At a Meeting of the Hounslow Standing Advisory Council On

At a meeting of the Hounslow Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education held at the Hounslow Education Centre, Martindale Road, Hounslow on Wednesday, 14 June 2006 at 7pm. Present: Group A (Faiths Group) – Amar Girdhar, Basil Mann, Sarup Mahon and Sheena Napier Group B (Church of England) – Revd. Rosemary Hoad, Jane Savill, George Wrigley and Liz Wolverson (Chair) Group C (Teachers) – Fiona Calder, Lawrence Carroll, Sumita Kalisperas, Susan Kent, Steve Line and Ranvir Singh. Group D (LEA) – John Leeson, Susan Roberts and Councillor Vaught. Coopted Member – Lil Abdo (Buddhist representative) Also present: Carol Lipthorne, Hounslow Friends of Faith Mr Pattar, Headteacher, Heathland School Officers present: Lesley Prior, Adviser on Religious Education Mark Williamson, Humanities Adviser Frankie Belloli, Clerk to SACRE Apologies for absence: Helen Cooper, Councillor Samantha Davies, Revd. Nicholas Fincham, Farley Marsh, Munir Rai, Susan Soar and Peter Stumpf. 1. Nicholas Fincham SACRE wished to record their best wishes to Nicholas Fincham for a speedy recovery following his recent illness. 2. Hounslow Friends of Faith SACRE welcomed Carol Lipthorne from Hounslow Friends of Faith, who outlined the work of the group. It had been established in 2000 as part of the International Year of Culture and Peace, and was now responsible for two major events each year, as well as smaller one-off events. The group was affiliated to the Inter-Faith Network and met six times per year. It had received funding from the Metropolitan Police in the Borough and the Home Office, which would assist with the administrative costs of running the organisation and with particular projects such as the Youth Forum and the directory of places of worship. The group’s mission statement highlighted the value of developing friendship and understanding between the Borough’s faith communities and fostering peace, harmony, dignity and justice among these groups. In the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 terrorist attacks, the group had issued a press release promoting tolerance and moderation, and had sent a delegation to the Hounslow Mosque to underline inter- faith solidarity at that time of tension. Efforts were being made to obtain wider publicity for the group’s work, including recent coverage in the Borough’s hm magazine, and a dedicated website was being considered. The network of different faith representatives involved now numbered more than 40, and it was hoped that this would strengthen in the next few years. Members of SACRE expressed their gratitude to the Hounslow Friends of Faith for their work in the community and underlined its value, particularly in recent difficult times of tension between certain faith communities. Revd. Rosemary Hoad suggested that an inter-faith input into the 150th anniversary of her church in Osterley would be welcome, and Carol agreed to discuss options with her. Basil Mann advised that the work of the group positively complemented that of the Council of Christians and Jews. SACRE thanked Carol Lipthorne for her presentation and commended Hounslow Friends of Faith for their work on behalf of the Borough’s many faith communities. 3. Renewal of Collective Worship Determination – Heathland School Mr Pattar, Headteacher of Heathland School, introduced the School’s application for a “determination” on collective worship. He underlined the commendation of the approach by school inspectors and the local authority. Members of SACRE expressed their satisfaction with the content of the application, with particular reference to useful themes for the sessions and “thoughts for the day”. Mr Pattar confirmed that the programme was designed to be succinct and well- structured as this facilitated its delivery, particularly for less experienced teachers. He also confirmed that a range of religious festivals were covered in the programme and that it addressed the “worship” element by reference to a divine power. Mark Williamson advised that the local authority regarded the Heathland School as displaying good practice in this area of work which which had been shared by the School when it hosted a workshop for teachers from Borough schools. Referring to recent coverage in the press and broadcast media about pleas for a return to religious assemblies, Lesley Prior underlined the Heathland School as demonstrating that community secondary schools could comply with the legal requirements on collective worship in a meaningful and positive way. The four constituent groups of SACRE cast their votes on the application and it was unanimously… Resolved – That a collective worship determination be renewed to the Heathland School or a period of five years. 4. Minutes The minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2006 were confirmed subject to the following amendments: • The addition of Fiona Calder to the list of those present (Teachers Group) • Minute 1 (fourth paragraph) – record that the “taster day” had been held “..at Cranford Community College for Norwood Green School.” • Minute 2 – add the word “first” between “his” and “meeting”. • Minute 6 – replace “Sumita Kalisperas” with “Susan Kent”. 5. Matters Arising Buddy System – Rosemary Hoad reported attending an interesting assembly at Smallberry Green School; staff there had been pleased at the attendance by SACRE members. Holocaust Memorial Day Event – Basil Mann reported that 25 January 2007 had been proposed as the date for the event in Hounslow. Inter-Faith Youth Project – Lesley Prior reported that the date of the meeting had changed to 23 June and it would now be held at Cranford Community College, rather than Brunel University. She invited any interested SACRE members to attend. 6. Agreed Syllabus Review Lesley Prior reported back on the results of the questionnaire sent to schools in the Borough. In general, the comments were supportive of the syllabus citing support for the format and clarity of the document, particularly in relation to progression, and the wide range of beliefs covered. Some of the comments suggested a misunderstanding of the requirements of the syllabus, with some teachers apparently believing that it would be necessary to cover all the topics listed in the programmes of study rather than selecting material from them. Lesley considered that understanding of the syllabus could be helped by provision of background resources, perhaps through a dedicated website for RE. The SACRE noted that most of the concerns expressed about “areas for development” related not to the syllabus proper but to support and resources. For example, a point about slimming down content at Key Stage 1 conflicted with the argument for progression in the subject. It was suggested that there was little in the schools’ response to warrant alterations to the syllabus itself, and there was an argument that time, and the local authority’s resources, would better be directed to support and resources for RE teachers, rather than a lengthy formal review of the syllabus. It was proposed that this point should be made to the new Director of Children’s Services & Lifelong Learning. It was noted that, in any case, it would always be open for at least three constituent groups on the SACRE to require a review at any stage. Lesley Prior confirmed that there remained a few copies of the Widening Horizons syllabus which could be circulated to new members of SACRE. Resolved – a) That in the light of responses from Borough schools to the consultation on a review of the agreed syllabus for RE, it is considered that there is no need for a formal review and that the syllabus should be renewed for a further five years in its current format. b) That the Director of Children’s Services & Lifelong Learning at the local authority be asked to consider the case for greater provision of support and resources for RE in Borough schools. 7. NASACRE AGM Steve Line reported on the meeting, with particular reference to an interesting presentation by Rick Lee on Ofsted inspections of RE, discussion about regional organisation of SACREs and the use of forms for SACRE self-evaluation. 8. Jewish SACRE AGM Basil Mann reported on this meeting, at which about 30 SACREs had been represented. A CD was being produced to provide resources for the study of Judaism at Key Stages 3 & 4 and a part-time education officer was available to visit schools. Basil himself was also willing to visit local schools on request. 9. RE Council Lesley Prior reported in her capacity as the representative of the SHAP working party on world religions on the RE Council, which had contacted Lord Adonis, the Education Minister, to make the case for a national strategy for RE along the lines adopted for modern languages and music. Funding was available to develop such a strategy focusing on teacher training and recruiting returning and overseas teachers. The RE Council was appointing someone to coordinate the exercise. Lesley hoped to report back positively at the next meeting of SACRE. 10. SACRE Training The next training session would be held on 27 September at Alexandra Junior School starting at 4.15pm; it would include presentations on work in schools. 11. London-wide SACRE Network SACRE noted this initiative by the Barnet SACRE. However, it pointed out that Hounslow’s SACRE tended to be less isolated than some others given the involvement of SACRE members in the SACREs in other boroughs. 12. Annual SACRE Lecture 2007 This would be held in February, though an exact date had yet to be confirmed. The SACRE Executive would consider suggestions for a speaker, which included Dr Mark Chater, the new RE subject officer at the QCA. Lesley Prior referred to a publication available on the QCA website analysing the annual reports of SACREs. 13. AOB a) Dates of Future Meetings – it was noted that the next three meetings of SACRE would be held on 14 November 2006, 5 February 2007 and 19 June 2007.

Load more