Agenda item

To receive an update on CPD Training.

The Chair provided an update to the Committee on CPD training, during which the following was noted:

• The Chair and the SACRE Advisor led the primary school subject leaders training session, which focused on the new Deep and Meaningful Ofsted Review Report. The report focused on what good religious education looked like.
• The Chair would circulate the Deep and Meaningful Ofsted Review Report and the presentation from the primary school subject leaders training session to members of SACRE.
• The Chair attended a National SACRE Microsoft Teams meeting, NA Sacre submitted the following to the Department of Education’s curriculum review:

o   Relating to the non-statutory National Content Standard for Religious Education, National SACRE called for all religious education syllabus providers such as RE Today, to build upon the work of the National Content Standard, to provide a clear framework for all schools to be held account for the religious education that they provided for their pupils. And stated that at present, as religious education was not part of the mandatory curriculum, many pupils were at risk of not receiving a high-quality religious education and felt that a national solution needed to be bigger than just community schools.

o   NA SACRE supported religious education to continue to contribute to statutory requirements to schools, to promote spiritual, moral, social, cultural development and community cohesion. Religious education along with other curriculum subjects, provided helpful experiences with knowledge and understanding of diversity and difference, within the local community, regionally, nationally, and globally in terms of religious literacy.

o   NA SACRE was concerned with the level of local funding for SACRE’s work and its impact on syllabus development. NA SACRE would like to see ring-fenced funding for the support for religious education and SACRE’s. A Freedom of Information Report provided evidence of SACRE’s not being funded or being given adequate professional support, to review and publish an agreed syllabus.

o   NA SACRE was concerned about how a SACRE’s work could be limited through a lack of budget, to provide local high quality CPD for teachers.

o   NA SACRE had concerns from its analysis of SACRE Annual Reports and local authorities meeting the legal requirement to submit their annual report to the Department of Education.

o   NA SACRE was working well with religious education hubs; this was improving their ability to bring SACRE’s together locally.

o   NA SACRE looked at how SACRE’s functioned and what could be improved. NA SACRE would want to see the legislation reviewed to ensure it would be fit for purpose in the current education system.

• The Religious Education Council for England and Wales also sent a submission to the Department of Educations’ curriculum review. The Religious Education Council for England and Wales had expressed concern relating to the national curriculum, it was felt that it was important to keep a degree of flexibility in the national curriculum, relating to focusing on the religious profile of each area.
• SACRE members felt that some local authorities were a small size to develop a local curriculum, it was suggested that the South Yorkshire local authorities could consider completing combined work regionally, on the local curriculum.
• A member of Rotherham SACRE contacted Sheffield SACRE to ask whether Rotherham and Sheffield SACRE could complete collaborated work, Sheffield SACRE were happy to consider this option.