12. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2005 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed two new Members of the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) to their first meeting: Miss Clare Bradbury representing the Salvation Army; and Mr Tony Blackshaw representing the Church of England. He also informed the Council of the recent resignations of Mrs Lorraine Smith, a co-opted Member who had represented Primary Education, and of Miss Sarah Boothman, a Church of England representative and expressed his appreciation for their contributions during their membership.

The Chairman informed the Council that an invitation had been received to attend a National Association of SACRE (NASACRE) conference in Bristol on the subject of self evaluation. As Chairman of the Self Evaluation Sub-Group, Mr Hugh Benzie had agreed to represent Hampshire SACRE at the conference with the County RE Inspector.

13. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations to this meeting.

14. NATIONAL CONFERENCE: RESPECT FOR ALL

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the attendance of the Chairman of SACRE and Ms R. Costambeys at the `Respect For All' Conference in Bradford on 27 September 2005. The Chairman highlighted the issues of social cohesion and racial harmony which were prevalent at the conference and which had much relevance for Bradford itself. It was felt that these were important issues which would become more central to the role of SACREs in the future.

RESOLVED:


That SACRE consider how initiatives from the conference could contribute to its development plan.

15. OFSTED FINDINGS ON RE IN HAMPSHIRE SCHOOLS

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 6 in the Minute Book) detailing the findings of Ofsted inspections in relation to the teaching of Religious Education (RE) in Hampshire schools in 2004/05. It was highlighted that the cohort of schools which were inspected changed from year to year and that the inspectors themselves also varied. Therefore, it was felt by the Director of Children's Services that the statistics comparing each year's assessments were not scientific and could, at best, give an indication of the standard of RE teaching in Hampshire schools. It was acknowledged that the reports which had been received represented less than 10% of Hampshire's primary schools. Nevertheless, the Council was pleased to receive the overall good results for these schools. It was noted that, where the inspection reports had mentioned the new Agreed Syllabus, it had been complemented as providing good guidance for RE teachers.

With regard to secondary schools, the Director of Children's Services highlighted the apparent inconsistency between the judgement of the quality of teaching as good and the disappointing assessment of the achievement of pupils. He advised the Council of his view that this was due to a lack of provision for RE and that many secondary schools were not fulfilling their statutory requirements in relation to the teaching of RE. The Council recognized that there was a nationwide problem for secondary schools in finding time to accommodate the statutory requirements for all subjects and this would be likely to worsen with the impact of a stronger focus on vocational courses.

It was understood that the numbers of Ofsted reports specifically on the subject of RE had been declining over the years due to the development of new ways of inspecting schools. As a result of short inspections, which would be made on those schools considered by Ofsted to be performing to a satisfactory level, it was unlikely that SACRE would receive reports on RE departments in many schools that were not already facing difficulties. As a result of these changes the SACRE Monitoring Sub-Group would no longer have this source of information to analyse.

RESOLVED:

That SACRE consider how it can provide a system for monitoring the future standards and quality of provision for RE in schools.

16. GCSE RESULTS 2005

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 7 in the Minute Book) summarising the GCSE results for RE in Hampshire Schools in 2005. He outlined the considerable improvements in the number of students achieving A*-C grade and, in particular, the substantial improvements in boys' performance in the subject. Having explained the `National Residual' figures, it was acknowledged that the GCSE results for RE in Hampshire were significantly above the national average.

The Council noted that, while there had been a significant increase in the candidate numbers for the long course, there had also been a decrease in the candidate numbers for the short course. It was speculated that this could have occurred because some schools may have ceased teaching the short course and so students may have taken the long course instead. However, it was acknowledged that the total numbers of pupils taking RE had increased overall.

17. SACRE SELF EVALUATION SUB-GROUP REPORT

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 8 in the Minute Book) summarising the findings from the recent meeting of the Self Evaluation Sub-Group. The Chairman of the Sub-Group informed the Council that the process of self-evaluation had come to an end. As a result of that process the group had several recommendations which it wished to make to the Council regarding its future development. He emphasised the recent development of the responsibility of SACREs to take a leading role in the Community regarding social cohesion, religious tolerance and racial harmony and described the method the Sub-Group used to evaluate the Council's role and performance.

The Director of Children's Services advised the Council that the Local Education Authority was monitoring the implementation of the new Agreed Syllabus and would be financially funding the support for this. He informed the Council that the forthcoming handbook for RE would include guidance and assistance on carrying out self evaluation of RE departments in the absence of Ofsted inspections and would also make reference to addressing the issues of social inclusion, religious tolerance and racial harmony in the classroom. The importance of ensuring that self evaluations were also performed in RE departments working at Key Stages 4 and 5 was highlighted.

Members felt that it would be appropriate to have an item on the agenda at a subsequent meeting on the issue of non-compliance of secondary schools with the statutory requirements for collective worship and for RE provision for all pupils at Key Stage 4. There were serious concerns about non-compliance and Members felt that it warranted a fuller discussion to consider what the options of overcoming the issue could be. The Council was informed that both Bournemouth and Portsmouth SACREs had included items on collective worship within the self evaluation documentation which had been issued to schools.

The Council discussed the value of holding meetings at venues other than the County Council offices in Winchester. It was felt that it would be beneficial to hold at least one meeting per year at a religious or educational venue. The Chief Executive described the information pack which had been compiled for new Members including: a publication from Free Churches' Council called `A Handbook for SACRE Members'; a copy of the Hampshire SACRE constitution; and a list of Members and their contact details. It was noted that Members should be consulted before their details were distributed for reasons of data protection. Members also suggested that a copy of the new Agreed Syllabus could be included in the pack. The Chairman asked for a volunteer to induct new SACRE Members to the role and procedures of SACRE and to greet them before their first meeting. Mr C. Hughes volunteered to take on this role.

RESOLVED:

a. That the LEA be asked to present an action plan for the development of RE through the implementation of the new Agreed Syllabus and that this development be monitored and evaluated.

b. That the LEA be asked to financially support the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the new Agreed Syllabus.

c. That the LEA be asked to establish a procedure for schools to provide self evaluative judgements on performance in and provision of RE at Key Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

d. That the LEA be asked to ensure that explicit reference be made in the forthcoming handbook for RE to how the Agreed Syllabus could address social and racial harmony if effectively implemented.

e. That the issues of: non-compliance of secondary schools with statutory requirements for collective worship and provision of RE for all pupils at Key Stage 4; and LEA provision of advice and support to secondary schools, be considered.

f. That the LEA be asked to continue research, through the County Inspector for RE, into wider provision for children and young people with a view to establishing complementary provision through a young people's faith forum.

g. That funding be sought from NASACRE to establish a young people's faith forum.

h. That partnerships with key stakeholders, such as Southampton Council of Faiths, parents, governors, teachers and young people, be further developed.

i. That SACRE meet at different venues, including places of worship and schools, and arrange for speakers from different faiths and teachers to address those meetings.

j. That a Member of SACRE be appointed to induct new Members into the role and procedures of the Council and that an information pack be provided for new Members.

18. DFES INCENTIVES TO RECRUIT NEW RE TEACHERS

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 9 in the Minute Book) regarding the new financial incentives offered by the DfES to encourage the recruitment of RE teachers. These incentives were a new development and were similar to those which had been used to recruit Science, Maths and ICT teachers in the past. The Director of Children's Services set out the context of this initiative for Hampshire with regard to the training possibilities for new recruits. It was reported that Winchester University had become the third Higher Education institute in Hampshire to offer a training course for new RE teachers and that there had been significant interest in that course. It was highlighted that there were difficulties, particularly in the north of the County, in recruiting new teachers because of inflated house prices and it was hoped that these financial incentives would help to overcome this issue.

It was felt that the financial incentives were a good recruitment tool, however, there remained issues over staff retention and career development which could be monitored through self evaluation. Some Members felt that lone specialist teaching staff, in particular, were at risk of isolation and the Director of Children's Services outlined the methods used to prevent teachers from feeling isolated. These included: encouraging area forums, where RE teachers could meet each term to discuss issues and share ideas; and email networks so that teachers could gain immediate support from colleagues through the term.

RESOLVED:

That the LEA be asked to monitor the effect of the new incentives for recruitment on specialist RE teachers in Hampshire secondary schools.

19. SACRE ANNUAL REPORT

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 10 in the Minute Book) summarising the activities of SACRE in 2004/05. It was confirmed that the Hampshire RE webpage for teachers contained an up to date list of contacts for different faith groups and that the webpage was in the process of being updated to reflect new guidance and remove old. The Director of Children's Services confirmed that the two Advanced Skills Teachers (ASTs) were undertaking different research projects and not the same projects.

There was discussion over the possibility of having a third AST to relieve pressure on the support team. The Director of Children's Services informed the Council that the status of the working relationship between the County RE Inspector, RE Inspector and ASTs had only recently become clear. However, he confirmed that the team was one of the biggest in the country for the size and population of the County. He confirmed, following a Member's question, that it would be up to schools to nominate teachers for `Excellent Teacher' status.

RESOLVED:

That the report be approved.

20. YOUTH INTER-FAITH FORUM

The Council considered and noted the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 11 in the Minute Book) providing an update on the progress made toward establishing a young people's faith forum. He advised the Council that the Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS), by which the County RE Inspector was employed, would no longer be supporting Southampton SACRE for financial reasons. As a result of this, a joint bid between Hampshire and Southampton SACREs for project funding from NASACRE was unlikely. The Council were informed that Portsmouth SACRE had found it necessary to employ a co-ordinator to assist with fund raising to supplement the funding initially provided by NASACRE and the City Council. It was felt that it would be useful to take into account the experiences of Portsmouth SACRE when considering the form a forum could take and while pursuing funding.

Members highlighted that the forum should not be exclusively for those young people who already thought of themselves as being from a particular faith, but should offer something for the `spiritual search' of all. The project would need to be a sustainable one and clear decisions would need to be made about the format of the forum before the application for funding was made. It was recognised that the input of Members of Hampshire County Youth Council would be valuable in setting up the forum. There was a suggestion that the forum could be set up in co-ordination with Winchester University which might be willing to provide additional funding for the project.

A discussion followed regarding the target age-range of the project, as NASACRE did not specify on which age range a forum should focus. It was felt that a forum should target young people from as big an age range as possible and should not exclude those who wished to be involved. It was decided to set up a working group in order to discuss the issues further before applying for funding in April 2006. The following Members volunteered to be Members of the working group: Mr Juniper, Miss Bradbury, Mrs Bellchambers, Mr Hughes and Mrs O'Reilly. The Council was advised that a further report would be made on this issue at its next meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the issue of meeting the financial implications of establishing and maintaining a young people's faith forum be considered prior to making a bid for funding from NASACRE.

21. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

It was noted that the next SACRE meeting would be held at 2.00 pm on Tuesday 28 February 2006.