The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) met to discuss a range of matters relating to religious education in East Sussex. The committee discussed its budget, progress on its website refresh project, a draft policy on how to include pupils of faith in school life, and received updates on the progress of the East Sussex SACRE Development Plan to 2026 and its self-evaluation. No decisions were made at this meeting.

Budget Update

The SACRE received an update on its budget.

Members noted that expenditure for the year to date was on track to be within budget. The majority of the SACRE's budget is spent on providing training courses for teachers of Religious Education and on supporting schools to develop their Religious Education curriculum.

Website Refresh Project

The SACRE received an update on its website refresh project. The website is due to be relaunched in September 2024.

The Chair asked members to visit the beta version of the website and provide feedback on the design and content.

Including Pupils of Faith in School Life

The SACRE discussed a draft policy on how to include pupils of faith in school life. The draft policy, which had been developed by a working group of SACRE members, was informed by meetings with religious groups in East Sussex and by guidance from the Department for Education. The guidance from the Department for Education included the suggestion that schools could:

...consider, for example, enabling pupils to:

• wear an item of clothing or jewellery that manifests their religious belief;
• pray at school outside of lesson times if they wish, either individually or in groups;
• be excused from school to observe religious festivals and holidays.

...Schools should be sensitive to requests from pupils of different faiths and beliefs and give careful consideration to their requests, bearing in mind the needs of the school community as a whole.

The policy will be considered again at the next meeting.

East Sussex SACRE Development Plan to 2026

The SACRE received an update on the progress of the East Sussex SACRE Development Plan to 2026. The plan, which was published in January 2024, sets out the SACRE's priorities for the next three years. The SACRE noted that it had made good progress against the objectives set out in the plan.

Self Evaluation

The SACRE received an update on the progress of its self-evaluation. The self-evaluation is a process that the SACRE is required to undertake every five years. The purpose of the self-evaluation is to review the SACRE's effectiveness and to identify areas for improvement. The SACRE noted that it had made good progress with the self-evaluation and that it was on track to complete the process by the end of the year.