Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana, Balmukund Prasad Joshi, Ninette Fernandes-Viana, Pauline Byles and Melanie Dring.

2.1. Audit of members

There were no updates in respect of Membership.

It was agreed that Democratic Services would prepare an attendance log.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members were requested to confirm whether they were a Governor of any school. Cllr June Nelson affirmed that she was a Governor at Harmondsworth Primary School.

The HSACRE Advisor advised members that the personal special items previously shared would be incorporated into learning resources for pupils.

Noting the importance of modelling good teaching and learning, those who had not yet done so were requested to kindly send in a picture or image of something special to them, together with a short accompanying text. It was noted that this did not have to be a religious item. These items would constitute a starting point for other future projects.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting dated 14 November 2024 be agreed as an accurate record.

There were no determinations.

    6.1. Interfaith Week

    6.2. In Conversation with NASACRE online event, 13^th March 2025

    6.3  NASACRE National Conference 19^th May 2025

Agenda item 6.1

Members heard that the organisers of Interfaith Week had contacted the HSACRE Advisor. A session for teachers had been carried out and it was noted that the activities using shared objects at Hillingdon’s SACRE was included as a model for others.

Interfaith matters were very important and would be marked throughout the year.

Agenda item 6.2

It was confirmed that an online event ‘In Conversation with NASACRE’ had been held on 13 March 2025. HSACRE was a member of NASACRE. The HSACRE Advisor had joined the event and advised members that it had been very beneficial. Representatives of 32 London boroughs had been in attendance – 40 attendees in total. It was reported that the focus of the event had been data and membership. Members were informed that some SACREs were struggling with Councillor membership. The Ofsted consultation report had been discussed at the event but the topic of the interim report for the Assessment and Curriculum review had not been raised.

It was reported that the NASACRE National Conference was due to be held on 19 May 2025. The HSACRE Advisor would be attending the event.

Members were informed that the Ofsted consultation report did not mention R.E. specifically. During school inspections, Ofsted checked the curriculum for all subjects but did not always look at all subjects in detail. However, this would not impact how SACRE gauged the teaching of R.E. It was believed that the consultation period would end on 20 April 2025.

    7.1. Secondary Interfaith Event, 26^th March 2025

    7.2. RE Leader/Coordinator Meetings

    7.3. School Art Competition and RE Calendar

    7.4. RE in schools, including schools’ Primary and Secondary E-Surveys

    7.5. School Enquiries

    7.6. Critical Incident Policy (MG)

    7.7. Holocaust Memorial Day Update (DS)

Agenda item 7.1

The HSACRE Advisor informed Members that Swakeleys School ran an interfaith event for secondary schools with a focus on pupil input and discussion. It would be good for HSACRE to be involved with this initiative in some way.

Agenda item 7.2

In respect of RE Leader / Coordinator meetings, the HSACRE Advisor noted the importance of forging a stronger link with the diocese for London.

Agenda item 7.3

Regarding the School Art Competition and RE Calendar, it was confirmed that the competition was ongoing. Pupils had been asked to produce a piece of art that represented a special moment, and William Byrd school had taken part. In due course, a calendar incorporating religious festivals celebrated would be created using the artwork. The winner would be selected on 7 May 2025. It was confirmed that a lot of schools were engaging with the project.

It was suggested that the artwork and special objects provided by HSACRE members could be incorporated into the RE syllabus in the future, and it was suggested that perhaps a symbol to represent Hillingdon SACRE could be decided at a future date and could appear on the website in due course.

Agenda item 7.4

The HSACRE Advisor informed Members that, to assist in gauging how RE was being taught in schools, an e-survey had been set up. Termly teacher sessions had also been arranged to which all schools were invited.

HSACRE planned to engage more with schools to establish how RE was being taught at present and what schools would like to happen. It was confirmed that Michael Hawkins, Head of Education and Lifelong Learning, and Nicola O’Flanagan, Education Improvement Partnerships Coordinator, had provided the HSACRE Advisor with a list of schools which constituted a good first step in the right direction. It was requested if this could be updated. The aim was to collaborate with schools and teachers to review the current RE syllabus and draft a new one. New materials and events would also be developed as part of this process. It was suggested that future HSACRE meetings could be held in schools. The importance of including the voice of the pupil was highlighted.

Councillors welcomed the idea of e-surveys. It was suggested that it would be helpful to extend these to include a wider selection of stakeholders. It would be useful to involve parents too, but the emphasis had to be on getting the pedagogy right in the first instance. The HSACRE Advisor agreed with this approach noting the importance of interfaith work and cited one example of an online interfaith conference to which all schools were invited to join. The need to use all the tools already in place was emphasised.

The HSACRE Advisor reported that she had been working with organisations to consider key questions and syllabus materials. It was noted that a large part of the current RE syllabus centred around Christianity. The importance of focussing the new syllabus around the “big picture questions” to ensure inclusivity was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

It was noted that the HSACRE Action Plan was a work in progress.

It was reported that the RE curriculum needed to be reviewed every 5 years as a minimum and that the current syllabus could be improved to better reflect strong RE. It was confirmed that an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC) would need to be convened to review and revise the current syllabus.

It was agreed that membership of the Agreed Syllabus Conference Committee would mirror that of the HSACRE Committee – there would essentially be two separate committees with the same membership and the Conference would be undertaken as part of a HSACRE meeting.

It was confirmed that the following process had to be followed:

1. Agree to hold an ASC
2. Decide how to deal with the current syllabus – options included buying a syllabus from another Borough, creating a bespoke syllabus for Hillingdon or revising the current syllabus. Given that the current syllabus was deemed to be unfit for purpose, it was suggested that a bespoke syllabus drafted by the HSACRE Advisor in consultation with teachers would be the best option.

All members felt it would be best to hold the ASC as part of a HSACRE meeting. It was agreed that this would be discussed further at the meeting on 25 June 2025 and members would be asked to vote on it.

Future Hillingdon SACRE meetings are currently scheduled for:

-       Wednesday 25 June 2025

-       Wednesday 26 November 2025

-       Wednesday 25 March 2026

It was agreed that the next HSACRE meeting would be held at William Byrd School in Harlington and would commence at 17:30 hours.

Jenna Naulls confirmed that a new interfaith reflection room had been established at William Byrd School. Donations were needed to fund the purchase of holy books, posters, poems etc. It was agreed that Jenna’s email address would be circulated to HSACRE members should they wish to contribute and suggest materials.

Jenna also confirmed that a careers fair was due to be held at William Byrd School. It was agreed that the QR code would be shared with members after the meeting should they wish to sign up.

It was noted that the budget for HSACRE was very small – only £5k. It was confirmed that the budget for a SACRE was recommended to be 1% of the CSSB money provided by the government but this was rarely the case in reality. Councillors supported the idea of increased funding. It was agreed that the HSACRE Advisor would draft a letter for the Chair to send to the Head of Education and Lifelong Learning about this.