This meeting will include a discussion of the council’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education’s (SACRE) annual report for the 2023/24 academic year. Attendees will also discuss feedback from recent events organised by the SACRE and reflect on their effectiveness.

Effectiveness of Wandsworth’s SACRE

A workshop will be held during the meeting to consider the effectiveness of the SACRE. The workshop will involve the use of resources from the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE).

Religious Education in Wandsworth Schools

The meeting will include a discussion of a report entitled ‘Deep and meaningful? The religious education subject report’. The report contains the findings from ‘deep dives’¹ undertaken in 50 schools across the country.

The report identified issues with the status of Religious Education in some schools, saying:

“Few of Ofsted’s school inspection reports nationally gave any information on RE, which was also the case for the reports on Wandsworth’s schools.”

— SACRE annual report 2023-24

Attendees will discuss a letter that was sent by the previous Chair of the SACRE on behalf of the SACRE to the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, and the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education. The letter expresses the SACRE’s concern about the status of Religious Education in schools in England. It says that in light of the findings of the ‘Deep and meaningful?’ report, “there is an urgent need for the RE expectations in schools to be updated”. It goes on to say that:

“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”.

— Wandsworth SACRE letter to Government - signatures

The letter also expresses concern about the dwindling number of Religious Education teachers in London, saying:

“There are a large number of teaching vacancies for religious education (RE) in London schools. This subject needs to be taught by specialists and so it is vital to attract new graduates into RE.”

— Wandsworth SACRE letter to Government - signatures

The letter is signed by Councillor Jo Rigby, the Chair of the SACRE, and Councillor Kate Stock, the Cabinet member for Children’s Services. It was also sent to, and is noted as having the support of, Fleur Anderson, the Member of Parliament for Putney, and Marsha De Cordova, the Member of Parliament for Battersea.

Feedback from Faith Direct

The meeting will also include a discussion of feedback from Faith Direct, an event that took place on 13 November 2024 at Wandsworth Town Hall. Faith Direct is described in the meeting pack as an event that:

“will be … geared towards Key Stage 4 students, but other secondary school year groups could attend.”

— Public reports pack 03rd-Mar-2025 19.30 Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education

The feedback says that attendees enjoyed the event, and that:

“All said how much they had enjoyed the day and how worthwhile it was.”

— Faith Direct 2024 Evaluation overview

The report notes that the behaviour of students from one school was poor. However, it goes on to say that, on the whole:

“From the above, it would seem that the event is well worth running again this year. In 2025, Inter Faith Week runs from 9 -16 November.”

— Faith Direct 2024 Evaluation overview