North Yorkshire County Council

North Yorkshire Standing Advisory Council

on Religious Education (SACRE) –

1^st February 2022

Update from the Local Authority

1.0	Purpose of the Report
	To inform Members on work undertaken by the Local Authority since the last SACRE meeting.

2.0       Communication and resourcing    

2.1       Local Authority Officers have met with the Professional RE Adviser in order to co-ordinate the publication of the Annual Report.

2.2      The termly newsletter is continuing to be distributed to schools via the Red Bag system, and occasional and ad hoc information is also posted via Red Bag.

3.0       Support for Senior Leaders and Governors

3.1       The Professional RE Adviser is scheduled to brief school improvement SEAs in the early part of the summer term in order to maximise feedback from schools in collating data for the annual report.

3.2       The commissioned Professional RE Adviser reports separately on training, and advice given to schools. This report is a separate agenda item at this meeting.

4.0       Ofsted inspections

4.1       Since the last SACRE meeting there has been fifteen published inspections or monitoring visits across all maintained and academy schools within North Yorkshire

4.2       References to Religious Education and Collective Worship include:

· The curriculum for personal development is exceptional. Pupils have opportunities to develop their leadership skills by being play and worship leaders.

· Pupils get opportunities to reflect on their own beliefs in class reflection areas and the outdoor sacred space.

· Visits to places of worship broaden pupils’ understanding of different faiths and religions. Pupils were keen to tell inspectors about their visit to a local mosque.

· Pupils’ spiritual and moral understanding is developed well through the school’s Christian values and ethos.

· In collective worship, pupils consider themes on fundamental British values. Teachers address religious festivals, the role of Unicef and children’s rights.

Continued overleaf/…

· Leaders give opportunities to pupils to take on roles of responsibility, such as in the worship committee or in the sports crew. These pupils plan the weekly worship sessions in the school and look after the school environment. They are proud to do this work. Pupils are taught about different faiths, beliefs and relationships. However, leaders recognise that this learning needs to be planned more carefully to ensure it is fully understood.

Adrian Clarke

Principal Education Adviser (Support)

County Hall, Northallerton

24/01/2022

Report Author: Adrian Clarke

Background documents:  None