The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  No apologies were received.

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Amanda Fitton joined the meeting at 4.42 p.m.

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To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Rutland SACRE held on the 14^th March 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 14^th March 2023 were approved as an accurate record.

Action 1

It was agreed that the new development plan should include items regarding the assessment of RE, diversity and world views as these had been raised by schools in the questionnaire.

Item on agenda for discussion.

Action 2

It was confirmed that feedback from the meeting held on Thursday, 16th March 2023 with Jane Lewis, Assistant Diocesan Director of Education, Diocese of Peterborough would be provided at the next meeting of the Rutland SACRE.

Amanda Fitton confirmed that a successful meeting had been held with Jane Lewis where partnership working and future network meetings had been discussed.  Amanda would meet with Mary-Ann Marples to discuss the outcomes of the meeting and the way forward for the network meetings.

Action 3

It was agreed that the Chair and the SACRE/RE Advisor would write a draft a letter on behalf of the Rutland SACRE to all Councillors and the local MP regarding RE teacher recruitment.

Item to be carried forward.

ACTION: Gurdev Singh & Amanda Fitton

Action 4

It was queried if SACRE would be able to monitor and evaluate schools’ performance against the new Agreed Syllabus. The SACRE/RE Advisor confirmed that this would be included in SACRE’s new development plan and would be a standing agenda item at future network meetings.

Item on agenda for discussion.

Action 5

The group requested if children’s work regarding RE and diversity could be viewed by SACRE members to identify what work was being done in schools.  The Service Manager – Learning and Skills and the SACRE/RE Advisor confirmed that they would speak to schools.

Lizzie Papworth confirmed that this would be included in the SACRE new development plan as part of the plan to invite guest speakers to attend SACRE meetings.

Action 6

The SACRE/RE Advisor confirmed that information about the Agreed Syllabus Conference and the 16 workshops would be sent to all schools and she agreed to send the Clerk the timetable of activities for distribution to SACRE members.

Action completed.

To appoint the Chair of the Rutland SACRE for the municipal year 2023-2024.

Sheila Gewolb nominated Gurdev Singh as the Chair.  This was seconded by James McWhirter (Revd).

No other nominations were received.

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    APPROVED Gurdev Singh as the Chair of the Rutland SACRE for the municipal year 2023/2024.

To appoint the Vice Chair of the Rutland SACRE for the municipal year 2023-2024.

Gurdev Singh nominated James McWhirter (Revd) as the Vice Chair.  This was seconded by Daniel Alfieri.

No other nominations were received.

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    APPROVED James McWhirter (Revd) as the Vice Chair of the Rutland SACRE for the municipal year 2023/2024.

To review the current membership of the Rutland SACRE and identify any vacancies.

Amanda Fitton nominated Julia Ewans as the temporary representative for Humanist UK.

It was agreed that the Clerk would write to all Rutland schools asking for representatives from the teachers and the education support staff to become members of the Rutland SACRE.

ACTION: Jane Narey

Councillor Christine Wise and Councillor Steve McRobb were confirmed as the new Local Education Authority Representatives for the 2023/2024 municipal year.  Councillor Rosemary Powell was the named substitute to attend a SACRE meeting in the absence of Councillors Wise and McRobb.

Induction information including the NASACRE membership and training details would be sent to the new members.

ACTION: Jane Narey

RESOLVED

That the Committee:

a)    APPROVED Julia Ewans as a temporary member of Rutland SACRE as the representative for Humanist UK for the municipal year 2023/2024.

To receive a verbal briefing from Gurdev Singh and the Rev James McWhirter following their attendance at the NASACRE Annual Conference held at the Fishmongers’ Hall, London on Monday, 22^nd May 2023 (details attached).

NASACRE held its 30^th Annual General Meeting on 22^nd May 2023.

A briefing from James McWhirter (Revd) following his attendance at the AGM was distributed to members prior to the meeting.

It was agreed that the main agenda item for the next SACRE meeting would be a discussion regarding SACRE’s role and its engagement with schools.

WORK PLAN

It was confirmed that SACRE received and reviewed OfSTED inspection reports but not SIAMS reports as these were the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools carried out on behalf of the Church of England and Methodist Church and as such did not fall within the remit of SACRE and the Agreed Syllabus.

To receive a verbal update from Amanda Fitton, SACRE Advisor regarding the launch of the new Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.

The Agreed Syllabus 2023-2028 would be formerly launched and published on the Council’s website on Thursday 15^th June 2023.

Daniel Alfieri confirmed that he would like to attend the official launch of the Agreed Syllabus as the Rutland SACRE representative if a place was available.

Amanda Fitton to send the Clerk the confirmed attendance for Rutland SACRE at the official launch.

ACTION: Amanda Fitton

To review the Rutland SACRE Development Plan for 2023-2028.

SACRE’s new development plan would include items regarding the assessment of RE, diversity and world views.

SACRE members were not permitted to evaluate a school’s performance regarding the teaching of RE and/or collective worship as this was the role of qualified OfSTED inspectors or the Diocese officers.

SACRE members could, with the consent of the school, observe or take part in RE or collective worship but they would not be permitted to comment on its quality or content.

Amanda would develop a questionnaire for schools regarding the impact of the Agreed Syllabus to identify if any amendments were required to the non-statutory areas of the syllabus.  The approval of the schools’ questionnaire would be approved by SACRE on the 12^th March 2024 prior to distribution to schools.

ACTION: Amanda Fitton

Guest speakers should be invited to future SACRE meetings to inform members on what RE and collective worship work was being done in schools and how this performance was measured.

It was agreed that the SACRE Development Plan 2023-2028 was a standing agenda item and would be discussed in greater detail at the September meeting.

WORK PLAN

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

An update would be provided regarding future network meetings at the next meeting following Amanda Fitton’s meeting with Mary-Ann Marples.

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

Online ‘RE Hubs’ had been established as a one-stop website for resources, training, a calendar for local groups, school speakers etc.  The RE Hubs project was dedicated to supporting Religious Education (RE), Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE), and Religion & Worldviews (R&W) teachers and practitioners in the UK. Further details regarding RE Hubs was available at www.re-hubs.uk.

NASACRE training was currently free to all Rutland SACRE members.  Full details of the 2023-2024 training courses would be available from the NASACRE website: www.nasacre.org.uk 

To receive a verbal report from Elizabeth Papworth, Education Development Lead and copies of any new OfSTED Inspection Reports.

·       Edith Weston Academy

·       The Shires at Oakham

·       Ryhall CofE Academy

·       Uppingham Community College

·       Ketton CofE Primary School

The Ofsted inspection reports were reviewed and the positive comments were noted for the following schools:

Edith Weston Academy,

The Shires at Oakham,

Ryhall CofE Academy,

Uppingham Community College and

Ketton CofE Primary School.

To review/update the Work Plan for 2023-2024.

The work plan was updated as follows:

SACRE’s Role and Engagement with Schools would be the main agenda item for the next SACRE meeting on the 12^th September 2023.

The SACRE Development Plan 2023-2028 would be a standing agenda item and would be discussed in greater detail at the meeting on the 12^th September 2023.

There was no urgent business.

Tuesday, 12^th September 2023 at 4.30 p.m. in the Council Chamber, RCC, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP.

Tuesday, 12^th September 2023 at 4.30 p.m. in the Council Chamber, RCC, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP