Agenda and minutes

Resolved:

That the meeting proceed on an informal basis with any agreed actions being ratified by consultation with Board members not present.

Apologies were received from Jaswinder Singh Chaggar.

Apologies were also received from Emma Bennett.

There were no declarations of interest.

[To approve the minutes of the meetings of 7 October 2021, 28 April 2022 and 15 December 2022 as a correct record.]

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meetings of 7 October 2021, 28 April 2022 and 15 December 2022 as a correct record be approved subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 7 October 2021, 28 April 2022 and 15 December 2022 as a correct record.]

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

[To receive an update report from RE Today.]

Lat Blaylock, RE Today presented the Report from Religious Education (RE) Today and highlighted key areas of interest.

In addition to this, attention was drawn to a piece of research that found that schools offering GCSE RE often had pupils who performed well in RE examinations which it was hoped would encourage more schools into offering the legally required level of RE at Key Stage 4.

It was noted that statistics had shown that there was a national shortage of specialist teachers of RE, which was thought to be a contributory factor negatively impacting the amount of time currently spent teaching the subject in schools. It was reported that just under a third of Wolverhampton primary schools offered less than 60 minutes per week on the subject.

In response to a query around how the information within the report was shared, it was noted that a schools’ version (without the ‘Questions for SACRE’ section) was usually forwarded to schools via contact lists provided by the Local Authority.

Thanks were extended to Lat Blaylock for compiling the resources and information within the report as it was felt these were invaluable, particularly for subject leaders who did not specialise in RE.

Resolved:

That the Report from Religious Education (RE) Today be received.

[To consider and agree financial matters in respect of City of Wolverhampton SACRE.]

Laura Jude, Representative for City of Wolverhampton Council delivered a presentation for the Finance item.

Approval was sought for payment of an invoice from RE Today for 2022 -2023 which covered support for two City of Wolverhampton SACRE meetings and training for Wolverhampton Primary Teachers at a total cost of £1,870.00 inclusive of VAT.

Members of City of Wolverhampton SACRE present approved the payment of the invoice, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

It was suggested that an alternative method of approving SLAs and other budgeting decisions could be explored to simplify processes. It was acknowledged that this information was often agreed as part of the Action Plan at other authorities. It was agreed that Democratic Services would facilitate a discussion between relevant parties and present options to SACRE to approve.

Due to the fact the meeting was inquorate, it was agreed to continue with the ratification by consultation process on this occasion until an alternative process could be established.

Resolved:

1. That the payment of the invoice for work undertaken by RE Today between December 2022 and March 2023 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

2.    That an improved process for approving budgeting decisions be explored and options presented to SACRE for approval.

Approval was sought for Service Level Agreements (SLAs) quote for work to be carried out for the Local Authority by RE Today which was itemised and totalled £8,650.00, to come from the existing SACRE budget.

The work detailed was to be carried out over the 2023 – 2024 academic year and aligned with the Action Plan as presented and approved at the last meeting.

Resolved:

That the Service Level Agreements for 2023 – 2024 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To receive an update on the progress of the Westhill Project.]

Laura Jude, Representative for City of Wolverhampton Council provided a verbal update on the Westhill Project and reported that arrangements were underway for a second conference in the Summer 2023 Term.

Resolved:

That the Westhill Project Update be received.

Laura Jude, Representative for City of Wolverhampton Council delivered the Local Authority Updates presentation which provided information updates on projects previously discussed at SACRE.

It was proposed that one half-day session take place per term in a face-to-face format hosted by a school. It was noted that the cost as outlined in item 7 would be £1,200 and had been approved along with the SLAs.

Resolved:

That the Secondary RE Network Trial Options Update be received.

It was outlined that at the previous meeting of SACRE, it had been proposed to establish a means of sharing the Wolverhampton RE Locally Agreed Syllabus and Scheme of Work with academy schools outside of Wolverhampton.

It was proposed to introduce a licensing system and that fees to external schools would be £150 per licence. It was also proposed that the discounted rate of £100 per licence would be offered when purchasing licences for multiple schools within the same Multi Academy Trust at the same time. Licence validity would run in line with the duration of the Locally Agreed Syllabus (until 2026).

Resolved:

That the proposals to share the Wolverhampton RE Locally Agreed Syllabus and Scheme of Work with external schools under licence be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

It was noted that this had been covered during the approval of the SLAs, namely the approval of six community of practice meetings, three of which focused on special schools.

Resolved:

That the Support for Special School RE Leads Options – Update be received.

[To receive an update on Ofsted findings during the last quarter.]

Laura Jude, Representative for City of Wolverhampton Council reported that her team had undertaken an analysis of inspections across the West Midlands region and found RE had been a common ‘deep dive’ subject according to the most recent data.

In respect of published inspections, East Field primary school had been the most recent and RE had been taken as part of Humanities rather than a standalone subject.

Resolved:

That the Ofsted Findings During the Last Quarter update be received.

[To receive an update on findings from SIAMS and Inspection 48 Visits.]

Laura Jude, Representative for City of Wolverhampton Council reported that, following a SIAMS inspection, Christ Church CE Junior School had achieved an ‘excellent’ grading therefore congratulations were extended to the school. It was noted that SIAMS feedback had been positive of late and this continued the trend.

Janine Wright, Representative of the Church of England drew attention to the fact that an updated list had been shared amongst settings and a backlog had been reported in the inspection timeline, which may account for delays in published results. It was also highlighted that any settings due to be inspected in the next academic year would be inspected against the new framework.

Resolved:

That the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) and Inspection 48 Findings During the Last Quarter be received.

It was outlined that the next confirmed meeting was 15 June 2023 from 4.30 pm.

Proposed dates for future meetings were 19 October 2023 and 7 February 2024 with a start time of 4.00 pm.

In terms of the format of meetings, the Chair of SACRE suggested that although there were benefits to meeting in person, virtual meetings were convenient and queried if these arrangements would continue going forward.  It was reported that an internal review of resources for all meetings was currently underway although views of SACRE members would be taken into account. It was noted that an update would be provided should the format change.

The Chair took the opportunity to give thanks to lead officers for facilitating meetings.

Resolved:

That an update on City of Wolverhampton SACRE meeting format be shared should there be any changes to current arrangements.

There was no other business.