All to discuss the latest version of the Development Plan

      i.        The Chair and Mrs Lucy Stephenson had made alterations to the Development Plan. A copy of which was included within the agenda.

    ii.        In an email to the Chair, Mrs Stephenson had suggested it would be worth including an aim to get Ofsted to ensure they comment explicitly on Religious Education within their reports. There was a need to make sure the subject was treated with the time that it deserved.

   iii.        Mr Silcock would look into contacting the Baptist Church, Quakers, and Methodist Church in regards to joining SACRE.

   iv.        The Chair had reached out to the Plymouth Brethren, however had no response back.

    v.        Mrs Fitton would reach out to a shop in Whissendine that was run by a Hindu family to see if they knew of anyone that would be interested in joining SACRE.

   vi.        Ms Curtis noted a need to extend the focus of network meetings to the Secondary schools as well. However, the Secondary school network meetings would need to be done in the early evening after school.

  vii.        Ms Curtis and Mrs Fitton noted that there was a good speech made by Amanda Spielman, Ofsted Chief Inspector. The speech mentions the benefits of Religious Education as a subject. The speech in full can be found using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/amanda-spielmans-speech-to-the-policy-exchange-think-tank

Below is the specific segment on Religious Education:

“Religious education can contribute a great deal to mutual understanding in a multi-ethnic state. And while it can be quite straightforward to cover the factual information about the rituals and observances and meeting places of different faiths, there is far more that it can do. During my time at Ofqual, the exam regulator, we worked on the new religious studies GCSE, which for the first time is requiring students to study two religions. This means that they study at least one that is not their own, so they arrive at some understanding of the differences between faiths. And religious education also has the potential to develop children’s understanding of the diversity that often exists within as well as between faiths: after all, most faiths actually encompass a spectrum of views, from liberal to conservative.

Religious education done well helps children understand where values overlap and where they diverge, and hence the basis for the tensions that can arise between and sometimes even within faiths. It can help them understand the tensions that can arise between faith and other legally established rights, such as the rights of women and rights relating to sexuality. And done well it allows children to understand how their own faith relates to the wider world, both in terms of attitudes and the prevailing law. Again, this is not about indoctrination, rather about making sure that young people have the knowledge to make their own informed choices.”

viii.        Due to the cost of coaches it was difficult for schools to organise trips to different places of interest.

   ix.        It was suggested that people could travel to schools and do virtual tours of religious buildings and talk through what the students that see, which would be more useful than students looking at videos online of places by themselves.

    x.        The Chair asked that members bring back further ideas for the development plan for the next meeting in October.