The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were received from Mrs Megan Davis, Fiona Wilce, Mary-Anne Marples and Councillor David Blanksby.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Rutland SACRE held on the 21^st June 2022.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on the 21^st of June 2022 were approved as an accurate record.

Action 1

Rutland SACRE constitution to be reviewed and updated.

Item on the agenda.

Action 2

Amanda to provide a summary of the current position regarding the agreed syllabus at the next meeting.

Item on the agenda.

Action 3

SIAMs reports may provide additional information regarding RE in schools.  SIAMs officer within Peterborough Diocese could collate an overview.  Daniel to contact and arrange for September meeting.?       

Daniel informed attendees that the Diocese had confirmed that there was currently no mechanism in place to record the quality of RE in Schools. However, Rutland Head Teachers were due to meet together with the Diocese to see how information could be collated, possibly through a self-audit.  It was agreed that Daniel would give an update at the November SACRE meeting with the action plan to be completed for the January meeting.

ACTION: Daniel Alfieri

Action 4

Network Meetings: virtual or in-person? During school hours or evenings?  Amanda Fitton to draft an email to go out to Rutland schools asking for their preferences regarding the Network Meetings.     

Amanda confirmed the action had been completed and that all network meetings had been assigned and were communicated through the newsletter.

Action 5

Amanda to draft a response regarding the Education White Paper on behalf of SACRE.         

Shelia informed the group that central government was updating the White Paper after   Academies had originally been told they did not need to follow an RE Syllabus when they should in fact follow the same guidelines as community schools. Update to be given at the November meeting.

ACTION: Amanda Fitton

Action 6

New RE Legislation in Wales - Amanda to circulate a briefing to members on the new no ‘opt-out’ for religious education in Wales.         

Action outstanding.  Amanda to circulate and collate comments for November SACRE meeting.

ACTION: Amanda Fitton

To receive an update from Amanda Fitton, SACRE/RE Advisor for Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Peterborough and Rutland & Elizabeth Papworth, Service Manager – Learning and Skills.

An update was received from Amanda Fitton, SACRE/RE Advisor regarding changes that had been made within the Constitution. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Amanda confirmed that only some changes had been made to the document; it had mainly needed to be updated and made more modern.

·       Membership representation had been updated so that union representative was not detailed.

·       James McWhirter asked for clarification regarding SACRE Members not having remit to enter schools to gather evidence.  Amanda explained that only Local Authority or Ofsted officers and if applicable the Diocese education department could go into schools.

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    AGREED that the committee accepted the changes made and approved the revised Constitution.

To receive a summary of the current position regarding the agreed syllabus from Amanda Fitton, SACRE/RE Advisor for Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Peterborough and Rutland.

An update was received from Amanda Fitton, SACRE/RE Advisor. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       A positive meeting had been held in July which resulted in the document being updated and refreshed.

·       The statutory parts had been written and were ready in draft but World Views needed to be added to the syllabus.

·       The final Agreed Syllabus 2023-28 would be discussed/approved by Rutland’s Cabinet on the 7^th March 2023 and it was agreed that Gill Curtis, Head of Learning and Skills would brief Councillor David Wilby, Portfolio Holder for Education and Children’s Services prior to the meeting.

ACTION: Gill Curtis

·       The Chair requested that the Agreed Syllabus 2023-28, the communication plan and a draft copy of the Cabinet report be ready for review at the November SACRE meeting. Revd James McWhirter also requested that a brief overview be provided.

ACTION: Amanda Fitton

·       Daniel asked if the Peterborough Diocese had been involved in the discussions regarding the Agreed Syllabus and if schools were required to follow their relevant county’s Agreed Syllabus.  Amanda confirmed that ALL academies must follow the Agreed Syllabus.  They could write their own syllabus but it must be robust and similar to the locally Agreed Syllabus.

·       Councillor Powell stated that a clear briefing would be required for when the Agreed Syllabus was discussed at Cabinet in March 2023 and queried when the report would go to Council.  Jane said she would check and notify members.

Action Jane Narey

·       Amanda confirmed that it was Ofsted’s role to inspect the teaching of religious education in schools.

To receive an update from Elizabeth Papworth, Service Manager – Learning and Skills.

A verbal update was received from Elizabeth Papworth, Service Manager – Learning and Skills. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The last set of data for GCSE’s and ‘A’ Levels was published in 2019.

·       This was the first set of data published following the COVID pandemic.

·       There had been an increase in pupils obtaining the highest grade in GCSE, Grade 9 – 8.5% of pupils in Rutland obtained the grade.  Increased from 7.1% in 2019.

·       There had been an increase in pupils obtaining Grade 5 or above -76.6% achieved the Grade 5 and above.  An increase from 72.3% in 2019.  This was above the national figure of 66.1% for pupils obtaining a Grade 5 or above.

·       There was an increase in ‘A’ Levels, Grade A*.  Data from 2019 showed 0% obtained a Grade A*, whereas in 2022 19.6% of pupils in Rutland obtained an A* grade in RE.

·       97.8% of pupils achieved an ‘A’ Level Grade C or above. This was above the national figure of 88.2% for pupils obtaining an ‘A’ Level Grade C or above.

·       Lizzie confirmed that there had been an increase of 30 students taking RE in the last academic year.

·       The results were due to a combination of a good response to online learning, high quality of teachers and high attendance from pupils.

·       Lizzie confirmed that the results covered all schools including the private schools and that the examination results data was high across all subjects.

·       It was agreed that Lizzie would arrange for a letter of congratulation be sent to schools regarding the exam results on behalf of the Rutland SACRE.

ACTION: Lizzie Papworth

·       It was agreed that Lizzie would contact schools to find out how many of the RE teachers were subject specialists.

ACTION: Lizzie Papworth

·       It was agreed that Lizzie would create a comparison table between Rutland and its statistical neighbours detailing the number of pupils studying RE.

ACTION: Lizzie Papworth

To review and amend the draft annual report for 2021-2022 for final submission by December 2022.

The draft annual report was introduced by the Chair. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Members agreed that they would take the report away and feedback any comments to Governance ready for the November meeting to be approved. All comments to be sent to governance@rutland.gov.uk  

ACTION: All

·       The Chair stated that the report should highlight the success of the schools in the county following the publication of the exam data.

To review Section 3 of the NASACRE Self-Evaluation Toolkit

Section 3 of the NASACRE Self Evaluation Toolkit was reviewed and updated accordingly. During the discussion, the following points were also noted:

·       It was currently not known which schools followed what syllabus.

·       Amanda confirmed that a series of programmes were in place ready for the launch of the Agreed Syllabus 2023-28 and that training would be put in place as a result. 

·       Jane informed the committee that the Council website was in the process of being updated and that it could then be used to promote SACRE activities via the SACRE webpage. 

·       Amanda stated that there was also a Twitter account that could be used.  The Chair requested that details be listed in the Agreed Syllabus communications plan.

ACTION: Amanda Fitton

To review the SACRE Development Plan 2020-22.

·       The Chair, Gurdev Singh recommended that the review of the development plan be put on hold until the self-assessment had been completed.

·       It was agreed that the development plan be discussed in the January meeting in light of any updates in November.

To receive an update from Amanda Fitton, SACRE Advisor, on Network Meetings.

A verbal update was received from Amanda Fitton, SACRE/RE Advisor. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       All network meeting dates had been publicised and calendar invites sent.

·       Face-to-face sessions, twilight sessions and sessions with the other councils would also be offered.

To receive a verbal update from Members of SACRE on training attended.

·       Amanda stated that she had attended various free courses including one at to the Jewish Museum of London which reviewed resources and examined how Jewish people were portrayed in the curriculum.

·       She had also attended a training session on Critical Thinking.

·       Both courses had been very informative.

To receive a verbal report from Elizabeth Papworth, Service Manager – Learning and Skills and to receive any Ofsted Inspection Reports.

The forum received a verbal report from Elizabeth Papworth, Service Manager. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Only one Ofsted report had been published which was for Cottesmore Primary School in July 2022.

·       The report contained one small quote regarding RE: ‘leaders help pupils understand British values and pupils relate these to their daily lives such as respecting other religions or beliefs.’

·       Amanda confirmed that the census information would be available in November 2022.

Tuesday, 29^th November 2022 at 4.30 p.m.

Tuesday, 29th November 2022 at 4.30 p.m.