This meeting of Wandsworth Council's SACRE was to include the presentation of the body's annual report for 2023/24, and feedback on recent events it had organised. The meeting was also to include time for the committee to consider its own work.

Religious Education in Wandsworth Schools

The meeting was to include a presentation on the previous year's religious education in schools. The report provided included data on the exam results for Religious Studies in 2024. It said that 1,038 pupils in Wandsworth sat a religious studies exam in 2024. The report said that the average points score for pupils in Wandsworth was 5.7, higher than the national average of 5.1. It also said that the percentage of pupils achieving grades 9-4 was 79.8%, compared to 72% nationally.

The report said that the data showed a wide variation in the percentage of a cohort opting for RS. For example, it said that at St Cecilia's Church of England School, Ark Bolingbroke Academy and Graveney School, almost all pupils took the exam. Whereas, at Ashcroft Technology Academy, about half of pupils took the exam, and at Burntwood School a third of pupils took the exam. At Harris Battersea, about a fifth of pupils took the exam. The report said that Ark Putney Academy, Ernest Bevin College and Southfields Academy, did not enter any students for the exam, but that it was an option for pupils at Ark Putney and Ernest Bevin in the future.

The report provided to the committee included data on the results achieved by pupils at each school in the borough.

The committee was also scheduled to receive a letter the Chair had sent on behalf of the committee to Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education, and Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education. The letter raised the committee's concerns about the status of Religious Education nationally. It said that:

We feel that there is an urgent need for the RE expectations in schools to be updated. There should be checks and consequences for schools (including academies) that do not teach RE as a distinct subject or one that fully incorporates it, such as philosophy and ethics.

The letter also mentioned the 2024 riots in England, and argued that:

The riots in Summer 2024 showed that misinformation, misunderstanding and intolerance existed in the UK. Members of SACRE agreed that good RE teaching, incorporating world views, and the community understanding that comes through it, was needed for society cohesion.

The letter to the Secretary of State for Education was also signed by Councillor Kate Stock, the Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Fleur Anderson, the MP for Putney, and Marsha De Cordova, the MP for Battersea.

Faith Direct Feedback

The report pack for the meeting included an evaluation of the Faith Direct event in 2024. Faith Direct is an annual event that brings together pupils and faith leaders to learn about different faiths. It said that feedback from schools and faith leaders was positive. For example, one faith leader said that:

It’s an invaluable experience for students to be able to learn from as many other faiths as possible. It will help broadening their views of the world and hopefully this will contribute to peace and tolerance in the community. I think UK must be the only country that has an event like this and it is fantastic!

One school said that:

Students enjoyed it as it helped promote our values of community cohesion, celebrating diversity and developing skills of empathy and dialogue.”

SACRE Annual Report 2023/24

The meeting was to include the presentation of the SACRE Annual Report 2023/24 for the 2023-24 academic year. The report said that SACRE met twice during the year, once at the Town Hall and once at the Khalsa Centre Gurdwara ¹ in Tooting. The report also said that SACRE had organised 27 'Faith Trails' during the year, in which 16 different schools had taken part. The report said that the trails had been extremely positive and that pupils' work from the visits was of a high standard, showing much thought and perception.

Other Business

Future Meeting Dates

The report pack included a provisional schedule for future meetings. It said that the next meeting was scheduled to be held on Monday 9th June 2025. It also said that further meetings were scheduled for Monday 22nd September 2025 and Monday 9th March 2026.

Have Your Say - Interfaith Week Consultation Feedback

The Committee were scheduled to receive verbal feedback from a consultation on the events it held during Inter Faith Week, which in 2025 ran from 9 -16 November.

SACRE Reflection Resources from NASACRE

The meeting was scheduled to include a workshop session on the effectiveness of Wandsworth SACRE using resources from NASACRE ².