Apologies were received for Councillors Chukwu, Councillor Heath, Harjot Kaur Takhtour (Sikh Rep) Alicia Thompson, Jaqui Culloty, Tunde Ojetola.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Educationmeeting held on 2 October 2024.

Minutes were approved as an accurate record of the meeting, with one minor adjustment to the wording of one sentence that should say network instead of forum.

To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Associate Advisor of Religion advised that SACRE recommend to the council that a Pagan and a Humanist representative be included in Group A.

Members of SACRE discussed the membership of Committee A considering the agreed criteria for membership, and were advised to make a recommendation to the Authority regarding whether Humanist representative and/or a Pagan representative should be invited to join group A.

Members were advised that the criteria for membership included suitability of the religion or belief to be represented on SACRE. The Police system is widely represented on other SACRE’s.

Other criterions include a reflection of the principle religious traditions of Thurrock and their proportionate strength. It was confirmed that proportionate strength is a separate element. Members were advised to review their numbers and decide whether they wanted one member, or two members.

Members discussed whether the candidates had to be based in Thurrock. Some highlighted that it would be useful for them to have knowledge of the local area and apply their expertise. It was confirmed that they don’t necessarily have to be residents of Thurrock and they could not restrict it to Thurrock residents only.

Members discussed potential candidates for a humanist representative. It was confirmed that a pagan federation representative would need to be invited to nominate a candidate. Members were advised to consider the demographics of Thurrock along with non-religious groups for the pagan representative.

Members debated the definition Humanist suggesting that the census data interprets it as non-religious. Suggesting the Humanist representative could potentially be welcomed as a co-opted member instead.

Members added that Humanist values include having a set of principles, a set of values and rituals you carry out that are similar to religion. Stressing the importance that children understand both religious and non-religious worldviews. It was confirmed that the legislation states that you must include non-religious representatives as well.

Members of the council considered all aspects as part of an extensive debate and proceeded to vote.

RESOLVED

The resolution was to appoint both a Humanist and Pagan representative.

The Associate Adviser for Religious Education presented this item to SACRE.

Advising the Government’s Curriculum Review and aims are to prepare SACRE for the next stage in the review process which will be to receive and make a response to the interim report in 2025.

The recommendation(s) were that SACRE:

Discuss the key issues for RE covered by the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Debate the key questions and explore the level of consensus on each issue.

It was reiterated that the Curriculum and Assessment Review is an independent review initiated by the UK government to evaluate and update the national curriculum and statutory assessment system for children and young people aged 5 to 19. The review aimed to ensure that the curriculum was ambitious, inclusive, and relevant, preparing students for life and work.

Members discussed the key points during the presentation including GCSE courses and the length of examinations at A-Level stage. It was highlighted that Religious Education and RSHE are not part of the national curriculum but are also compulsory in all state-funded schools, including academies.

Members debated whether they agreed with the questions submitted as part of gathering evidence regarding religious education as part of the national curriculum. This included the ‘place of religious education in the curriculum should be reviewed to ensure that its status is on a par with the core and foundation subjects of the National Curriculum’. It was confirmed that it should be reviewed and that the Religious Association Council strongly agreed they didn’t want to keep the status quo.

Members had further debate regarding the questions on making religious education part of the national curriculum as opposed to the basic curriculum.

Members agreed it was contentious subject and it was confirmed that content would not be set by central government. In addition to this Academies are free to determine their own content.

Members expressed concerns around Multi-Academy Trusts (MAT) that will continue to grow and potentially lose the local elements that may make Religious Education (RE) more relevant to the students. Members queried whether this would be considered when MAT’s make their decisions regarding content.

Members discussed having a national curriculum that is brief but sets a clear standard. As well as incorporating national content standards that set out rules about how its measured for different types of schools.

Members questioned whether there were resources to deliver religious education as part of the national curriculum. Raising concerns regarding the lack of RE teachers available to teach the subject at GCSE level. It was confirmed that currently there is a shortage, which is partly because RE is not part of the national curriculum therefore easier to ignore and would require further training for teachers.

The Chair raised that the debate would form part of on-going discussions and members should make themselves aware of any changes going forward. The Chair thanked members for their time and reiterated the value in national standard content for religious education.

Recommendations resolved.

Members were advised that the Department for Education (DfE) launched a "national conversation" to review the curriculum and assessment systems in England, seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders to enhance educational outcomes. The review, led by Professor Becky Francis, began its call for evidence on 25 September 2024 and both National Association for Teachers of RE (NATRE) and the Religious Education Council (REC) submitted evidence. An interim report will be published in mid-January 2025, this will result in various consultations.

The Associate Adviser for Religious Education stated that they intend to share the updates with schools to start the conversation and asked members of SACRE for their input.

Members expressed why they agreed Religious Education should be part of the national curriculum and put themselves forward to submit comments to the Chair of the National Association of SACRE.

Members briefly discussed training opportunities including national conferences that is due to take place in May 2025. Information regarding this will be circulated. They will consider signing up for the National Association SACRE training programme, subject to suitable budget availability. The Chair highlighted that he would like Group D of SACRE and substitutes to communicate their availability for training opportunities.

National updates were noted. Resolved.

 The Chair discussed amendments to the constitution and members debated how to record committee votes and the election of chair and vice chairs from each group. Members also discussed the voting procedure as one vote per committee/group, with 3 votes required to pass a decision. Members discussed quorum, tie-breaking and the committee voting procedure itself. Advising they would like to make the voting process clearer and remove ambiguity.

The Chair requested further support to make amendments to the process which members agreed.

Action: Clerk to follow up with Democratic Services regarding amendments.