To receive apologies for non-attendance submitted by SACRE Members.

Katie Freeman (KF, SACRE Vice Chair, Diocesan Board of Exeter), Cllr Andy Lugger (CAL), Gurmit Singh (GS, Sikh Community), Dr Ian Jamison (DIJ, RS teacher, Plympton Academy), Selina Day (SD, Marjon), Jeremy Skelton (JS, Roman Catholic Church), Saranjit Kaur (SK, Sikh Community).

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Declaration of Interest were invited in relation to support to PCFCD via community grants or any links to PCFCD in any other capacity.

CSC, CSD and CTT support PCFCD from Councillor Community Grants fund and AF is the PCFCD’s chair of trustees. CTB, DJB and PDDS are PCFCD’s trustees.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2025.

 Minutes from 11 November 2025 were approved with the following amendment:

Amend the name “Dr David Salter (DDS)” to “Prof. Dr David Salter (PDDS)”

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

None

a. SACRE Budget

• Annual resource: £13,105

• Current in-year spend: £4,731

• Planned additional spend: £4,000–£6,100

• Remaining resource available: £2,274–£4,374

b. Constitution Review

• Draft reviewed by PCC Legal team and approved pending minor amendments.

• A wash-up meeting will occur (MH, EP, Chair, KF, AS) to finalise before presenting for adoption at the summer meeting.

c. Plymouth Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity (PCFCD)

• No new updates on brokering arrangements between PCFCD and PCC Finance.

• MH offered to broker further discussions given the challenging upcoming Spring /Easter period.

• DfE proposal: RE to become a National Curriculum subject (first time since 1988).

• Significant national consultations underway to agree a shared definition of RE acceptable to:

    o Schools with/without religious character

    o Faith communities (Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Pagan etc.)

• Challenges include negotiating:

o “Dual system” – RE in both community and faith schools

o Balancing breadth vs. depth

o Representation of minority traditions (e.g. Paganism, Hinduism)

o Resistance from political groups opposed to “worldviews” framing

Teacher Supply Concerns

• Members raised concerns about shortages of specialist RE teachers if RE becomes compulsory nationally.

• Request made for Ed to raise the issue of investment in teacher training with the national review group.

Worldviews Discussion

• Strong member support for worldviews approach.

• Acknowledgment that national political pressures may limit its inclusion initially.

Paganism & Minority Representation

• Ed confirmed active engagement with Pagan representatives and that curriculum writers have requested local contacts.

Hard copies were provided.

Key Issues Raised by Members:

• Collective Worship:

  o No formal complaints may indicate low visibility rather than good practice.

  o Agreed: SACRE to add collective worship as a future agenda item.

• Engaging Parents:

  o KW (DHSB) shared a successful parent-engagement video to promote GCSE RS.

  o Suggestion: SACRE explore parent surveys to understand perceptions of RE.

• PCFCD Visibility: o Report could expand on PCFCD’s extensive work.

  o Need for PCC website improvements including:

·       SACRE page

·       Annual report publications

·       External resource links

• Mapping External Resources:

  o Members recommended a public-facing directory to help schools identify speakers and organisations.

EP presented data (anonymised in the published annual report):

GCSE RE Entries in Plymouth

• 6 schools entered no pupils in 2025.

• Considerable variation in:

   o Entry numbers

   o Outcomes (grades 9–5)

• Correlations observed between:

   o Schools that frequently use PCFCD services and

   o Higher GCSE uptake and attainment

Discussion Points

• Importance of teacher enthusiasm and specialist RE staff

• Trust-level decisions affecting RE provision

• Need to understand primary–secondary transitions (e.g. Marine Academy)

• Difficulties engaging certain academies

• Request for pupil cohort numbers behind percentages

•       Plymouth Hub meeting planned in two weeks.

•       Recent focus on:

           o National Curriculum opportunities

           o Concepts and content

           o Personal knowledge development

•       Autumn 2026 conference being planned.

•       Tracy Davis (Tor Bridge High) appointed new secondary lead.

a. Collective Worship Guidance

• Government reviewing guidance; law (daily act of collective worship) unchanged.

• SACRE will revisit once national position clearer.

b. National Data on RE

Ed shared analysis showing:

• Pupils taking GCSE RE achieve higher Attainment 8 scores.

• Discussion around whether this reflects causation or correlation.

• Large geographic inequalities:

      o e.g. Hammersmith & Fulham – 84% GCSE RE entries

      o Cornwall – 10.8%

      o Plymouth – approx. 19%

Members discussed:

• Cultural diversity influences interest in RE

• GCSE specifications considered overly content-heavy and outdated

• Upcoming exam reform recommended

DE gave a detailed and engaging presentation on:

• Baptist history, beliefs, and distinctives

• Baptist presence in Plymouth

• Community activities (youth work, food support, CAP debt advice)

• Engagement with schools and challenges accessing some settings

• Artefacts shown: communion tray, Baptism explanations Presentation warmly received.

A highly positive review of this year’s event.

Highlights:

• Theme: Bridging Generations

• Schools involved:

     o DHSB – exceptional presentation using a decoded POW diary and Hamilton-style performance

     o Ernest Bevin School – creative bridge-building project linked to tackling antisemitism

     o DHSG – continued strong participation

• Storm conditions prevented public ceremony; Lord Mayor laid flowers privately.

• New commemorative stone now installed; dedication postponed to summer.

• DJB suggested 27 Nissan (14 April) as meaningful date for future ceremony.

EP also noted:

• Exeter HMD saw strong Plymouth participation

• Interest in Plymouth’s memorial model

a. South West SACRE Conference (Yesterday)

• Very successful event with 40+ attendees.

• Over 200 national participants joined Dr Vanessa Ogden’s online session.

b. NASACRE Conference (Liverpool, May)

• Members reminded to register interest.

• Budget available for limited delegate places. To be discussed in the next washup meeting.

Standing item for future agendas.
 No updates this meeting.

Busy Spring Term & high demand - over 170 booking requests have come in this term, many for multiple sessions—resulting in over 220 workshops and visits delivered from Jan–March 2026. High demand continues for Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, HMD/Solly, CNY, and Japanese culture workshops, alongside regular RE sessions and visits to key faith sites.

New speakers & recruitment needs - recent training has added new Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and Sikh speakers who are being well received. However, there remains a significant need for more Hindu and Jewish speakers to meet school demand.

Use of CRF funding - CRF funding is helping provide workshops and visits to the Synagogue and PIETY Islamic Centre, especially for schools that haven’t accessed these opportunities in recent years.

School subscriptions for April 2026 - schools are currently choosing whether to re-subscribe for the next financial year. Any encouragement to schools to renew or join PCFCD is appreciated.

Ongoing funding challenges - as a small charity, funding remains a concern. PCFCD is very grateful for Councillors’ Community Grant support this year and hopes to be remembered for future funding rounds.

Great feedback was received from both schools and parents for faith speakers.

None

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 11 July 2026 at Warspite Room, Council House.

Thursday, 2nd July 2026, Council House, Warspite Room, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm