Venue: Committee Room 5 - Civic Centre. View directions
Contact: Steven Maiden
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Chairman's Announcements It was agreed that the Chairman would write to Nadia Williams on behalf of members to thank her for support as HSACRE clerk.
It was noted that Carolyn Appleby was stepping down as a member of HSACRE and that this would be her last meeting. The Chairman thanked her for her work on behalf of members. |
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies were received from Amir Ahmed, Naseem Bint Amir, Mike Gettleson, Heather Steady, Lil Osborn, and Councillor David Routledge. |
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Minutes from the meeting held on 18 June 2013 Minutes: RESOLVED: That, subject to correcting references to “NASARE” and “HSCRE”, the minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2013 were agreed as a correct record. |
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Matters arising
Minutes: HSACRE Future Action Plan
The Chairman noted that this item would be covered later in the meeting under item 5, Ofsted Report and item 6, Cross-Party Commission / Religious Council.
Questionnaire on Continuing Professional Development
The Chairman advised that plans were currently being made to provide a questionnaire to schools to determine what areas they required training in and what their priorities were in teaching RE. Training would be based on the feedback received from the questionnaires and would be tailored separately for primary and secondary schools.
It was noted that the questionnaire would be directed at those with responsibilities for teaching RE rather than head teachers.
Members were informed that Brunel University had also expressed an interest in working with HSACRE to assist with RE training on their PGCE courses. The importance of including RE training on the Newly Qualified Teacher Year was also discussed and noted as an opportunity for HSACRE to contribute to how RE was taught in the Borough’s schools.
It was agreed that, based on the feedback received from the questionnaires, an update highlighting the way forward with regard to training would be provided to the meeting held on 11 March 2014.
RE Quality Mark
The Chairman advised that the RE Quality Mark was a valuable tool and assisted with raising the profile of RE. The assessment was 2.5 hours and comprised consideration of evidence and interviews with children. It was noted that the assessment was comprehensive and required the school’s whole senior leadership team to buy into the process.
Walk Through the Bible
The Walk Through the Bible course was commended by Members and it was noted that there was interest in the course being run again in the future.
RESOLVED: That an update setting out the way forward with RE training would be considered at the HSACRE meeting to be held on 11 March 2014.
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Food and Faith Minutes: It was noted that the Food and Faith Guidance for Schools had originally been published by HSACRE and Healthy Hillingdon in May 2008. Since then, there had been an increasing diversity of faiths in the Borough, a greater number of calls for a wider range of meals and several complaints relating to school meals. Consequently, work had been undertaken to redraft the guidance with three key concerns in mind: 1. The financial viability of providing a wider range of foods; 2. The requirements and preferences of clients; and 3. The Government’s guidelines on the nutrition of school needs.
A draft of the revised guidelines was circulated to Members for discussion.
Members discussed the length of the document and whether it was too long to be considered by head teachers. However, it was emphasised that, with the introduction of free school meals for all infant school children in September 2014, this document would be a valuable resource for schools.
It was suggested that representatives from HSACRE could attend schools’ joint meetings with catering companies to provide advice on the requirements of different faiths.
RESOLVED: That the Food and Faith Guidance for Schools be approved and circulated to schools subject to the following amendments: a) The clause regarding contractors to have a certificate for Halal food be amalgamated with the cross contamination clause; b) The section explaining the requirements of Hindus be revised to reflect that Hindus do not eat beef; and c) The section explaining the requirements of Sikhs be revised to read, “Sikhs will not eat any meat which has been prepared in any way which includes a faith dimension (i.e. Halal)”. |
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Minutes: The Committee considered in detail the reports from Ofsted and the Religious Council for England and Wales. It was noted that both reports held in common the belief that teachers should be clear on how RE should be taught but that this was currently not being fully realised. There had been numerous changes to where RE sat within the national curriculum and that there may be further changes in the future. The challenge to HSACRE was to continue providing high-quality training and guidance and demonstrate what good RE could be. This would involve continuing work on promoting the RE Quality Mark, Continuing Professional Development and the Walk Through the Bible course.
With regard to the Walk Through the Bible course, Members highlighted the importance of encouraging senior managers to attend and suggested that the course be divided in two half-day sessions. A full day of training was seen too dense for those attending to fully digest the material. However, it was noted that this was subject to what would be most convenient for teachers. This would be ascertained through the forthcoming questionnaire.
RESOLVED: That an update on the reports would be provided at the meeting of 11 March 2014. |
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Cross-Party Commission / Religious Council Minutes: The reports from the Cross-Party Commission and the Religious Council were discussed under item 5, Ofsted Report. |
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Inter-Faith Activities
Minutes: Members were advised that there was a local conference on primary and special education run by RE Today Services on 19 November 2013. HSACRE members could get a reduced rate for the event and were asked to contact the Chairman if they were interested in attending. |
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Any Other Business Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting would be help on 11 March 2014. |
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