The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) met on Monday 06 February 2017 to discuss the future of Religious Education (RE) syllabuses and the ongoing development of council resources. Key decisions included agreeing to propose changes to SACRE's membership determination process and finalising the Annual Report.

Religious Education Syllabuses and National Debates

SACRE members engaged in a significant discussion regarding the merits of locally agreed RE syllabuses versus a national syllabus. This discussion was prompted by responses to the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) survey and the NASACRE 2017 survey. Members acknowledged that while the Richmond syllabus offered breadth, learning could be limited in less diverse areas. They expressed a desire for a national syllabus that incorporated local benchmarks. It was agreed that Lesley Prior would submit the SACRE's responses to the CoRE survey, and that SACRE members would send their individual responses to the NASACRE survey to Lesley Prior for a co-ordinated submission. The council also agreed to investigate the SACRE's budget to answer a question in the NASACRE survey.

Membership of SACRE

A discussion was held regarding the membership of SACRE, specifically concerning the representation of Humanists under Group A and the potential impact on Group C (Teachers) due to changes in teaching unions. It was noted that while the Council Constitution requires Group A membership to reflect the principal religious traditions of the area, it does not specify named religious organisations. Membership also requires agreement from the Full Council. Consequently, SACRE agreed to propose to Full Council that SACRE itself should have the power to determine its own membership, in line with the Constitution.

Annual Report and Directory of Places of Worship

The content of the Chairman's foreword to the SACRE annual report was approved. Amendments were agreed for section 2.3 of the report, including removing the phrase within this context and replacing the conflict with the centenary of World War I . Section 8 of the report was removed due to unclear records on membership changes. Subject to these amendments, the clerk was authorised to arrange for the publication of the Annual Report.

The draft Directory of Places of Worship was noted as being out of date. However, due to a lack of resources within Democratic Services and AfC for updating and maintaining the document, the Chair volunteered to finalise it. It was agreed that the Clerk would send the Chair a Word document of the draft Directory, and members would forward their updates to the Chair by the end of February. The Directory will be a one-off publication and will not be continuously updated. It was also noted that Kingston and St Mary's University Chaplaincies, as well as the Kingston Inter Faith Forum, hold lists of places of worship.

Artefacts Project

The Chair reported that the Director of Children's Services was exploring potential locations for storing the religious artefacts collection, with one site identified as a possibility.

Local Events and Issues

Members were informed of several upcoming events, including an R.E Co-ordinators meeting at the London Buddhist Vihara on 1 March 2017, a Science and Religion Conference at the Rayners Lane Zoroastrian Centre on 12 February 2017, and the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi on 14 April 2017. Other events mentioned included the Hounslow Friends of Faith Pilgrimage and AGM, Interfaith Week, and commemorations for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the end of World War I. Lesley Prior agreed to send the SACRE Clerk a copy of the R.E Co-ordinators newsletter for circulation to SACRE members.

NASACRE Matters

The SACRE was reminded that the NASACRE AGM would be held in York on 16 May, clashing with the Annual Council meeting, making it difficult to confirm attendance of Councillor members as representatives. The NASACRE login details were reiterated as being included in the Annual Report.

Other Business

Thanks were expressed to Councillor Chappell for inviting members to a community reception in January 2017.