Archived decisions

Contact: Clive Erricker - County Inspector - RE (02392 441459)

1. Summary

1.1 This report summarises SACRE's activity in 2004-5. A draft Annual Report for detailing SACRE's work in 2004-5 is attached for SACRE's approval (Appendix 1). This will be forwarded to QCA and OFSTED and made publicly available on Hantsnet.

1.2 This paper supports Aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (maximising life opportunities). These data form the basis of SACRE's work in monitoring the standard of religious education and collective worship in Hampshire schools.

2. Background

2.1 Hampshire SACRE is required to produce an Annual Report summarising its activity over the previous year.


2.2 QCA produce an annual analysis of the reports it receives.

Recommendation

That SACRE approves the report.

Background Papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB The list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

Annual Report of Hampshire SACRE 2004-5

1. Overview

1.1 This Annual Report covers the period from 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2005 during which time Hampshire SACRE met on three occasions. In addition the SACRE Monitoring Sub-Group also met on three occasions.

2. Religious Education

2.1 Locally Agreed Syllabus

The new Hampshire Agreed Syllabus, Living Difference, jointly produced with Portsmouth and Southampton LEAs, became the statutory guidance for RE in Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton on 1 September 2004. To ensure the effective implementation of the new Agreed Syllabus nine courses for Hampshire primary and secondary teachers were delivered throughout the academic year 2004-5. Primary and secondary development groups were established to produce materials in accordance with the new syllabus. A handbook of materials will be published in the Autumn term 2005.

2.2 Standards in Religious Education

OFSTED Findings

The findings of OFSTED for religious education are routinely monitored by the SACRE Monitoring Sub-Group. A summary of the findings is submitted to the full SACRE at its autumn term meeting.

Key Stages 1 and 2

Reports have been received from 34 schools in the primary phase during 2004/2005. In the previous year 46 reports for religious education were received.

The major findings reported to SACRE were that:-

_ at Key Stage 1all the schools made improvements in RE provision since the last inspection and at Key Stage 2 all schools have made improvements since the last inspection.

_ at Key Stage 1, 65% of pupils achieve standards which are average and 35% are judged to achieve above average standards . At Key Stage 2, 45.5% of pupils' achievements in RE are in line with expectations and 50% achieve standards above expectations. 4.5% of pupils achieved standards below expectations.

_ No teaching was identified as less than satisfactory at Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2. This represents an improvement from last year's reports when a small percentage of teaching was judged to be unsatisfactory in both key stages. At Key Stage 1, 68% of RE teaching was judged to be good or very good and 32% of teaching was judged to be satisfactory. At Key Stage 2, 72% of RE teaching was judged to be good or very good and 28% of teaching in RE was satisfactory.

_ Hampshire schools are performing very well compared to their statistical neighbours and the national average. At Key Stage 1 learning in RE was judged to be good or very good in 52% of schools compared to the national average (41%) and statistical neighbours (43%). At Key Stage 2 learning in RE outperformed the national average and statistical neighbours. Learning in RE was good or very good in 53% of schools compared to the national average (42%) and statistical neighbours (44%) (Figures for the period January 2000 - July 2004)

_ A number of particular strengths were identified in the provision for RE at Key Stages 1 and 2 notably:

- good management of the subject

- good use made of visits and visitors to enhance learning


- effective links made with other areas of the curriculum

_ Some features which are in need of further development have been identified as:

- better use of literacy skills in RE with more opportunities for pupils to record what they learn.

- continued development of assessment and monitoring procedures in some schools.

Key Stages 3 and 4

Reports were received on 10 secondary schools during 2004/5. Three further short inspection reports were received which did not make detailed judgements on RE.

The main findings reported to SACRE were:

· Findings from the 13 schools inspected (including short inspections) identified unsatisfactory provision in RE at Key Stage 4 in 10 schools due to insufficient time being allocated for non GCSE examination students. Three of these schools were also judged as providing unsatisfactory provision at Key Stage 3. This has impacted on the achievement of pupils and improvement since the previous inspection.

· Teaching and learning was judged as good or better in all cases and leadership and management was also found to be good or better in over 70% of inspections

· The findings suggest that two particular issues may be influential: adequate recruitment of RE specialists and school management decisions concerning curriculum provision for all pupils at Key Stage 4.

Special Schools

Reports were received on three schools for pupils with special needs. The main findings were:

· Provision overall was judged as satisfactory in one school and good in two schools


· Improvement, teaching and leadership/management was satisfactory in one school


· Improvement and leadership/management were good and teaching satisfactory in a second school


· Improvement, teaching and leadership/management were all good in the third school

2.3 GCSE Results 2004

The results for GCSE (Religious Studies) and GCSE Short Course (Religious Education) are included as Appendix 1.

The main findings were:

· Full Course Numbers

Candidates for Full Course GCSE have increased by over 100 compared to 2003 and this represents an increase in both boy and girl candidates

· Short Course Numbers
Candidates for Short Course GCSE have increased by 250 compared to 2003. There is now parity of boys and girls entered due to an increase in the number of boys entered and a decrease in the number of girls

· Full Course Performance

Full Course performance indicates that both boys' and girls' A*-C results have improved, as has the overall result. Girls significantly outperform boys

· Short Course Performance

Short Course performance indicates that results have improved for A*-C passes, compared to 2002-3, for both boys, girls and overall. There was a significant improvement in boys' performance of 8%, but girls still outperform boys by almost 15%.

· Residuals for the Full Course indicate that there was a significant improvement nationally, especially for girls. This improvement was reflected in Hampshire but not quite to the same degree. Overall, the Adjusted LEA-National Residual indicated that Hampshire is practically in line with performance nationally. In 2003, this was a positive residual.

2.4 SACRE Monitoring Sub-Group

Hampshire SACRE Monitoring Sub-Group met twice during 2004-5 to review all available information about religious education in Hampshire and make recommendations about action to be taken.

The Sub-Group reviews Ofsted reports and GCSE and other examination data. It receives reports from officers about the results of LEA inspections, monitoring and intervention.

The Sub-Group identifies schools which have been particularly successful, and writes to them commending their achievement. It also identifies schools where there are concerns in relation to religious education and seeks further information from the LEA.

A report on the work of the Sub-Group is submitted to the full SACRE on a regular basis.

2.5 SACRE Self-Evaluation Sub-Group

SACRE decided to conduct a self-evaluation of its operation in June 2004. A sub-group was identified to determine the procedure for conducting the self-evaluation. The self-evaluation was conducted during 2004-5. The sub-group reported back to SACRE on a regular basis with its recommendations. The sub-group will make its final report to SACRE in Autumn 2005 with recommendations intended to form the basis of a development plan for SACRE.

2.6 Methods of teaching, the choice of teaching materials

A major new handbook of guidance for secondary and primary schools to accompany the new agreed syllabus will be published in Autumn 2005. This will include advice on schemes of work, assessment and resources in religious education across key stages. Four County development groups, two primary and two secondary, have been producing materials for the handbook. In the interim the work produced by the development groups has been disseminated through the newsletters and RE website for ongoing development in Hampshire schools. In the Spring term 2005 primary and secondary regional development groups were established to continue the development programme initiated by the implementation courses run in 2004-5. A similar group has now also been established for special schools. These development programmes are ongoing.

Schools in Hampshire receive regular advice through the work of the Hampshire Religious Education Inspection and Advice Team and the County Religious Education Centre. Regular newsletters are available to all Hampshire schools which include advice on issues such as planning, assessment and resources. These are now also electronically available on the RE Centre website. The Inspection and Advice Team continues to regularly visit primary and secondary schools, working with coordinators, heads of department and RE staff, at the request of schools, to improve the planning and delivery of RE in accordance with the guidance given in the new Agreed Syllabus.

SACRE supports the incorporation of a number of religious education activities within the current LEAs Education Development Plan. These include:

· Supporting RE departments within specified secondary schools

Two departments were identified for additional support in 2004-5, this has resulted in improvement of planning, in terms of addressing teaching and learning based on the methodology for enquiry and skills in the new agreed syllabus

· Identifying good practice in secondary RE departments

Five departments were visited to identify good practice in RE. Good practice identified has been disseminated through the Secondary RE Newsletter and through enabling other RE departments to make contact with good practitioners. Teachers who evidenced good practice were invited to join County development groups and have been involved in the production of units of work to be published in the new handbook. Further examples of good practice will be identified in 2004-5 which will enable a good practice network to expand through the development groups and provide evidence of the impact of the new agreed syllabus on teaching and learning.

· Identifying good practice in primary RE

Six schools were visited to identify good practice in primary RE. These schools were chosen from those who were already members of the County Development Groups in order to find evidence of how the new agreed syllabus was impacting on teaching and learning in those schools. Further examples of good practice will be identified in 2005-6 providing further evidence of the impact of the implementation of the new agreed syllabus.

· Secondary Strategy

Hampshire LEA has continued to implement the national Secondary (formerly Key Stage 3 Foundation Subject Strand) Strategy, which includes RE. Two leading teachers of RE are part of the County team. The County Inspector has continued to liaise closely with the two county strategy co-ordinators concerning their work in schools with RE teachers. Good practice continues to be disseminated through the RE Newsletter and was a feature of the Heads of RE Conference in 2004 where one of the co-ordinators provided a workshop with one of the county ASTs in RE. Materials linking the Secondary Strategy with the methodology for teaching and learning of the new Agreed Syllabus will be published in the new handbook.

· Advanced Skills Teachers

The two Secondary ASTs (Advanced Skills Teachers) in RE have worked closely with the County Inspector for RE in supporting the implementation of the new Agreed Syllabus. Both ASTs are initiating research projects on key stage 2-3 liaison and gifted and talented pupils in RE. They also support the County Inspector for RE by working with teachers in schools to ensure the ongoing development of departments in need of support, contributing to RE courses and newsletters and providing examples of effective planning in relation to the new agreed syllabus.

· Ofsted Licensed Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural courses for schools continued to be offered by Hampshire to its schools in 2004-5. These were led by the County Inspector for RE and the Intercultural Inspector. They supplement the work done in religious education by developing school provision for SMSC. Only two of these courses ran successfully in 2004-5 and all but one of the delegates were from the primary phase. The county has decided not to renew its license for these courses in 2005-6 but the County Inspector for RE will still respond to requests from individual schools and groups of schools.

· Disseminating Effective Practice

Disseminating effective practice in RE during 2004-5 has concentrated on courses emphasising the importance of :

- Implementing the new Agreed Syllabus

- Thinking skills and providing challenge

- Addressing the needs of more able pupils

- Inclusion, in terms of pupils with differing learning styles and pupils from differing faith and cultural backgrounds

- RE and ICT

- Assessment for Learning and Task Setting

- Leadership through The Annual Heads of RE Conference

The Hampshire RE website has continued to develop (www.hampshire-reweb.co.uk). It is an effective means of disseminating good practice and further information on courses, resources and events . The RE Newsletters are now posted on this site as well as being subscribed to in hard-copy. The website continues to provide support and guidance on teaching and learning in RE. The new agreed syllabus has been posted on this site and County Development Group materials when they have become suitable for publication.

2.7 Teacher Training

A full programme of in-service training courses has been provided (see Appendix 2 for details). The annual Primary and Secondary Conferences continued to recruit successfully. These were complemented with a series of inset courses which generally recruited successfully. All courses are offered to teachers in the neighbouring LEAs of Portsmouth and Southampton. The series of regional courses for effectively implementing the new Agreed Syllabus have been provided throughout 2004-5 and are now available according to demand.

2.8 Complaints

No complaints were received about religious education under the local statutory complaints procedure.

2.9 Collective Worship

Advice

Advice was issued to schools in relation to Collective Worship in both the Primary and Secondary RE Newsletters during the year. The regular newsletters have also included information about religious festivals and resources applicable to Collective Worship.

Monitoring

The monitoring sub-group has continued to analyse the provision and quality of Collective Worship in Hampshire schools as reported by Ofsted in 2004/5. There is still concern over secondary schools that do not meet statutory requirements. The self-evaluation sub-group will present this issue to SACRE as an aspect of its report.

Primary Phase Schools

Out of all the inspection reports reviewed by the monitoring sub-group, only six made specific reference to the provision of collective worship. All schools were judged to be providing the statutory requirement.

The following comments are representative of the practice reported:

- "Collective worship makes a very good contribution to their personal development and fully meets requirements."

- "Pupils are given very effective opportunities to develop self-awareness during reflection and prayer. Collective worship meets statutory requirements and allows pupils to learn effectively about wonders of the world."

- "...the curriculum is planned effectively and includes useful links with the school's collective worship and health education provision."

Secondary Schools

Reports were received on six secondary schools. In all schools the quality of provision was unsatisfactory

Special Schools

No reports were received on special schools.

Training

A course was provided for Primary Phase teachers called "Refreshing Collective worship". This was well attended. Requests for support from the County RE Team are also met on a school-by-school basis.

Determinations and Complaints

No requests for determinations or formal complaints were received during the year.

2.10 Links

National and International Links

SACRE continues its membership of the National Association of SACREs and has been represented at their meetings and QCA conferences. SACRE was represented in the consultation process of the National Framework for RE.

The Inspection and Advice Team attended meetings of the Association of Religious Education Inspectors, Advisors and Consultants (AREIAC) and helped to organise their national conference. One of the team is an executive member of the association. This ensures Hampshire SACRE is fully informed of national developments and initiatives.

The County Inspector has maintained links with research into RE and Spiritual Development through editorial involvement on leading national and international journals, books and conferences. Articles explaining the new agreed syllabus have been published in two national RE journals and two further articles are awaiting publication in an international journal and international handbook on RE. Through the County Inspector Hampshire has also been represented at national and international conferences on religious education and children's spirituality in Malta and the UK.

Provision of Specialist RE Teachers in Hampshire Secondary Schools

Ongoing links are now maintained with regional providers of newly trained specialists in Chichester, Southampton and Roehampton to ensure the best quality provision of newly qualified teachers into secondary RE in Hampshire. The County Inspector met with course providers and students, at Chichester and Southampton, in the course of the year to inform them of the revision of the agreed syllabus and RE vacancies in the county. Consultation between Hampshire and the University of Winchester has resulted in a new flexible RE PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) being established in 2006. Schools continue to be advised to advertise vacancies on Hantsweb. Despite the difficulties of recruitment nationally, reflected locally, Hampshire schools recruited twelve Newly Qualified Teacher RE specialists in 2004-5. Close liaison with the two Advanced Skills Teachers in RE and the establishing of development groups in the county should enable the support of specialist and non-specialist teachers through the development and dissemination of good practice. They also provide an opportunity for the accreditation of teacher's work in partnership with the University of Winchester.

Local Links

The LEA maintains links with the local diocese RE teams, with other local faith communities, and with RE specialist teacher providers in regional institutions of higher education. The LEA continues with a partnership arrangement with Portsmouth and Southampton local authorities in respect of religious education and the support of SACREs. Through SACREs links with local religious communities a second video is being produced with Southampton Medina Mosque. This will be available to schools, on CD, in Autumn 2005.

2.11 SACRE Arrangements

Professional and Administrative Support

Hampshire County Council continues to provide professional and administrative support through the services of the Chief Executive's Department and the Education Directorate. The Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS) maintains one County Inspector and one General Inspector providing professional support.

Finance

A service level agreement between the Directorate and the Hampshire Inspectors and Advisory Service secures 60 days of professional support to SACRE. A further 20 days was made available for the support of the County Development Groups and 17 days for the production of the new RE Handbook.

2.12 Other SACRE Matters

· The County RE Centre continues to be successful in supporting the work of teachers across Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton. The development of provision in 2004-5 has included the ongoing development of the RE website as a major reference point for teachers, the production of a CD Rom video of a visit to the Medina Mosque in Southampton and the continued addition of artefact boxes and library acquisitions.

· SACRE was involved in the consultation process on the non-statutory national framework for religious education. SACRE representatives and officers attended a consultation day in May 2004, and the full SACRE made a written response to the draft framework. SACRE has conducted a self-evaluation during 2004-5 which will be acted upon during 2005-6. SACRE considered a joint bid, with Southampton and Portsmouth, for funds from NASACRE ( National Association of SACREs) to initiate a young people's faith forum in 2004-5. It was decided that, to research fully enough in order to prepare for a joint bid, this should be presented in 2005-6.

Appendices:

Appendix 1 GCSE tables 03/04

Appendix 2 Inset Courses in RE 2004-5

Appendix 3 List of SACRE members

Appendix 4 Hampshire SACRE meetings 2004-5