The Chair of SACRE explained one of the key responsibilities and duties of SACRE was overseeing, reviewing and issuing the agreed syllabus for the teaching of RE in Thurrock that cycle is about to start again I want the things that we are committed to doing is consulting widely with a whole range of stakeholders who have an interest in RE teaching within Thurrock prior to conducting that review and I'm delighted that some members of these cabinets have been able to come along to our meeting tonight.

He continued by explaining he had hoped to go round the Members of the Youth Cabinet and for them to answer any of the questions within the agenda which they thought they would like to answer.

During discussions Members heard how one Member of the Youth Cabinet spoke about her experiences of RE at Primary and Secondary School both of which were Roman Catholic Faith Schools and how they differed. She explained how she remembered RE in School being taught very cross curricular. She continued by stating she remembered when in Primary School RE was learning through artwork rather than through textbooks.

Councillor Kerin thanked the Youth Cabinet for attending the meeting and commented it was wonderful to hear their perspectives of RE in Schools. He asked from their point of view what how important did they and young people of their age group consider RE to be and their view on the UK becoming less religious but the world was becoming more religious, as he felt it was an interesting contrast.

Members heard how in terms of RE and the younger generation one member of the Youth Cabinet felt it was very dependent on the background young people came from and how religious their family was. She continued by stating as a generation she felt young people were becoming less religious as a society in terms of RE due to a limited focus.

It was commented that perhaps Religious Education was seen as a downfall by some pupils because it was not respected and was perceived as a subject that you had to do instead wanted to participate in, it was felt this could be due to the limited number of practical lessons and trips which other subjects could do.

Councillor Kerin followed up by asking what in the Young Cabinet’s opinion did they think could assist in making RE more respected and a subject which young people wanted to study. He continued by linking his question to comment made about your background being important and what the Youth Cabinet thought could be put in place to make RE important regardless of whether you come from a religious background.

SACRE heard how a member of the Youth Cabinet felt if more young people had a religious background, then there would be different cultural backgrounds and perhaps an appreciation for different religions. She further mentioned how in years Eight and Nine they learnt about  animal cruelty, sweatshops and Crime and Punishment, during which they learnt about the death penalty looking at different case studies, which made the lesson more interesting for some people as it wasn’t just on religion.

The  Associate Advisor for Religious Education offered clarity for SACRE members in that the experience young people would be have if they attended a school with a religious character would  be very different from the experience of those who attend a community school. She continued by explaining a School of religious character didn’t follow the same agreed syllabus as community schools.

The question ‘In what jobs would you say, you could use your learning in RE?’ was answered by a member of the Youth Cabinet observing that being a chief or having cooking role would be related to RE as there are some religions who don't eat pork or beef, she continued to mentioned the role of being a Doctor because due to religious reasons a patient might decide against a blood transfusion or surgery.

Another Member of the Youth Cabinet mentioned she also attended a Catholic Primary School, however for her secondary school she attend a School with no religion so it was interesting to see the difference between the two. She continued by stating in the catholic primary school there was a strong focus on Catholicism, with two lessons on another faith, she highlighted that as Catholic she found the subject easy to learn however for secondary school during GCSE Religious Studies (RS) there were a few similarities but also quite different, where she enjoyed a range of different religions opposed to just Christianity.

SACRE Members heard how one of the Youth Cabinet Members felt it depended on the school you attended as different schools did different things, for explain her previous school was a grammar school and her current school was a normal school (community/academy) were they did less trips or practical lessons than in Grammar School. She continued to mention they visited a historical museum in another country which was really interesting where she learnt a lot about the extent of religious studies and the origins in past linked to religious studies.

Mrs Saul took the opportunity to thank the young people of taking the time today to come and talk about their experience of religious education, she stated she thought  it was really important that SACRE heard from their point of view how they experienced RE in school. She continued by explaining she was a headteacher in a primary school, so delivered the curriculum to pupils but commented it was really nice to hear their views having experienced RE in schools and was nice to hear that enjoyed a practical approach to learning about religion.

Ms Kaur echoed members thanks to the Youth Cabinet, she then asked apart from Judaism and Islam did anyone study the Sikh Religion and what did they feel was need to enable young people to feel  more stimulated in the RE lessons?

It was discussed how one member of the Youth Cabinet explained she didn’t study the Sikh religion in depth, she commented they one lesson and then went back to learning about Christianity. She further commented she felt it was taught quite late and wasn’t sure if the teachers really knew as much about the Sikh Religion.

She continued when more contemporary topics were discussed where a debate could take place the subject seemed really popular. It was highlighted that if given the chance to have discussions and debates into lessons then young people were more engaged and willing to have their say, rather than just taught the theory side of the lesson.

The Chair of SACRE stated he was going to finish the discussion by asking members of the Youth Cabinet ‘If you're in charge of the RE curriculum what would you change?’ He asked if there were any other questions before moving on from Members of SACRE.

The Associate Advisor for Religious Education ask ‘what extent you recognise the religious or non-religious beliefs of your own family in the teaching you receive in RE, so if you get taught about the traditions that you recognise whether they be non-religious beliefs or religious beliefs to what extent do you recognise it and what you're being taught’.

It was commented that at Secondary School one member of the Youth Cabinet when studying learnt about Christianity and Catholicism in particular however what she would practice in church and how her family practiced Catholicism, she felt there was disparity in that when being taught at school her religion was taught as quite orthodox and quite rigid, which was not how she experience her faith at home.

The  Associate Advisor for Religious Education stated it was helpful to hear from the Youth Cabinet as they were the ones who were being taught in the local schools. She queried if the Youth Cabinet thought it was possible the subject knowledge of teachers was that they may be trying to deliver the textbook view of the religion and maybe don't have a deep understanding of the religion when you're having the discussions, so maybe Schools could to look for expertise within the community to invite visitors into schools to talk knowledgeably about different religions because it was important to get the right views and understanding and not to get misconceptions.

Members of the Youth Cabinet were then given the opportunity to ask questions of SACRE during which it was sought, what was SACRE’s role and what were they hoping to achieve by speaking to the Youth Cabinet. The Chair of SACRE explained speaking with the Youth Cabinet was one example of how SACRE were trying to listen to young people and to hear their experiences and view on Religious Education.  He continued to explain this was the first time the annual youth conference was unable to run, due to Covid 19.

The Chair of the SACRE highlighted one of the reasons Members of the Youth Cabinet were invited to come along and speak with SACRE was because members were about to start the process of reviewing the Thurrock Agreed Syllabus and this was the time their comments could really make a difference.

It was then sought as to what was SACRE’s goal for future and what were members trying to get out of conversations with the Youth Cabinet. Councillor Kerin stated he had been really interested in the discussions and asked that moving forward it was made a regular occurrence to invite the Youth Cabinet to SACRE meetings.

The Chair thanked the Youth Cabinet for their attendance and cooperation in discussions.