North Yorkshire Council

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee

25 March 2026

North Yorkshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

Annual Report 2024-2025

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Legal and Democratic Services

1.0       Purpose of Report

1.1       To present the North Yorkshire SACRE Annual Report to the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

2.0       Background

2.1       Members of North Yorkshire SACRE are representatives from faith communities and the Church of England, teachers of Religious Education (RE), and elected Council Members.     The group meets quarterly and receives updates from Local Authority Officers and the             Professional RE Advisor on topics such as the RE curriculum, KS4 and KS5 performance         data, and Ofsted inspection findings.

3.0       SACRE Annual Report 2024-2025

3.1       This year’s annual report is provided in Appendix A. A major focus has been the rollout of            the new Locally Agreed Syllabus for North Yorkshire 2024–2029, including how schools         are supported in reviewing their RE curriculum and implementing any required changes. A total of 40 academies have adopted the new syllabus, an increase compared with the   previous Locally Agreed Syllabus.

The report provides key findings from the Teacher Questionnaire, where 42 primary and 13 secondary schools responded.

            SACRE members also receive regular updates on recent Ofsted inspections. Of the 111 inspection reports published during 2024–25, 68 included comments on pupils’          understanding of RE, with 58 of those offering positive feedback.

4.0       Alternative options considered

4.1       No alternative options were considered.       

5.0       Financial, legal and climate change implications

5.1       There are no significant implications arising from this report.

6.0       Equalities implications

6.1       The annual report focuses on religious education for children and young people in both    primary and secondary settings. SACRE’s membership includes representatives from a           range of religious and faith traditions.

7.0	Recommendations
7.1	The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee is invited to: i) note the report; ii) receive an annual update next year.

Appendices:

Appendix A – SACRE Annual Report 2024-2025

Barry Khan

Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services

County Hall

Northallerton

28 January 2026

Report Author – Alice Fox, Senior Scrutiny Officer.

Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.