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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of Conwy SACRE held on 1 March 2022 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That the update in respect of the creation of the Conwy Religion, Values and Ethics Teacher Network be noted.
RESOLVED: That a School Questionnaire on The Agreed Syllabus be prepared by the RVE consultant and circulated to schools in the Autumn Term, 2022.
RESOLVED: That the update on the REach summer newsletter be noted.
RESOLVED: That a letter, along with an executive summary of the Conwy SACRE Management Plan be circulated to Conwy County Borough Council schools.
Resolved: That the verbal update on the Wales Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education be noted.
RESOLVED: That the next meeting of Conwy SACRE be arranged for October, 2022.
RESOLVED: That a letter be sent to Secondary Headteachers in order to promote the Agored RE qualification.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Julie Fallon, Dr Lowri Brown (Head of Education Services), Karl Lawson (teacher representative), Eirian Pierce (teacher representative, Suzy Sturley (Welsh Humanists) and Tania ap Sion (Co-opted Member).
None.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of Conwy SACRE held on 1 March 2022 be approved as a correct record.
The minutes of the meeting of Conwy SACRE held on 1 March 2022 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of Conwy SACRE held on 1 March 2022 be approved as a correct record.
The Chair provided an update in respect of matters arising from the last meeting. The following points were highlighted: • The importance that the secondary Headteacher vacancy be filled by a Head Teacher, rather than a deputy, so that feedback could be provided to the Headteacher Network. - The RVE Consultant would discuss Conwy SACRE vacancies at the next meeting of the Education Improvement Team (EIT). • An update in respect of data in relation to representation on Conwy SACRE would be provided at the next meeting. • The Welsh Association of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (WASACRE) had produced a handbook for new SACRE members called ‘So you’re joining your local SACRE…’. - The RVE Consultant would circulate a link to the associated handbook to Conwy SACRE members. - A training session would be provided to Conwy SACRE Members in the autumn term, in respect of roles and responsibilities.
The RVE Consultant advised that a report in respect of the Adoption of the Agreed Syllabus Conference Recommendations had been approved by Cabinet on 14 June, 2022. The report had been presented by the Cabinet Member for Education (and Vice-Chair of Conwy SACRE). The following was discussed: • Concern was raised that there had been no discussion at Cabinet in respect of the Equalities Impact Assessment and the issues of racism and prejudice that were implicit within the document. - Some Authorities in South Wales had made a commitment to seek to address these issues but it was not being discussed in Conwy. The RVE consultant would raise the issues with the Education Improvement Team.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the update in respect of the creation of the Conwy Religion, Values and Ethics Teacher Network be noted.
The Chair provided an update in respect of the creation of a Conwy Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) Teacher Network. The following points were highlighted: • There had been a commitment by some Authorities in respect of supporting teachers with the RVE area of learning within the new curriculum. This support was offered by: - Providing specific training sessions to teachers; - a teacher audit in respect of syllabus awareness, - termly meetings with faith communities and the Head of Education; - establishing a pupil voice forum; and - establishing teacher networks. • As schools would be designing their own curriculum monitoring would be required. The following was discussed: • It was suggested that Estyn could contact schools in order to request an overview of how Religious Education was being delivered. • It was not clear how Religious Education would be delivered within schools as part of the new curriculum which would make monitoring difficult. • Appropriate support was required for teachers, especially as there was lack of RE specialists. • RVE would be intrinsic in the planning for the new curriculum. • The RVE consultant suggested that the proposed teacher network utilise the cluster model that was already in place. - Local Authority funding was in place in respect of releasing 10 teachers for half a day per term. - It was important that teachers be made aware of the opportunity and that the correct teachers were chosen to attend. • It was queried whether any Welsh Government (WG) funding was available for training purposes. - The RVE advisor advised that the WG, in collaboration with the Welsh Association of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (WASACRE) had created 10 training modules, 5 of which would be released in September 2022. - GwE funding was available for schools if they were part of a local network in respect of the Humanities RVE area of learning and experience. • The Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) should be taken into consideration, - Any resources commissioned by the teacher network would be bilingual. • The RVE consultant would meet with the Education Improvement Team (EIT) in respect of the Teacher Network and its Terms of Reference. • The Head of Education Services and the EIT would explore possible ways forward in respect of the teacher network. • Additional funding may be available for the chair of the network. RESOLVED: That the update in respect of the creation of the Conwy Religion, Values and Ethics Teacher Network be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That a School Questionnaire on The Agreed Syllabus be prepared by the RVE consultant and circulated to schools in the Autumn Term, 2022.
The RVE consultant provided an update on the School Questionnaire on the Agreed Syllabus. The following points were highlighted: • The questionnaire had been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the additional pressures faced by schools. • Consideration was required in respect of the timing, content, audience and format of the newsletter. • It was suggested that the questionnaire be produced using goggle forms so that results from specific types of schools or respondents could be filtered. • The questionnaire would seek to determine areas in which the teacher network could provide support. • Schools would be queried in relation to their progress in terms of planning for the implementation of Religion, Values and Ethics. • It was suggested that answers could be as a scale (from 1-10) as this would allow for easier comparison. • It was suggested that the questionnaire be circulated in September, 2022. The following was discussed: • It was suggested that teachers would require time to implement the new curriculum prior to answering any questions. • The experience of those secondary schools who had opted in to the new curriculum would be different to those who had chosen to defer the implementation. - It was suggested that different questionnaires be produced for primary and secondary schools. • The Head of Education Services was keen to explore the views of pupils, however it too early to consider this at present. • The questionnaire should be used to identify any resources that were required and if Welsh resources were required. RESOLVED: That a School Questionnaire on The Agreed Syllabus be prepared by the RVE consultant and circulated to schools in the Autumn Term, 2022.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the update on the REach summer newsletter be noted.
The RVE Consultant provided an update in respect of the REach summer newsletter which was the newsletter for both Conwy and Denbighshire SACRE’s. The following was highlighted: • The newsletter included an overview of the new curriculum. • The Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) guidance had been adopted and the Agreed Syllabus for both Conwy and Denbighshire County Councils. • An article in respect of the St Giles Centre, Wrexham was included with the newsletter. - St Giles’ centre had an excellent website which included a lot of information in respect of RVE. • Professional development hub training programmes known as playlists would be available from September 2022. • Reference was made to bilingual post 16 resources. - The RVE Consultant was named as a guest editor but had not contributed to the resources. • Teacher vacancies within Conwy and Denbighshire were included in the newsletter as well as information in respect of teacher networks. The following was discussed: • The newsletter was accessible and shared relevant information. • The newsletter was circulated to all Conwy and Denbighshire School via the Education Improvement Teams. • The RVE Consultant queried whether the name of the newsletter should be changes from ‘REach’ in order to reflect the change of RE to RVE. - SACRE members felt that the name should remain as REach as it was already an established name. - A sentence would be included under the title which made reference to RVE. • Conwy SACRE Members were encouraged share the newsletter as well as Conwy SACRE minutes. RESOLVED: That the update on the REach summer newsletter be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That a letter, along with an executive summary of the Conwy SACRE Management Plan be circulated to Conwy County Borough Council schools.
The Chair made reference to the Conwy SACRE management plan. Timescales within the plan had become flexible due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was proposed that the Management Plan be promoted within schools in order to make them aware of the role of Conwy SACRE. As the Management Plan was a flexible document and translation was required each time a change was made it was suggested that a bilingual executive summary of the plan be provided to schools. Headteachers would be requested to share the Management Plan with Humanities leads. RESOLVED: That a letter, along with an executive summary of the Conwy SACRE Management Plan be circulated to Conwy County Borough Council schools.
The RVE Consultant provided an update on professional development. The following was highlighted: A link was included within the REach Summer Newsletter in respect of the Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) guidance and how it can be adopted as an agreed syllabus. The RVE Consultant was a representative on the European Forum for Teachers of Religious Education. RE was taught differently in different countries with some having a church orientated curriculum. The Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (WASACRE) where in discussions with Estyn in respect of how RVE would be monitored and whether inspectors required specific training. Inspections would be carried out on a 3 yearly basis, however, there was currently a backlog due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: That the verbal update on the Wales Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education be noted.
The Chair provided an update from the Wales Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education meeting which took place on 29 June, 2022. The following was highlighted: • WASACRE had met with the Welsh Government (WG) in relation to Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE), this had been an extremely positive meeting. - The legal section of the RVE guidance included on the Hwb platform had been questioned. Changes had since been made had agreed. - A suggestion in relation to early ears RVE being pluralistic had been accepted by WG. - A letter would be sent to parents in respect of RVE. - WG would provide an RVE guidance pack. • Plans were in place in respect of IT resources in relation to the new curriculum. • Welsh Government Circular 10/94 was still relevant for collective worship but not for RVE. • The RVE consultant made reference to stands for Diversity and Anti-Racism Professional Learning (DARPL) which had an excellent anti-racist teaching resources. - The Methodist Church was also creating an anti-racism resource pack which would be available bilingually. Resolved: That the verbal update on the Wales Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the next meeting of Conwy SACRE be arranged for October, 2022.
RESOLVED: That the next meeting of Conwy SACRE be arranged for October, 2022.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That a letter be sent to Secondary Headteachers in order to promote the Agored RE qualification.
The Chair made reference to the Agored Religious Education qualification and the intention to promote the qualification to Secondary Headteachers. It was proposed that a letter be sent to Secondary Headteachers in respect of the availability and advantages of the Agored qualification with a view to them adopting it. RESOLVED: That a letter be sent to Secondary Headteachers in order to promote the Agored RE qualification.
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