The Lincolnshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) met on 15 July 2025 to discuss the implementation of the new religious education syllabus, Ofsted ¹ inspection outcomes, and future support for schools. The council also agreed to hold their next meeting in Grantham. Due to a lack of representation from each committee, decisions made at the meeting will need to be ratified at the next meeting.

Location of Next Meeting

Councillor Ashley Baxter, Lincolnshire County Councillor for Deepings West and Rural, invited the council to hold their next meeting in Grantham, either in the council chamber or at a church. He suggested that holding the meeting in Grantham in November, not long after Diwali ², would allow the council to get feedback from the Nepalese, Indian, and Tamil communities about their celebrations. The council agreed to the proposal and will work with Gillian Georgiou, Interim RE Advisor, to organise the meeting.

Ofsted Inspection Reports

Gillian Georgiou presented an overview of Ofsted inspection reports from February to June 2025. The report highlighted that the majority of schools inspected had positive comments regarding pupils' understanding of different faiths, beliefs, and cultures. However, it was noted that Ofsted inspectors rarely conduct 'deep dives' ³ into RE, with only three primary schools receiving such inspections during the period.

Of particular concern was the finding that two out of three secondary schools inspected were potentially in breach of their statutory duties ⁴ regarding RE provision at Key Stage 4 ⁵ and above, which was not noted in the Ofsted reports. This means that students in years 10 to 13 in those schools may not be receiving their legal entitlement to religious education. Gillian Georgiou suggested that this failure by Ofsted to identify breaches of statutory duties raised concerns about accountability.

Gillian Georgiou noted that Professor Becky Francis' review of the national curriculum will consider the wide scale breach of legal duties in secondary schools as part of her review, and that one of the recommendations she makes will tighten that process of accountability.

Religious Education Support for 2025-26

Gillian Georgiou updated the council on the religious education support available for schools in the next academic year. Following the launch of the revised Lincolnshire syllabus, many head teachers had contacted the council to enquire about support and training. The local authority will provide a package of support and training for schools, including network meetings for teachers, collaborative planning opportunities, and training sessions on various aspects of RE.

Gillian Georgiou noted that schools can also access training and support from independent providers, including Wendy Harrison, who wrote the revised syllabus. There is a need for clarity around the different types of training and support available, as some schools may have assumed that the support Wendy Harrison is providing is the same as the local authority support.

The council is in the process of formally appointing a new RE advisor by September, who will consider Gillian Georgiou's suggestions for support.

Locally Agreed Syllabus

Andrew Hornsby updated the council on the revised Lincolnshire syllabus, which has been formally ratified and launched to schools on 2 October. Schools are not expected to fully implement the syllabus until September 2026, with the next academic year being a period of transition. A significant number of academies are choosing to adopt this syllabus alongside the local authority schools that must use it as the basis of their RE.

SACRE Action Plan

The council deferred the review of the Lincolnshire SACRE Action Plan ⁶ due to a change in membership and the absence of Cherry Edwards OBE, Vice-Chairman, who had driven the plan. The council agreed to address the action plan at the next meeting.