The Camden Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) met to discuss a range of issues, including Religious Education (RE) data from secondary schools, interventions and developments in RE, and the renewal of a determination for Richard Cobden Primary School. They were also scheduled to discuss SACRE's priorities for the coming year and review their self-evaluation toolkit.

Richard Cobden Primary School Determination

SACRE members were asked to review an application from Richard Cobden Primary School to renew their determination¹. The documents provided for review included:

• The determination application itself.
• Notes on acts of collective worship by the RE Professional Advisor.
• The school's policy on collective worship and assemblies.
• Assembly rotas for the autumn, spring and summer terms.

The application stated that the majority of pupils at Richard Cobden Primary School are Muslim, and that the school feels it is important that collective worship respects their faith while also giving them a view into the way all other religions demonstrate faith.

The school's policy on assemblies and collective worship states:

Assemblies offer opportunities for our children and staff to come together to reflect on the meaning of beliefs and values held in the wider community, concerning matters of ethical and philosophical importance or significance to people. They reflect the breadth of values and beliefs within our school and wider community.

Religious Education (RE) Data from Camden Secondary Schools

SACRE members were scheduled to review data from the Department for Education (DfE) and Camden’s data team, outlining how Camden secondary schools have reported RE provision in their timetables, alongside DfE records of exam results.

The report pack included data on:

• The percentage of pupils achieving grades 9-7, 9-5, and 9-4 in Religious Studies GCSEs.
• The amount of time allocated to RE in the curriculum.

The data also included potential conversation points, such as:

• What is happening at KS4 for pupils not taking GCSE RS?
• Why are there so few hours for RE on DfE school data for RE? Could this data be incorrect?

Interventions and Developments for Religious Education in Camden

The meeting was scheduled to discuss interventions and developments for RE in Camden, including:

• Outcomes from a GCSE intervention, including teacher feedback.
• Updated monitoring RE surveys for primary and secondary schools.

Teacher feedback on the GCSE intervention included comments on the usefulness of a webinar on exam technique with an AQA² senior examiner.

Camden SACRE Priorities 2024-25

The meeting was scheduled to include a discussion of Camden SACRE’s priorities for 2024-25. The listed priorities included:

• Producing an annual report.
• Ensuring the new Agreed Syllabus[^3] is accessible to schools. [^3]: An agreed syllabus is a locally agreed framework for religious education (RE) in schools.
• Continuing to run primary and secondary RE networks.
• Maintaining SACRE membership.
• Providing continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for SACRE members.
• Supporting Key Stage 4 (KS4) RE.
• Using the National Association of SACRE (NASACRE) self-evaluation toolkit.
• Applying for a Westhill/NASACRE grant.
• Monitoring compliance in RE.

SACRE Annual Self-Evaluation Toolkit

Camden SACRE was scheduled to continue working through its self-evaluation toolkit, rating its own practice and identifying areas for development. This included sections on:

• Collective worship.
• Contribution of SACRE to promoting cohesion across the community.

The toolkit included questions such as:

• How effectively does the SACRE fulfil its responsibilities for the provision and practice of collective worship?
• How representative is SACRE’s membership of the local community?

Faith Forum Update

A representative from the Camden Faith Forum was scheduled to provide a verbal update on their work since the last meeting, covering interfaith work across Camden and plans for 2025 network briefings and events. Feedback was welcomed from members on how Camden SACRE can support the Faith Forum’s work.

National Association of SACRE (NASACRE) Updates

The meeting agenda included a verbal update on opportunities for Camden SACRE members to engage with national training and information on Religious Education and Collective Worship, including NASACRE online webinars and conference details for 2025.

Camden Religious Education (RE) Network Meetings Update

The RE Professional Advisor was scheduled to share the content of termly meetings with RE leads in Camden, including details of the last two meetings with Camden primary and secondary schools from the Spring term.