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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
Apologies received for Jemma Davies, Andrew Chyba, Cllr David Isaac and Cllr Brent Carter
There were no declarations of interest.
Struggled with quorate for a while. Have also had a change of administration during this period which has also delayed progress. No expressions of interest given. By default, Andrea May, LA officer will be appointed chair.
Cllr Carter has joined the committee as the new Leader of the Council. Judith Edwards (Head of Abercanaid Primary School) has also joined. Reverend Mark Walford has replaced the previous Reverend Mark who has retired. Sheila Gwelob has joined too. Reverend Mark and Sheila introduced themselves.
No matters arising
Updates since the paper was sent out. May 21st – Humanities Curriculum design with an RVE focus PL training event June 23rd – New GCSE RS Network meeting Paper gives an overview of resources and training available across regional consortia and WJEC.
Merthyr has not had many inspections this academic year. Two (Dowlais and Blessed Carlo Acutis) have been carried out since the report has been sent out, but the inspection reports have not yet been published. DG – Pleasing to see the specific reference within the Heolgerrig report to RVE, and congratulate them on the focus on values.
All schools going through the qualification changes, particularly with RVE. RVE is currently being undertaken by year 9 pupils, will roll out to year 10 from September 2025. Lots of discussions and consultations about Religious Studies, including the name. Discussions also about the impact of course and qualification on practitioners. Specification was delayed compared to other subjects, which had a knock on delay in the release of materials. New GCSE qualification is ready to be taught from September 2025. How it is ruled out will be for each school to decide upon. Non-Examination Assessment (NEA) are very different to other subjects. Curriculum time would need to be considered by the schools. CSC are putting forward suggestions. Some schools may look at wider qualifications for RVE. Qualifications in Wales (QiW) have not yet established when centres in Wales can apply for Agored Cymru World views as a qualification. Centres in England can go up to 2026/27. Waiting for the QiW decision. Last registration date for Equality and Diversity is 30th September 2026. Dates are on the briefing paper. No Merthyr schools attended the consultation meeting to provide feedback. WJEC have completed their in person training. DG looking to encourage schools to engage in an online hub to share ideas and good practice. SH felt that providing the new qualification alongside the old can present problems though there is a lot of similarity in the content, and having experience teaching Welsh Bacc is helpful with the new NEA’s. Action for AM – Identify dates and information, and link to chats for the MT schools. Also include the link to Welsh Bacc. The LA may wish to navigate / keep abreast of the changes. One suggestion is to carry out a survey. Estyn have confirmed that monitoring of statutory RVE and RE is down to each Local Authority. SACRE have a role to play in monitoring standards. Can currently obtain data from WJEC, but not for wider qualifications. Welsh LA’s send their annual reports to WASACRE, Welsh Government, the National Library of Wales and other interested parties. Unsure if it goes to WASACRE too. Results – GDPR doesn’t allow schools to be identified. Discussions ongoing with what can be shared. In Merthyr Tydfil, there are some difficulties as there are only 4 schools, with one being a 3-16 catholic school. Internal reports to council do not identify schools in the data, it is an overall picture. Conversations required around the LA’s statutory responsibility, AM to discuss further with Director of Education.
No questions on briefing paper- included discussions above
No questions on briefing paper- included discussions above
AM to send to schools following other materials.
DG – Conference costumes were given, and they are hoping to something again in the Autumn Term, but online. Letter given by QiW to confirm the new GSE is going ahead and reasons for delays. Received the Adnov and Miller research. Looking for feedback on the review of SACRE. WG have asked WASACRE and NAPFRE to give feedback on how the annual reports can be better. SG – There is a self-assessment tool on the NASACRE website may be useful. AM – Annual report suggestions are fed back to heads of schools, it is on them to discuss and develop with their practitioners. Action – Members to feedback on thoughts around improving the annual report. Deadline of 9th May.
No feedback on update
No feedback on update
Deadline has passed for nomination for WASACRE Executive Committee, but they will take further nominations to be considered. Panel agree for Donna to be the nominee for Merthyr Tydfil. AM to email committee to plead case of adding the nominee late.
Surveys will be sent out to schools and they are free to comment if they wish. Resources to be shared with Chair and Vice Chair of Governors alongside the policy. RVE video to be put on the internet page linked to SACRE as well as sending to the schools. Resource for Governors is also available on Hwb. RVE video can be used for secondary and higher primary. Video also created by students from Williamstown Primary that they have given permission to share.
The code of conduct applies to attendees at Wassica meetings only, not for individual SACRE’s. DG questioned why there was a need for a code of conduct. AM – in committees where there is a likelihood for people to be passionate about beliefs, there is a possibility for that to boil over.
Surveys will be sent out to schools and they are free to comment if they wish. Resources to be shared with Chair and Vice Chair of Governors alongside the policy. RVE video to be put on the internet page linked to SACRE as well as sending to the schools. Resource for Governors is also available on Hwb. RVE video can be used for secondary and higher primary. Video also created by students from Williamstown Primary that they have given permission to share.
Surveys will be sent out to schools and they are free to comment if they wish. Resources to be shared with Chair and Vice Chair of Governors alongside the policy. RVE video to be put on the internet page linked to SACRE as well as sending to the schools. Resource for Governors is also available on Hwb. RVE video can be used for secondary and higher primary. Video also created by students from Williamstown Primary that they have given permission to share.
Third meeting held. No Merthyr representation at the moment. Logo has been designed by the pupils. A video has also been produced. The next project is a piece of art or photography about beliefs. At the next meeting they will be looking at Science and belief. AM to ask schools for representation at Youth voice, but there is no funding available. Up to two schools per LA. DG to share Williamstown video.
Available for all
DG has put together a generic DACW policy and supporting materials. AM has updated it so that it is user friendly for each school to adopt with their name on it. Policy has also been translated. AS raised a question about the term ‘broadly Christian character’ and how this can be interpreted. DG confirmed this term came from NASACRE’s resources. Possible footnote to be included to clarify comment. Policy was unanimously accepted. DG - If there is anything that practitioners would like SACRE to produce or support with, please get in touch.
DG - If there is anything that practitioners would like SACRE to produce or support with, please get in touch
If there is anything that practitioners would like SACRE to produce or support with, please get in touch
Next meeting date agreed for 25th June. Date also agreed for 18th November.
If there are any suggestions for agenda items for Summer meeting, please forward to AM.
None
No other business was discussed.
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