North Yorkshire Council

 

North Yorkshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

 

April 2026

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                  The SACRE Spring term newsletter was distributed to schools via the red bag system on 23rd January 2026.

 

2.2                  The SACRE Ramadan guidance was distributed to schools via the red bag system on 30th January 2026.

 

2.3                  LA officers have submitted the Annual SACRE Report to the DfE and NASACRE in time for the 31st December 2025 deadline.

 

2.4                  LA officers presented the Annual SACRE report to the Council’s Children’s and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 25th March 2026.

 

2.5                  LA officers continue to support the development of the next SACRE development plan through their mid-cycle meetings.

 

 

3.0  Support for Senior Leaders and Governors

 

3.1                  A named member of the School Improvement team continues to have dedicated management time assigned to them to liaise and co-ordinate work with the Professional RE Adviser.

 

3.2                  The LA continues to facilitate the coordination of RE subject leader networks alongside RE subject leadership courses. Data confirming uptake and feedback from any networks that have taken place since the last SACRE meeting is reported within the professional adviser report.

 

3.3                  The LA continues to provide information and guidance for schools for its RE and collective worship provision through bespoke advice and through specialist pages on CYPS-info. The link to these pages  is included for information: Collective worship | CYPSinfo, North Yorkshire SACRE | CYPSinfo and Religious Education (RE) | CYPSinfo.

 

 

4.0  Ofsted inspections

 

4.1                  Since the last LA report to SACRE until the 28th February 2026, Ofsted have published a further 4 reports for state-funded schools within North Yorkshire from a total of three Section 5 inspections (renewed framework) and one Section 8 monitoring visit (legacy framework). The inspection breakdown by school type and phase is outlined in the table below.

 

School Type

Primary

Secondary

Voluntary Aided

1

 

Community

1

 

Academy (Community School prior to conversion)

1

1

 

4.2                  The extracts on the next page are taken from North Yorkshire school inspection reports published between the 1st December 2025 and the 28th February 2026 and reflect where inspectors have identified behaviours and/or understanding that pupils have demonstrated that are in line with the principal aims of the RE curriculum and Collective Worship, as identified within the agreed syllabus. Comments from all schools inspected within North Yorkshire have been included. SACRE members are reminded that SACRE’s remit for the RE curriculum is only for maintained Community, Voluntary Controlled and Foundation schools alongside any Academies that choose to adopt the syllabus and that SACRE’s remit for collective worship extends only to maintained community schools and academies without a religious characteristic. Where there are gaps, or an inspected school is not reflected in the table, no relevant comments were made within the inspection report.

Name

Comments relating to Collective Worship

Comments relating to RE

Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy (18 November 2025 – Section 5)

 

(Community School prior to academisation)

Pupils talk about kindness, fairness and respect in ways that show these values are part of everyday school life.

Through lessons, assemblies and discussion, pupils learn about equality and begin to engage with ethical issues around respect and difference.

 

Pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values and world faiths, while present, is less secure in depth. They describe respect and fairness but are less confident in explaining how British values apply in varied real-life situations or how different religions are practised.

Barlby High School (25 November 2025 – Section 5)

 

(Community School prior to academisation)

 

The PSHE curriculum is complemented by the ‘Respect programme’, which offers pupils the opportunity to debate

topical issues and share their beliefs regularly. This helps pupils to develop a secure understanding of fundamental British values.

Selby, Longman’s Hill Community Primary School (7 January 2026 - Section 5)

The '60 Amazing Experiences', linked to the

school's values, encourage pupils to build resilience, kindness and independence.

Leaders encourage pupils to develop understanding of a wide range of different beliefs and cultures. Through their time in the school, pupils are given opportunities to visit a range of different places of worship, take part in a wide range of sporting events, attend drama and singing clubs and explore their own interests.

 

Pupils learn about important concepts, such as respect, tolerance and understanding, through carefully crafted lessons.

 

Julie Pattison

Principal Adviser (Monitoring)

County Hall, Northallerton

 

12/03/26

 

Report Author: Julie Pattison

Background documents:  None

Additional sources: LA Red Bag, Ofsted inspection reports, CYPS info web pages.