Agenda item

Members received the final Pan-Berkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2018-2023, which was being reported to the Agreed Syllabus Conference meeting at the rising of the SACRE meeting for approval.

During discussion, the question of students over the age 14 not taking RE as an exam subject at GCSE was raised. The professional advisor explained that schools were legally required to provide GCSE RE course work but there was no statutory requirement for students to take an exam in the subject. It was also highlighted academies were not required to adopt the Slough Agreed Syllabus but under the terms of their Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State, academies were required to provide RE for all their pupils, except for those whose parents exercised the right of withdrawal.

The SACRE discussed whether there were any measures in place at schools for pupils at KS3 who were not taking GCSE RE and considered that it would be useful to put this question to Heads/ Re Leads at secondary schools. For schools that did not have any provisions, Slough SACRE could offer support by assisting in the provision of materials resources.

It was agreed that the Chair and the professional advisor would draft a letter to be sent to schools after GCSE results data had been published. Members discussed that RE provision at KS3 for non-GCSE pupils should be included on the agenda for the next meeting and requested the GCSE results for RE as well as Maths and English to be provided to enable comparison/analysis to be made.

Resolved:

i)  That the Chair and professional advisor draft a letter to head teachers and RE leads/co-ordinators requesting details about the provisions in place for non-GCSE RE students at the school and ask what material resources they may require that SACRE could support the schools with.

ii)  That data for RE, Maths and English GCSE Exam results be provided atthe next SACRE meeting.