APPENDIX B
NORTH
YORKSHIRE STANDING ADVISORY COUNCIL ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – CONSTITUTION
Why is there a SACRE?
It has been established under the provisions
of Sections 390 - 397 of the Education Act
1996. Each Local Authority that provides
an Education Service must have one.
What
are the duties of SACRE?
The SACRE must:
-
advise theLocal Authority on Religious Education (RE),
given in accordance with the agreed syllabus, collective worshipand on matters related to its functions, whether in response to a referral from the Local Authority, or as it sees fit. This includes requiring
the Local Authority to set up a Statutory Conference to review the
agreed syllabus if, in the opinion of the SACRE, this becomes
necessary
-
have regard to any circumstances relating to the faith backgrounds ofthe pupils which are relevant for deciding what character ofcollective worship is appropriate when a school makes application for a determination
-
publish an Annual Report on its work andon actions taken by its representative Groups, specifying any matters on which it hasadvised theLocal Authority; broadly describe the nature of that advice; and set out reasons for offering advice on matters not referred to it by the Local Authority
-
send a copy of the Annual Report to NASACRE (National Association ofSACREs)
-
meet in public unless it is likely that confidential or exempt information is to be disclosed
-
make Minutes of its meetings available for inspection at the Local Authority’s
offices (so
far as the Minutes relate to the parts of meetings that were open to the public). There arealso provisions about public access tothe agenda and reports for meetings.
The SACRE should:
-
monitor the provision and quality of RE taught, according to its Agreed Syllabus, together with the overall effectiveness of the syllabus and collective worship in community schools;
-
provide advice and support on the effective teaching of RE, inaccordance with the locally agreed syllabus; provide advice to the Local Authority and its schools onmethods of teaching, the choice of teaching material and the provision of teacher training;
-
in partnership with its Local Authority,
consider whether any changes need to be made in the agreed syllabus or in the support offered to schools in the implementation of the agreed syllabus, to improve the quality of teaching and learning of RE; and
-
offer advice to the Local Authority and - through the Local Authority - to
schools, concerning how an existing agreed syllabus canbe interpreted and collective worship provided, so as to fit in with a broad, balanced and coherent curriculum
The SACRE may:
-
require its Local Authority to review the agreed syllabus and, if after discussion a vote is taken on this matter, the Local Authority Group on SACRE is not entitled to cast a vote. A majority decision by thethree other Groups is sufficient;
-
decide to advise the Local Authority on matters related to its functions. Equally, the Local Authority may decide to refer matters to SACRE;
-
co-opt Members who are notMembers of any of the four Groups– such Co-opted members may provide educational expertise, young people’s views or religious andnon-religious views that reflect a diverse multi-cultural society; and
-
consider complaints about the provision and delivery of
RE or collective worship referred to it by the Local Authority,
provided that the appropriate complaints procedure within a school
has been used in the first instance
Aims of North Yorkshire SACRE
-
promote a high quality agreed syllabus;
-
help teachers and schools raise standards in RE teaching;
-
help schools improve the quality of collective worship; and
-
contribute towards social cohesion, particularly in respect of improving religious and racial harmony within the community
Attendance
at meetings
SACRE Members are expected to attend all meetings, where possible, and send apologies to the Clerk when they are unable to attend. A SACRE Member who fails toattend three consecutive meetings will, subject to further clarification for the reasons for non-attendance, be asked to stand down and an alternative representative will be sought.
Substitutions are not permitted.
Who
sits on the SACRE?
The compositionof the SACRE is defined by law. Itis made up of four Groups.
Each Local Authority must establish a permanent body called a SACRE. It must appoint representatives to each of four Groups, representing respectively:
Group A:
Christian denominations and such other religions and religious denominations as, in the authority’s opinion, will appropriately reflect the principal religious traditions in the area
Group B:
The Church of England
Group C:
Teacher Associations
Group D:
The Local
Authority
At the beginning of each school year, each
Group should elect a Chair to report its decisions to SACRE.
Membership of each of the four Groups which constitute the North Yorkshire SACRE is:
Group A:
Representatives from The Baptist Church, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, The Methodist Church, Islam, The Roman Catholic Church , The Salvation Army, Sikhism, The Society of Friends, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Humanist Association
Membership is in accordance with Sections 390
and 392 of the 1996 Education Act. It is determined by the
Local Authority and is in accordance with, and represents
proportionately, the major denominations and faith groups in North
Yorkshire. Members are identified in collaboration with the
organisations and communities represented.
Group
B:
Two representatives nominated by each of the Diocese of York andthe Diocese of Leeds.
Group
C:
Five teachers of religious education representing teacher associations. Preferably to include, a Primary, Secondary, Special School, Academy and Independent School representative.
Teacher associations recognised by North
Yorkshire county council are:-
-
Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)
-
National Association of Head Teachers (including Heads and
Deputies) (NAHT)
-
National Association of School Teachers & Union of Women
Teachers (NASUWT)
-
National Education Union (NEU)
-
VOICE
Group
D:
Five elected Members of the County Council, as appointed by the County
Council.
Co-opted
Members
Co-opted Membership of the North Yorkshire SACRE shall individually represent: Academic expertise in religious education.
The representative
of the Corporate Director for Children and Young People’s
Service would initially make the approach, following discussion
with the Chair, Vice-Chair and Professional Religious Education
Adviser.
Terms of Membership
All SACRE Members agreeto follow the SACRE Code of Conduct, which emphasises that the prime focus of SACRE is to deliver its core aims.
Members are appointed by the Local Authority to SACRE for a period of four years, after which they will be reappointed or
replaced. With this term of office, a Member who wishes to
resign before the end of their four year term should do so in
writing to the Clerk. The maximum time that a Member would normally sit on SACRE is eight years (two terms).
Members arefree to resign at any point. Resignations should be made to the Clerk to SACRE and the representing body should be informed, so they can nominate a new representative to the Local Authority.
Co-opted Members have the same term of office as full Members. Co-opted Members are not entitled to vote.
If a
SACRE Member does not adhere tothe Code of Conduct, the Local Authority has a right to remove the SACRE Member.
What
is the distinctive contribution of each Group?
Groups A and
B:
-
Should present a positive image of their religion, so that members of the other Groups are disabused of any religious stereotypes of each denomination or religion. They must also make clear any grounds on which they may differ from each other, but also the respect they have for each other’s viewpoints – since such convictions and mutual understanding lie at the heart of effective classroom RE.
-
Can create opportunities within SACRE meetings toraise awareness ofissues of sensitivity in the teaching of RE to the children of their faith community.
-
Should appreciate the difficulties schools are facing in the area, support their best endeavours, and act, where necessary, as a link between schools and the faith communities.
Group C:
-
Should have a real
and positive interest in RE in primary, secondary or special schools.
-
Should ensure that the needs of schools and teachers are considered by the SACRE in their discussions.
-
Should provide
the SACRE with information about the context in which RE is taught in the schools in the Local Authority.
-
Should ensure that the associations they represent are informed about the work of the SACRE.
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Create opportunities for other teachers to learn more about the work of the SACRE andgive them the opportunity to have their views expressed at SACRE meetings.
-
Consult other teachers on matters of particular importance to the work of the
SACRE.
Group D:
-
Can bring to the meeting the breadth of educational issues and concerns which
elected Members are wrestling with and place RE’s rolewithin it.
-
Can be the supporters of RE within the various Committees and structures of the Local Authority.
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Can give political support to enable locally determined RE to flourish within eachLocal Authority - financial support, advisory support, etc.
-
Can appreciate the issues raised by a multi-faith, multi-cultural society for the education of children in RE and reflect these issues in the Schools Forum, Scrutiny Committee, etc., as a means ofsupporting RE.
-
Can bring the ‘public’ dimension to the debate about RE provision and support.
Meetings
There areno requirements for SACRE to meet for a certain number of times but meetings are held four times a year.
More meetings may be scheduled if the business is considered to be urgent or requiring more discussion time than is possible in the regular meeting/s.
Meetings are arranged by the Clerk toSACRE. The dates for SACRE meetings are usually decided for thefollowing year atthe summer SACRE meeting.
The papers
will be published on the North Yorkshire County Council website
five clear working days before the meeting and, shortly following
that, a link to the papers will be emailed to Members.
The Agendas for themeetings are agreed bythe Chair and Professional RE Adviser to SACRE at Agenda setting meetings, which
are held about one month prior to each SACRE meeting. These
comprise the Chair, Vice-Chair, Professional RE Adviser,
representatives from Children and Young People’s Service and
Legal and Democratic Services, including the Clerk.
Other SACRE Members may request items tobe added to the Agenda. This will be at the discretion of the Chair. Items should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
To enable decisions to be made, the meeting must be quorate, with representatives from all four Groups
present. Attendance at meetings is therefore very important.
The proceedings of
SACRE are not invalidated on the grounds of a vacancy in the Group
membership.
Meetings are open to the public but there may be some matters which will be considered in private. During such situations, members of the public will be asked to leave the meeting at this point. The circumstances under which we can consider matters inprivate are tightly controlled by law. The public must be
excluded where it is likely that confidential information would be
disclosed. Confidential information is defined as information
given to the Council by a Government Department on terms which
forbid its public disclosure or information or which cannot be
disclosed by Court Order. Where exempt information is likely to
be disclosed, there is the discretion to exclude the public.
The categories of exempt information are:-
1.
Information relating to any individual.
2.
Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an
individual.
3.
Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any
particular person (including the authority holding that
information).
4.
Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or
contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any
labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister
of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the
authority.
5.
Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional
privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.
6.
Information which reveals that the authority proposes – (a)
to give under any enactment a notice under or by virtue of which
requirements are imposed on a person; or (b) to make an order or
direction under any enactment.
7.
Information relating to any action taken or to be taken in
connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of
crime
SACRE welcomes observers tothe meetings, but observers arenot entitled to speak at meetings, unless a request is made to the Clerk to SACRE, prior to the meeting Patrick.Duffy@northyorks.gov.uk
The Chair has
discretion to allow members of the public to speak and participate
in the meeting where they feel this will help progress a particular
item or matter.
Agendas and Minutes of SACRE meetings are published on the NYCC website. The draft Minutes will be made
available to Members within two weeks of the meeting.
Voting
For business
generally, the SACRE aims to operate on a basis of consensus and,
therefore, a formal vote will rarely be necessary.
On any question to be decided by the SACRE, its constituent Groups each have a single vote, but Co-opted Members do not have a vote. For anyvoting to take place, SACRE must be quorate, with representatives from all four
Groups present at the meeting.
Decisions within an individual Group do not require unanimity. Each Group must regulate its own proceedings, including provision for resolving deadlock. If there is atied vote of the four Groups (i.e. 2/2) Groups will beasked to reconsider, following further discussion. Only SACRE Members present at the meeting are eligible to vote.
In the event of the
matter still being deadlocked, the Chair shall not have a casting
vote and the matter will be declared a non-decision
vote.
Election ofChair and Vice-Chair
One month prior to the Autumn Term SACRE meeting, the Clerk will ask for nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair. Nominations should be received by the Clerk viaemail two weeks before the SACRE meeting. Candidates will be requested to produce a summary of the skills and experience they would bring to the role, which will becirculated prior to the meeting.
At the SACRE meeting, nominees will be invited to outline their reasons for wanting to take on the role of Chair. Members of Groups A, B, C and D shall vote individually for the election of a Chair. Members must be present at the meeting to cast a vote. The same procedure will be carried out for the positionof Vice-Chair. The Chair and Vice-Chair should be representatives from different Groups, where possible. The maximum term of office for a Chair and Vice-Chair is 4 years in total.
To be nominated for Chair, the nominee must have been a member of SACRE for at least one year andattended at least three meetings.
NOTE: Where a SACRE
meeting is held remotely, “must be present” means
joining the remote meeting, rather than being physically
present.
How is the SACRE managed?
The Local Authority
must adequately fund SACRE to enable it to carry out its statutory
duties and to support high quality RE and collective worship in
schools.
The Democratic
Services role is one of administrative support for meetings;
support for the Members and Chair and Vice-Chair; acting as a
single point of contact; and governance advice and guidance.
The Local Authority can make the decision on how the Chair of SACRE may be appointed or it may allow the SACRE tochoose the Chair from amongst their Members. In North Yorkshire, the latter
approach is taken.
This SACRE is serviced by a Professional Religious Education Adviserfrom North Yorkshire’s School Improvement Service, who:
-
may advise the SACRE and Local Authority;
-
ensure that the decisions ofthe SACRE are moved forward;
-
oversees themonitoring of RE and collective worship inschools;
-
oversees thedevelopment of the agreed syllabus and its implementation;
-
offers support and advice to teachers and schools though training/consultancy
-
writes the SACRE Annual Report, with the support ofthe Chair and Clerk
Complaints
County Councillors
All elected Councillors and voting Co-opted Members on Council Committees must comply with the Code of Conduct for Members when they go about their official duties. The Code states that Councillors must behave in certain ways, such as not treating others with disrespect. It also sets out the rules about registering and declaring interests. Further information on this and how to make a complaint are on the Council website.https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/councillors-code-conduct
SACRE Members who are not County Councillors
The Corporate Complaints Procedure has two stages. In the first instance you should direct your complaint to the service you want to complain about. Staff will work to ensure complaints are responded to quickly and resolved at this stage wherever possible.
If you are not satisfied with the response you have received you can contact us to escalate your complaint through the two stages. However, if we feel that your complaint has been considered fully at an early stage and it would not be of benefit to either party to pursue internally, we will instead refer you to the Local Government Ombudsman.
https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/make-complaint
Where concerns are raised by one member of
SACRE regarding another Member, this will be referred to the Chair
in the first instance, who will liaise with the Local Authority as
to the most appropriate response.
The
SACRE Annual Report
SACRE is required to publish an Annual Report in the Spring Term. The draft report is prepared by the Professional Religious Education
Adviser toSACRE, Chair and Clerk to SACRE and will be shared with SACRE Members for comment, before final approval.
The final report is shared with SACRE Members, all schools, the School Improvement Service and Council Members, as well as being sent to the Department for Education and NASACRE.
It will also be
presented to the appropriate Council Scrutiny Committee.
What is an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC)?
An ASC is convened in order toproduce an agreed syllabus for RE. It is a separate legal entity from a SACRE.
Although a review of the locally agreed syllabus is required within five years of the last review, if the majority of the Groups on SACRE (other than Group D) ask the Local Authority in writing to reconsider its agreed syllabus it must convene a Conference for that purpose.
An ASC is a body appointed by the
Local Authority according to the same structure as SACRE but the
membership of one does not automatically mean membership of the
other. The ASC may have wholly different membership to SACRE; a
shared membership or be coterminous with SACRE. Co-opted
Members of SACRE cannot be on the ASC as an ASC does not have the
option to co-opt.
Voting is also different in that all
Committees (not Groups as in SACRE) have to vote for a syllabus
before it can be adopted. This must be unanimous.
The Chair of the ASC can be appointed by the Local Authority or theLocal Authority may allow the ASC tochoose its own Chair.
The Local Authority’s
responsibility to convene the ASC implies a duty to provide funds for its work.
Advice, guidance and
determinations
Advice and guidance is disseminated to schools by the Local
Authority SACRE Officers.
The procedure if a school requests a determination is governed by
legislation and the legislation is here:-
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/part/V/chapter/III/crossheading/determinations-by-standing-advisory-councils
Review
The Constitution and Terms of Reference may be
amended at any time at the discretion of the Local Authority, in
consultation with the Corporate Director of Children and Young
People’s Services and such other persons as he/she thinks
fit.
Legally, it is
the responsibility of the Local Authority to write the Constitution
but it requires approval of SACRE before it is changed
PD – June
2021
Ratified by SACRE
on 22nd June 2021
