Agenda item

Future Support for SACRE

Minutes:

Jonathan Hewitt, Head of Quality and Continuous Improvement, Officer to the SACRE, Directorate for Children and Young People, gave a power point presentation on future support that would be available to the SACRE since the post of Lancashire Consultant for RE and Collective Worship ceased to exist on 31 March 2011. The support offered was the result of discussions which had taken place at the Quality and Standards Sub-group on 9 March 2011.

 

Support would include:

 

  • Clerking support
  • Administrative Support in working with schools on RE and the Agreed Syllabus
  • Support and advice on strategic developments in teaching and learning and the curriculum. 
  • Specialist RE support from an RE consultant and from ASTs

 

Specialist support for the SACRE would include:

 

·  Specialist RE advice and back-up support for 3-6 SACRE meetings a year

·  Specialist RE advice and back-up support for the preparation and publication of the SACRE Annual Report

 

Specialist support for the ASC would include:

 

  • Specialist RE advice and back-up support for ASC meetings
  • Specialist RE advice and back-up support for reviewing the Agreed Syllabus, preparing and publishing the reviewed syllabus and disseminating it to schools

 

Specific tasks to be carried out by the RE consultant would include:

 

  • Attending all SACRE and Quality and Standards Sub- group meetings, support for planning and following up issues arising
  • Advising SACRE on issues relating to monitoring and evaluation and formulating the development plan
  • Leading on areas related to the Agreed Syllabus, RE and collective worship
  • Providing information on local and national RE developments relevant to the work of the SACRE
  • Drafting and editing the Annual Report of the SACRE
  • Working with the Advanced Skills Teachers to support the teaching and learning of RE in schools
  • Supporting the work of the Youth SACRE and organising the Youth SACRE conference
  • Advising on the further development of the Agreed Syllabus
  • Working with schools requesting a determination in relation to collective worship

 

Members welcomed the positive response of the Authority for support for the SACRE and ASC and thanked Jonathan Hewitt for the detailed succession planning as presented.

 

Members commented and raised questions as summarised below:

 

  • The newly revised syllabus and training – schools would be charged for training on the syllabus.  Gillian Sharples had been gathering feedback on the syllabus and one of the main issues to arise related to training.  Another concern was that the syllabus was only available on line and Gillian had therefore collated the core of the syllabus and converted it into a pdf document.  Academies would be able to buy into the service but with an additional cost.  It was envisaged that training would be carried out by the RE consultant but this was yet to be finalised.
  • Monitoring and evaluation – it was hoped that the link to the Authority through Quality and Continuous Improvement  would facilitate monitoring

 

A copy of the presentation by Jonathan Hewitt on Future Support for SACRE is on record in the minute book.

 

RESOLVED:    That future support for the SACRE as presented by Jonathan Hewitt be noted and welcomed by members.