Issue - meetings

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-09/report-RVE.pdf

The RVE Adivser explained that Bangor University had produced a report on teaching RVE in schools in Wales. The report identified some positives such as making RVE mandatory between ages 3-16 and the integration of RVE into the Humanities area of learning and experience providing the opportunity to connect RVE with e.g. History and Geography.

The report also raised concerns such as compliance issues over schools not meeting the minimum legal requirements for RVE teaching across key stages 3 and 4, limited resources including Welsh resources, some challenges in teaching methodologies and support/training given to teachers to make sure the quality of RVE education is adequate.

There were questions raised around whether teachers had a good understanding of the distinction between RVE now in comparison to the former religious education, in terms of content and how it should be taught.

It was commented that, in some schools, RVE was not taught as a discrete subject but integrated into the broader Humanities curriculum, which is fine, but it was possible that the allocation of time and the importance given to RVE compared to the other Humanities subjects was diminished.

WASACRE responded with concerns about the way that the survey was conducted accepting that it raised some valid points.  It was noted that the scope of the research was based on 45 mainly secondary schools in Wales, but there was no clarity how the schools were selected or how the responses were given.  It was further discovered that the report was based on a Facebook survey. It was possible that claims of inadequate RVE provision weren't aligning with the experiences of other schools and regions.

There was little acknowledgement that RVE in Wales only applied up to year 7 and 8 at the time of the research yet asked schools about RVE from year 7 to 9.

It was suggested that professional learning was lacking outside of one specific local authority and only one university was giving high quality RVE support.  However, all schools are being supported to network and share resources and opportunities, and events and professional learning offered by EAS and other consortia to schools including bespoke sessions were not acknowledged.

(3.43pm - Revd, J. Greaves left the meeting, which was adjourned for 10 minutes. Noting that there was no Faith and Belief representative remaining, the Solicitor checked the terms of reference and the Council Constitution regarding quorum. Whilst the practice of the SAC has been that the quorum requires a member from each representative group (Councillors, Faith and Belief and Teachers), the terms of reference do not actually state that that there is a compulsory quorum in terms of there being somebody present from each group.  This being so, the generic provision in the Constitution would apply that the quorum of the meeting will be one quarter of the whole number of Members. Given there were a quarter of the whole number of Members present it was agreed to proceed.)

A Member commented that the report highlighted a lack  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8