Agenda and minutes

We elected County Councillor E.J. Hacket Pain as Chair.

Before proceeding with the meeting, the Chair informed the Committee that a former member of the Committee had sadly passed away.  The Chair informed the Committee that she would send a letter of condolence to his family, on behalf of the Committee.

The Chair informed the Committee that Sister O’Donnell had ritired from serving on the SACRE Committee.  On behalf of the Committee, the RE Adviser would send a letter to Sister Denise thanking her for her support and commitment to the SACRE Committee during her time as a SACRE Member.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chair welcomed Mr. Cottrell to his first meeting, as the new Roman Catholic Church representative.

We appointed Sue Cave as Vice-Chair.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

The minutes of the SACRE meeting held on 11^th March 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chair subject to the inclusion of the names of the faith and teacher representatives, as these had been omitted.

We received the following updates since the last meeting:

·         The RE Adviser had spoken to the Head Teacher of Castle Park Primary School informing the Head that the correct version of the RE Levels within the Incerts Programme needed to be used.  She had also written to all schools regarding this matter and asked for feedback with regard to them having moved over to the correct levels.

·         The Head of Achievement and Attainment would raise the issue at the next Head Teachers meeting with a view to inviting the Education Achievement Service to the next SACRE Committee meeting in November 2016.

·         Correspondence had been exchanged between the Chair, the WLGA and the WJEC regarding the new examination specifications.  It was noted that though schools had been consulted regarding the changes, many SACRE’s had asked for a deferment of the implementation of the changes.

It was noted that some schools had undergone three separate examination specification changes in three years with not enough transition time having been provided.

We resolved that the Chair writes to the WJEC requesting a meeting to discuss this matter further.  The Monmouthshire SACRE representatives to include the Chair, the RE Adviser, Andrew Jones and Sharon Perry Phillips.

·         A conference was being held on 4^th and 5^th July 2016 in Swansea. Day two of the conference would focus on extremism and radicalisation. SACRE Members are invited to attend.  The Head of Achievement and Attainment would despatch the itinerary to all schools.

·         The date of Monmouthshire SACRE hosting WASACRE might need to change form the 17^th March to 24^th March 2017.  Further information to be received in due course.

We received a presentation from Kath Fitter regarding the Festival of Faiths that was held at Goytre Fawr Primary School in March 2016.

The Committee was informed of the following:

•      The children were given the opportunity to experience many different faiths and cultures.

•      Every member of the school was involved and in addition to class teachers, several visitors had been invited to represent a wide range of faiths and share their first hand knowledge with the children.

•      Over the day the children worked in mixed age groups and took part in fun and informative activities.

•      The RE Day had been very successful and the school would undertake such a venture again in the future.

•      Parents’ attitude to the RE Day had been very positive and supportive.

•      The RE Adviser stated that she would refer to the RE Day in the next RE Newsletter.

We resolved to receive the presentation and noted its content.

We received an update regarding the RE Day that was being held at Caldicot School for Year 6 pupils on 28^th June 2016.  In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         All schools accept Magor Primary would be attending.

·         Workshops would be held in which a number of the SACRE Committee faith representatives would be leading on.

·         The RE Adviser would send further details to SACRE Members in due course.

We resolved to receive the update and noted its content.

We received the WASACRE minutes of the meeting held on 8^th March 2016.  In doing so, it was noted that the results of the Welsh Baccalaureate Survey would be available at the next WASACRE meeting on 23^rd June 2016.

We resolved to receive the minutes and noted its content.

The next WASACRE meeting will be held in Rhyl on 23^rd June 2016.

Having considered the nominations to serve on the WASACRE Executive Committee, we resolved to nominate the following representatives:

Mary Parry

Huw Stephens

Mathew Maidment

Preliminary discussions were held regarding preparation for Monmouthshire SACRE hosting WASACRE on 17^th March 2017.  In doing so, the following information was noted:

·         Coffee and lunch will need to be arranged.

·         Provide a Welsh translator.

·         SACRE Members were encouraged to forward any ideas that they might have to the RE Adviser.

·         The Chair of Monmouthshire County Council and the Chair of Monmouthshire SACRE Committee will jointly welcome WASACRE to Monmouthshire on 17^th March 2017.

·         All Monmouthshire SACRE Members will be invited to attend WASACRE on 17^th March 2016.

We resolved to receive the information and noted its content.

We received the Welsh Government Curriculum Review update for May 2016. 

In doing so, concern had been expressed that RE provision was being incorporated into the Humanities area of Learning and Experience.

We resolved that the RE Adviser presents a report regarding this matter at the next SACRE meeting.

The following information briefings were received from SACRE members:

·         Children from Monmouth School had visited Auschwitz and Krakow in Poland which had proved to be a very moving experience for teachers and students.

·         SACRE Members were invited to attend an RE / Welsh Baccalaureate conference in the coming weeks which was being held at Monmouth School where there will be a number of workshops being held.

·         Caldicot School would be holding a similar conference for its Year 9 students on 4^th July 2016 over a four day period, as part of the module they are studying.  The conference will focus on the charity aspect and social justice in which charities will be scrutinised as part of the students’ Welsh Baccalaureate course.

·         Mrs. Baicher provided the committee with information outlining the universal message of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and the work that he had undertaken.  We were informed that Guru Arjan Dev Ji was the first martyr of the Sikh faith.  The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji was observed on 8^th June 2016. 

·         Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled the Guru Granth Sahib.

·         He built a house for lepers.

·         He was tortured and sentenced to death by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and was hailed as a martyr.

The Kymin View Self Evaluation report was withdrawn.

We received the Trellech Primary School self-evaluation report.

The school achieved a ‘Good’ rating in respect of all of the key questions outlined in the report.

The report was considered to be one of the best self-evaluation reports that the SACRE Committee had received.

We resolved that the RE Adviser should write to the Head Teacher congratulating the school on achieving such a positive self-evaluation report.

We received the Llanfoist Primary School self-evaluation report.

The school achieved a ‘Good’ rating in respect of all of the key questions outlined in the report.

This was a very good assessment undertaken by the school.

In responses to a question raised regarding the delivery of RE teaching by Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA’s), the Head of Achievement and Attainment would investigate this matter and report back to a future meeting.

We resolved that the RE Adviser should write to the Head Teacher congratulating the school on achieving such a positive self-evaluation report.

We noted the dates of the following SACRE Committee meetings:

15^th November 2016 at 1.30pm.

10^th February 2017 at 1.30pm.

16^th May 2017 at 1.30pm.