Agenda and minutes

Hillingdon Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education - Thursday, 8th November, 2018 6.00 pm

Venue: Committee Room 4 - Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW. View directions

Contact: Luke Taylor  01895 250693

Items
No. Item

26.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2018 were agreed as a correct record.

27.

CPD Update pdf icon PDF 45 KB

Minutes:

Ms Paul provided the Committee with an update about the recent staff training where six half-day sessions were given. 27 schools were in attendance, including one high-school. The Committee heard that the material covered at the training included creative methods to teach R.E, as well as the inclusion of non-religious world views.

 

It was reported that staff in attendance at the training felt it was invaluable and it was positive to see that schools still wanted to work together.

 

Ms Paul thanked HSACRE for their support in making the training a success.

 

The Chairman offered her personal thanks to Ms Paul for her work, and this sentiment was echoed by the Committee.

 

RESOLVED: That the CPD update was noted.

28.

"Respect for All" - Hillingdon SACRE Pupil Conference pdf icon PDF 47 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ms Paul informed the Committee about the "Respect for All" conference that took place on 6 November 2018 at Brunel University in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Centre. The Committee heard that 17 schools attended the conference, with 119 children present. Flyers with dates about further SACRE CPD training for 2018/2018 were circulated to members.

 

Ms Paul noted her appreciation of the role played by Brunel University, who made the STEM Centre available, free of charge, and offered free transportation to schools if they were unable to make travel arrangements to attend the conference. Brunel University also provided six ambassadors, in addition to a lunchtime visit to the planetarium.

 

The Committee were informed about the excellent behaviour of the children and Ms Paul passed around pictures and examples of work produced by the children at the conference. The children were tasked with asking important questions, and these questions revealed how engaged the children were with the material being taught.

 

The Committee heard that feedback received from both staff and children was positive and that it was invaluable to see the children working well together.

 

Members of the Committee discussed the role of HSACRE, not just in relation to R.E., but also outside of the school environment. Ms Paul commented that HSACRE were currently doing everything possible to promote equality and diversity and this was reflected in the behaviour of the children and the tolerance they show for others. It was noted that the timing of the conference, between Anti-bullying Week and Interfaith Week, was ideal because conversations started in the school environment could be continued outside of the school environment.

 

The Chairman noted that events such as the 'Respect for All' conference were starting discussions and this would only continue to grow as more conferences were held.

 

The Committee thanked Ms Paul for her work and the Chairman extended her personal thanks to Brunel University for their support in providing the STEM Centre.

 

RESOLVED: That the update regarding the "Respect for All - Hillingdon SACRE Pupil Conference" was noted.

29.

Commission on Religious Education Report pdf icon PDF 61 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ms Paul provided the Committee with an update on the CoRE report, published on 1 September 2018. The Committee were informed that after two years of research, a report had been published which outlined 11 recommendations. The report encouraged those who agreed with the recommendations to write to their MPs in order for it to be adopted nationally.

 

Ms Paul informed the Committee that should the report be approved, it would lead to a name change from SACRE to the Local Advisory Network for Religion and World Views and the report would change the legal framework of SACRE.

 

The Committee heard that one of the recommendations was to abolish the agreed syllabus and replace it with a national syllabus to provide a holistic view of faiths. This would allow for HSACRE to then choose strands, depending upon the make-up of the Borough. Members had concerns whether this approach would suit the Borough, but supported revisiting the report at the next meeting to discuss it in more depth.

 

RESOLVED: That the update regarding the CoRE report was noted.

 

30.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

The Director of Housing, Environment, Education, Performance, Health and Wellbeing confirmed the budget of £4,900 was in the Council's 2018/19 budget. Members discussed the chance for additional funds to be allocated to HSACRE. The Director of Housing, Environment, Education, Performance, Health and Wellbeing informed the Committee that if there were a case for additional funds to be allocated to the Committee, then it would need to be put before the meeting of the Cabinet in December for consultation and then February Cabinet for potential approval.

 

Members discussed the idea of collating a calendar of all the festive days for each faith and circulating it to schools. Members also discussed a centralised way for schools to contact members of each faith to attend talks at schools and were informed that while this may be a good idea, there were concerns about safeguarding and confidentiality.

 

31.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 28 March 2019.

Minutes:

It was confirmed that the next meeting will take place at 6:00pm on Thursday 28 March 2019.