Agenda and minutes

It was acknowledged that the meeting was not quorate and it was agreed to proceed on an informal basis with any agreed actions being ratified by consultation with Board members not present.

Resolved:

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

Members of City of Wolverhampton SACRE were invited to elect a new Chair and Vice Chair.

Following nominations and elections, it was agreed that Martin Gomberg, Representative of the Jewish Faith and Jaswinder Singh Chaggar, Representative of the Sikh Faith be elected as Chair and Vice Chair respectively. All members of City of Wolverhampton SACRE present agreed to these elections.

The newly elected Chair undertook to welcome Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Work to the meeting.

Resolved:

1. That Martin Gomberg be appointed as Chair of City of Wolverhampton SACRE, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

2.    That Jaswinder Singh Chaggar be appointed as Vice-Chair of City of Wolverhampton SACRE, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

Apologies were received from City of Wolverhampton SACRE member Ourmala Devi.

Apologies were also received from Emma Bennett and Phil Leivers.

There were no declarations of interest.

[To approve the minutes of the meeting of 7 October 2021 and the meeting of 28 April 2022 as a correct record.]

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of 7 October 2021 and 28 April 2022 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the meetings held on 7 October 2021 and 28 April 2022.]

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

[To approve the City of Wolverhampton SACRE Annual Report 2021 – 2022 to include a review of the 2021 – 2022 Action Plan and Action Plan for 2022 – 2023.]

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council presented the City of Wolverhampton SACRE Annual Report 2021 – 2022 and highlighted key points. The report provided a summary of work undertaken by SACRE over 2021 – 2022 and included a review of the Action Plan for 2021 – 2022. The Action Plan for 2022 – 2023 then outlined priorities for the coming year.

The work undertaken was commended and thanks were extended to Representatives of City of Wolverhampton Council and Lat Blaylock, RE Today for their contributions.

Resolved:

1. That the progress detailed within City of Wolverhampton SACRE Annual Report 2021 – 2022 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

2.    That the priorities set out in the SACRE Action Plan for academic year 2022 – 2023 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

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

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council delivered a presentation outlining financial decisions on payment of invoices. The Chair highlighted that this item would assist to provide the public with clarity in terms of local authority support to SACREs.

[To retrospectively approve SLAs for 2021 – 2022.]

It was reported that RE Today continued to provide value for money and recommended that payment of work undertaken from April 2022 – March 2023 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present. It was acknowledged that the payment would be covered by the SACRE budget.

Resolved:

That payment of the invoice for services provided by RE Today from April 2022 – March 2023 be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To receive an update on and approve payment for Westhill activities.]

It was reported that work undertaken towards the Westhill project also required approval for payment; this included the facilitation by RE Today of two school conferences. It was noted that the grant funding received from Westhill would cover this payment.

Resolved:

That payment of work undertaken against the Westhill project be approved, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To agree payment for RE Today work undertaken in the 2021 – 2022 financial year.]

Resolved:

That it be noted that further invoices were yet to be received and would be considered as a standing agenda item going forward.

[To receive an update report from RE Today.]

Lat Blaylock, RE Today presented the report from RE Today and highlighted salient points. The report provided an update on RE related matters over the past few months.

It was highlighted that an article was available written by a Muslim reflecting on his experience joining the Queue to observe the Queen’s lying in state.

It was noted that a Regional RE Hub with a network of Regional Leads had been established to provide RE teaching support to a wide range of settings and the regional lead for the West Midlands was identified as Chris Giles.

Also highlighted were the NATRE Annual RE Conference to be held on 28 – 29 January 2023, entry details and themes for the annual Spirited Arts competition and virtual and video RE resources provided by the Arts Society Birmingham.

Attention was drawn to the forthcoming series of free webinars aimed at Early Career Teachers (ECTs) with a focus on classroom strategies and it was noted the booking link was embedded into the published agenda paper. 

Thanks were extended for drawing attention to the video resources as it wasn’t always easy to arrange for young people to go out onto visits.

Resolved:

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

[Discussion item on the review of the performance of Religious Education.]

Lat Blaylock, RE Today provided an update on the RE Report Card, which outlined outcomes from a review of the national performance of Religious Education in schools. There were positive aspects to report, such as an increase in RE studies being continued to GCSE level or higher, an improvement on time spent on the subject and students achieving higher attainment scores, however concerns continued to be raised nationally around the lack of quality RE provision in some schools and, in some cases, where Department for Education (DfE) requirements were not being met. 

It was proposed that a letter be drafted between the Chair and Lat Blaylock to encourage the Secretary of State for Education to consider developing DfE policy in relation to RE provision.

Resolved:

That a letter be drafted on behalf of City of Wolverhampton SACRE to encourage the Secretary of State for Education to consider developing DfE policy in relation to RE provision, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To receive an update on the Secondary Network Trial.]

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council reported that following the establishment of the Primary RE Network, there had been an appetite amongst headteachers for a separate network for secondary schools and it was proposed this be explored in consultation with the ConnectEd Partnership.

It was noted that this was achievable within the existing budget and agreed that a series of options would be prepared for consideration at the next meeting of SACRE.

In response to a query around which key stages the network would be open to, it was suggested that Key Stage 3 and 4 would be preferable but this was reliant on decisions made on the models at the next meeting. It was noted that if six or more schools were to become involved, this would form a functional network. The aim of the network was to develop a cohesive approach to teaching RE in secondary settings and to cover a wide range of faiths. 

Resolved:

That options for a new Secondary RE Network be presented for consideration at the next meeting of City of Wolverhampton SACRE, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[Discussion around Multi Academy Trusts where non-Wolverhampton schools wish to use the LAS and Scheme of Work.]

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council reported that there had been interest expressed by Multi Academy Trusts in using the Locally Agreed Syllabus (LAS) in non-Wolverhampton schools.

Whilst Wolverhampton schools could use the resource at no extra charge, it was considered whether allowing out of City schools to use it should carry a fee to reflect the time and cost invested into its development. It was noted that the addition of the Scheme of Work had also attracted interest.

It was noted that another local authority in a similar situation had introduced a licensing system to allow access to their LAS for a five-year period at a cost of £150 per school and proposed that a similar model could be introduced for Wolverhampton’s LAS. It was noted that this was a fair proposal which could generate income for the improvement of RE in schools and, if a precedent had already been set, was worth exploring.

It was agreed that proposals would be presented to a future SACRE meeting for consideration.

Resolved:

That proposals for the use of the Locally Agreed Syllabus by non-Wolverhampton schools be presented for consideration at the next meeting of City of Wolverhampton SACRE, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

[To receive an update on support for RE leads in Special School settings.]

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council reported that Special School headteachers had voiced that they were keen to implement the LAS, however felt that advice was required from specialists familiar with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 

It was therefore proposed to explore funding to provide this support and options would be presented for approval by City of Wolverhampton SACRE.

Resolved:

That options to provide support for Special School RE leads be presented for consideration at the next meeting of City of Wolverhampton SACRE, subject to ratification by consultation with Board members not present.

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

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council reported that there had been five inspections since the last meeting of City of Wolverhampton SACRE. As the reports had not yet been made public, it could only be revealed that there had been varied inspection outcomes for the settings visited, however reports relating to RE had been positive in nature.

Resolved:

That the Ofsted Findings During the Last Quarter be received.

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

Laura Jude, Representative of City of Wolverhampton Council reported that The Kings Church of England School had enjoyed an excellent SIAMS inspection report in May 2022 and members were encouraged to view the published report whenever possible.

It was noted that a list had been published of schools due to be inspected although it was thought to be unlikely that all visits would be undertaken within this academic year.

There had been no Section 48 visits made since the last meeting of City of Wolverhampton SACRE.

Resolved:

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

·       9 March 2023

·       May 2023 – TBC

It was agreed that the 4.00 pm start time worked more favourably than the 6.00 pm start time although it was noted that 4.30 pm may be more convenient for some members. It was agreed to schedule the next meeting at 4.00 pm and then the following meeting at 4.30 pm.

It was agreed that virtual meetings were working well and currently members were happy with this arrangement.

Resolved:

That City of Wolverhampton SACRE members were happy to continue with the virtual meeting format and the revised start times.

There was no other business.