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

There were no declarations of interest from Members in accordance with the code of conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2019 were agreed as an accurate record.

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

Under this item the Chair discussed with Members the Wire Award.

It was agreed that Bristol would be contacted to request to use their criteria for this award.

The Chair will welcome new members to the forum:

Lesley Clarke – Catholic Diocesan representative

Peter Warm – Quaker representative

Nic Gibson – Pagan representative

Under this item Lesley Clark (Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth Representative - Group A), Nic Gibson (Pagan Community - Co-opted Representative) and Peter Warm (Quaker Community Representative – Co-opted Representative) introduced themselves as new members of SACRE. Terms of office are as set out in the SACRE constitution.

Members also discussed:

It was agreed that Ben Kerr (Humanist Representative) would write a brief statement regarding Humanist UK’s stance on humanist representation at SACRE and this would be emailed to Members in advance of the next meeting as well as NASACRE guidance on this matter.

Heather Ogburn introduced the Draft SACRE Annual Report to Members.

The Chair read out a statement from PCFCD colleagues, who were currently on furlough due to the recent Covid 19 pandemic. This statement would be included in the report.

It was queried if PCFCD would be in a position to use virtual meetings in the future to provide training/ sessions if restrictions were still in place in September 2020 – The Chair confirmed she would pass this comment on to PCFCD colleagues.

Members noted the Draft SACRE Annual Report.

The Chair led on the Local and National Developments item; the following was discussed:

Members noted the update.

Ed Pawson led on the Collective Worship (Working Party Update) item – Members were advised that the collective worship guidance was out of date and had since been revised. The phrase ‘time to breathe’ was used as it was considered there was more of an emphasis on reflective practice other than religion. It was hoped that this could be disseminated to Plymouth schools to encourage collective worship and highlight that they need not follow archaic Christian practice.

The following was discussed:

Members agreed:

1.     To the updated collective worship document;

2.     That officers would liaise with the Service Director for Education, Participation and Skills, and the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Transformation to progress the document and disseminate to Plymouth schools in preparation for September.

This item was discussed as part of minute 6 above.

The Chair introduced the Plymouth RE Hub and Learn Teach Lead Update.

Key points included:

Members noted the update.

Heather Ogburn presented the Non-compliant Schools Update to Members. Members were advised that one school had been assessed as non-compliant and the Service Director for Education, Participation and Skills had been in correspondence with the school regarding this matter.

Members discussed:

Members noted the update.

The Chair presented the Home Learning and the Place of RE update. Members were advised that schools had received a range of online RE resources they could use during lockdown. NATRE had also written a range of free online resources that were available to download – several linked to the Plymouth syllabus. The Chair offered to email a link to Members if they wished to see the resources.

AnnMarie Allchurch presented the HMD Schools Event update. Members were reminded of the event which took place in January 2020 in Plymouth Guildhall and representatives from approximately 15 primary and secondary schools – the event was considered a success and was a good opportunity to reflect, view artwork and share learning. Every school that participated was given a free one hour workshop on lessons from the Holocaust. Be the Light in the Darkness was the theme for the next HMD.

Members discussed:

Members noted the update and expressed their thanks to Plymouth City Council for their planning and help with the event.

There were no updates from Members on this occasion.

The next meeting will be held at 1pm on 9 November 2020.

Members were advised that the next meeting of SACRE was scheduled to take place at 1pm on 9 November 2020. It was not yet known when or if SACRE meetings would go back to being held in person in the Council House however the benefits of virtual meetings was discussed.