Agenda and minutes

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MEETING WAS NOT QUORATE AND THEREFORE NO FORMAL DECISIONS WERE MADE

It was confirmed to the HSACRE that the meeting did not have the attendance to make quorum, and therefore no formal decision could be made. It was agreed that the meeting continue and updates be provided on each item, where possible.

The minutes of the meeting will be taken to the next meeting.

The advisor to HSACRE ran through the revised agreed syllabus and highlighted the changes that would be made to the document, including the addition of the Humanism.

It was confirmed that although the Humanist representative was unable to attend the meeting, he had informed the advisor to HSACRE that he was very supportive of the new syllabus and the Humanist section. HSACRE thanked the Chairman and Ms Paul for their good work and effort in helping piece together the syllabus.

HSACRE heard that, following discussions with the Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services, it was noted that there was no disagreement on the syllabus and it was sent to schools in June.

It was noted that further changes were still required, and the Humanist symbol would be an addition to the front page, following consultation with the HSACRE Humanist representative to agree the symbol used. It was also noted that the Islamic symbol may also need refining as it is currently slightly out of shape.

The advisor to HSACRE is now in discussions with the Communications Team to make the relevant changes to the syllabus. Once confirmed, the syllabus will then be uploaded to the Council website, along with hyperlinks to the relevant religious information so the syllabus can be easily navigated.

It was suggested that the syllabus also be sent out from Education Team in its bi-weekly email to schools, as well as from the Governor Support Service.

The Committee questioned whether it was possible to have a high profile launch for the syllabus locally, including RE coordinators and teachers where possible. Ms Paul noted that she had recently attended a syllabus launch that included RE coordinators, governors and school employees, and believed it was a good way forward and an instant way to get the SACRE message out.

The advisor to SACRE noted that there was now a term to plan for the formal launch of the syllabus. Members noted that they supported the idea, but recognised that there were budget implications for any formal syllabus launch.

It was suggested a small group of HSACRE members may wish to meet to brain storm ideas for such a launch, and that this could be facilitated over the next couple of months.