Agenda item

    8.1. Clarification of requirements for ASC and SACRE

    8.2. Defining ‘Meaningful RE’

    8.3. Agreement of Recommendations to SACRE

It was confirmed that HSACRE had a legal requirement to review the local Agreed Syllabus every five years hence the need for the Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). It was noted that HSACRE had agreed that the ASC would comprise the same membership as the current HSACRE.

HSACRE adjourned to convene as the Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). Please see some notes from the discussions of the ASC below.

It was confirmed that there were 3 main options – retain the current syllabus, purchase a new syllabus or revise the current syllabus.

It was noted that, when asked why RE was taught in schools, in a national survey 72% of respondents had stated that the teaching of RE helped pupils to better understand their own beliefs. However, Ofsted had found that, in many schools, the teaching of RE relied on over simplistic assertions and stereotypes; it was not inclusive enough of those who were non-religious, and the curriculum was based on visible entities such as clothes and holy books rather than on meaningful questions which religions sought to answer.

It was agreed that the teaching of RE should not be thematic and should not focus on one religion at a time. With regard to content, it was noted that worldviews were constantly changing, and it was important that pupils understood this and used the language of the believers. In terms of position, it was noted that it was not possible to teach all beliefs and practices within a religious tradition. Pupils needed to learn how to engage and think about different responses to meaningful questions, including those from other religions and worldviews, rather than just learning facts.

An RE teaching model was proposed which focussed on posing a meaningful question, then asking pupils to consider their own response as well as exploring the responses of other worldviews and religions. Meaningful ‘human’ questions would be at the centre of the syllabus. Members of the ASC expressed their agreement to this proposal.

Members heard that, according to Ofsted, RE teaching should be more than just imparting ‘substantive’ knowledge – it needed to be a meaningful subject which related to pupils’ lives and experiences.

Ria Searle and David Beeston presented the use of a flower analogy/model to teach RE with the centre floret representing the meaningful questions and key concepts which filtered out via the petals (responses and beliefs in relation to the question) while considering the stem (personal knowledge and prior learning). Pupils engaged with the ‘petals’ to increase their knowledge.

The aim was to develop RE teaching across all schools. Statutory and non-statutory sections were proposed led by the HSACRE Advisor.

Cllr Singh indicated his support for the flower concept noting the importance of commonality. Tim Wright queried how students could build up a broader understanding over time rather than developing a limited view of a faith based purely on what they had heard in the lesson. In response, the HSACRE Advisor noted that teachers would need to be supported with models and CPD sessions to enable them to build their skillset in relation to this. Teachers would also be asked to provide samples of learning which could be used as examples.

Ria Searles reported that she had trialled the flower model in class with year 7 pupils asking them to discuss questions such as ‘how did we get here?’ and ‘how should we live our lives?’ She confirmed that the model enabled pupils to engage meaningfully with the subject while facilitating increased diversity and less stereotyping.

The ASC agreed that the current RE syllabus was excessively thematic and required amendment.

In terms of next steps, it was agreed that the HSACRE Advisor would draft the statutory RE syllabus during the summer break based on the flower model. In terms of the non-statutory part of the curriculum, it was confirmed that this would be developed with teachers over the course of the year. There would be a soft launch of the new curriculum – it would not be published but could be uploaded onto the LEAP Learning Platform so schools could access the information and download it as a PDF. Non-statutory materials would be developed and shared with the HSACRE in the autumn before moving on to the next steps thereafter.

The recommendations of the HSACRE Advisor were approved by members of the Agree Syllabus Conference. The HSACRE meeting subsequently re-convened and the recommendations of the ASC were approved by HSACRE members.