Minutes:
It was reported that the EAS is working on a new suite of professional learning and an informal collective worship conversation is starting next week to look at what's happening in schools to highlight and share practice, and emerging practice and identify how to support schools. Phil Lord will be guest speak to enhance the conversations and SAC Members are welcome to attend, and also to contribute. The links are on the EAS website.
The RVE curriculum design program is starting on 27th June for schools to think about what RVE look like, what does progression look like within RVE and to start looking at how to plan it. This will be for primary and secondary schools then later possibly split into primary and secondary sessions. This is fully booked already with a waiting list, so a second event may be arranged.
There are separate primary and secondary termly Humanities meetings.
Plans are in hand to organise a faith and belief encounters workshop following some Church in Wales training that some schools in our region have had the opportunity to be part of. This focuses on talk about lived religions and people who have faith and belief share their experiences and offer what they can to schools.
Also, in development is work on developing inspiring pedagogy in RVE which will be over two days in December to follow on from the initial sessions on curriculum design to look at specific pedagogy.
There is ongoing work with Central South Consortium with the Muslim Council for Wales to create some videos to share with schools. The first is on the Mosque and there discovering Muslims in Britain projects and resources to share with schools.
The new RVE resources are all on Hwb and there is an insight event to promote these.
In terms of Welsh Government, there has been the agreed syllabus review. WASACRE was commissioned to look at all the agreed syllabi in Wales and the quality, consistency and that they are in the spirit of the Curriculum for Wales is to be reported back with a view to share good practice.
The Welsh Government has requested case studies from schools to exemplify the What and the How of RVE. Monmouthshire schools were encouraged to provide examples of work in any format.
Welsh Government is proposing a NAPFRE/WASACRE free conference open to SACREs. A working group is taking this forward.
The new GCSE discussions around awaiting final proposal from Qualifications Wales to go to WJEC should be ready by 26th June. This will not include the course content just the high level planning at this stage. Hopefully a specification, self assessment materials and teacher guidance will be produced ready for September 2024 for the examinations in 2025.
Advert for WJEC for colleagues to help produce material and resources for Religious Studies (not RVE).
It was commented that Curriculum for Wales made it clear it was possible for schools to teach on a subject basis as opposed to multidisciplinary basis. With regard to collective worship, the Member asked if this could be more locally based and asked to be involved in professional learning events, and also commented that our own faith schools should be part of professional learning for collective worship for a balanced approach as it is important to be locally based. It was confirmed that the Church in Wales has used Phil Lord in its schools for advice and guidance on collective worship, and it was also pointed out that there are very few subject specialists to draw on.