Agenda and minutes

To elect the Chair and Vice-Chair of Camden SACRE for the 2024-25 academic year.

Proposed by Ann Boater and seconded by Cllr Mulholland, Mary Thorne was elected as the Chair of SACRE for the duration of the 2023-24 academic year.

Proposed by Cllr Dixey and seconded by Cllr Mulholland, Ann Boater was elected as the Vice-Chair of SACRE for the duration of the 2024-25 academic year.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.’

Any other announcements

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair announced: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.’

Apologies were received from Sinead Costelloe, Cllr Fulbrook, Rev Damien Mason and Rose O’Brien.

There were no declarations.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024.

The Clerk was notified that Sally Hayes joined the previous meeting remotely which had not been recorded.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record. 

To note the terms of reference for Camden SACRE.

The Professional Advisor stated that the terms of reference were last updated in 2010 therefore it was time they were refreshed to include aspects relating to hybrid meetings, the Faith Forum, and other initiatives SACRE now connected to.  A draft of the revised terms of reference would report to the next meeting.

Action By – Professional Advisor

RESOLVED –

THAT the terms of reference be noted.

To note the membership of Camden SACRE.

The Professional Advisor stated that a Sikh representative was in the final stage of confirmation and there was also progress at an earlier stage in finding a Buddhist representative.

RESOLVED –

THAT the membership be noted.

A Camden Faith Forum representative will provide a verbal update on their work since the last meeting in May 2024.

• Faith award winners and case studies 
• Interfaith week events 
• 2025 plans for network briefings and events 

Consideration was given to Faith Forum update.

Faith Forum Awards and Case Studies

The Camden Faith Forum representative introduced the Faith Awards. This was a first-time collaboration with the Faith and Belief Forum with faith-inspired organisations collaboratively making-positive steps to promote community cohesion in Camden. The awards were followed by a gathering in the Mayor’s Parlour for winners and three Camden faith leaders later won London Faith Awards, which showcased the depth of work in this area.

The Professional Advisor said with the new syllabus and discussion about lived experienced it would be beneficial to build a network of local contacts who could be trained to engage schools through projects on faith-in-action. The Camden Faith Forum representative said she would be keen to pursue this initiative and said that people were keen to share their stories, also highlighting their monthly case studies in We Make Camden communications as a key platform for outreach.

Action By - Professional Advisor and Faith Forum representative

Interfaith week events

The Camden Faith Forum representative provided an overview of the upcoming Interfaith Week events, which would run over three weeks. The first event would be an interfaith panel discussion hosted by Elizabeth Oldman, a podcast producer who recently facilitated a session with three Camden faith leaders. In the following weeks, there would be an interfaith history walk led by a registered tour guide, showcasing spiritually significant locations in Camden. The Camden Faith Forum representative expressed interest in expanding this initiative for schools and invited members of the schools team to join a test walk. Additionally, an interfaith social action project would involve cooking meals for staff at a night shelter.

The Professional Advisor praised the work over the last year. She stated that Interfaith Week this year was focusing on personal stories and community-building, stressing that understanding difference and diversity started with children feeling secure in their own identity. She also emphasised the importance of personal development to help children look outward and embrace others.

2025 plans for network briefings and events

The Camden Faith Forum representative outlined plans for 2025, which included bi-monthly coffee mornings to discuss faith-related challenges and opportunities to engage with faith leaders. Faith organisations were supporting food banks, youth work, and tackling youth violence initiatives and there would be five briefings planned around these themes, and an update from the Council, aiming to deepen collaboration and highlight impactful work. The Camden Faith Forum representative also expressed a commitment to linking these initiatives with services for children and young people.

Cllr Rebecca Filer, Co-Chair of the Faith Forum alongside Cllr Nadia Shah, expressed an interest to work closer with schools and young people and speak with teachers outside of this meeting about ideas on how to connect work. In response to a member asking how schools could support interfaith work, the Camden Faith Forum representative said they would think about the question and respond at the next meeting.

RESOLVED –

THAT the update be noted.

Members are asked to consider and make an agreement on Gospel Oak's determination renewal application. Documents for consideration include the application, RE advisor visit report, and the Assembly Policy.

Consideration was given to Gospel Oak Primary School’s determination renewal application.      

The Professional Advisor shared her positive experience visiting Gospel Oak, highlighting the excellent collective worship, which actively involved the children and was appropriately pitched. Following the observation, the school was advised to incorporate a mindful moment during assemblies to create an interconnected worship experience, allowing pupils to pray, think, or reflect. Noting that over 50% of the school’s pupils came from faith traditions, assemblies should align with the pupils’ backgrounds to abide by the law. The school was recommended to use more inclusive language, such as inviting a "moment of silence" or saying "you might wish to pray."

A member said that it was often the case that the differences between different religious was focussed on in teaching, rather than the shared values between religions. Members agreed that the aims and messaging to promote shared values and world views between religions and non-religions should be strengthened in the policy.

RESOLVED –

THAT SACRE agree to grant, subject to the additional aim discussed to be included in the policy, Gospel Oak's determination renewal application.

This update is to inform members of the date and venue of the NASACRE annual conference and looking to see who can represent Camden SACRE.

Consideration was given to the update of the NASACRE Annual Conference.

The Professional Advisor gave the following updates:

·       Members were asked to inform the Professional Advisor if they wanted to attend the conference as a Camden delegate on 19^th May 2025, which would be held at Stratford Town Hall in Newham.

·       The link and login details to access the national SACRE website would be shared with members.

·       There were ‘NASACRE in Conversation’ events which were open to SACRE members to attend, with the next event on 26^th November 2025.

RESOLVED –

THAT the update be noted.

Annually Camden SACRE uses the national criteria to assess where it is in the development as a SACRE. At the meeting members will work through the toolkit together and develop and agree the SACRE annual plan for this academic year.

Consideration was given to the SACRE Annual Self-evaluation Toolkit and Actions item.

The Professional Advisor asked members to review each key area within Section 1 (Management of the SACRE and partnership with the Local Authority (LA) and other key stakeholders), between 1a-1g (pages 53-58 of the agenda), asking for feedback and their views on how Camden SACRE was performing against the criteria.

The following was discussed for each section:

1a – Funding: Professional and financial support

·       The Professional Advisor said that in their view Camden placed between ‘established’ and ‘advanced’ level in this area. The meeting was well supported by councillors and officers.

·       In response to members asking if there was a dedicated budget, the Head of Governor Services, Camden Learning (Owen Rees), said there was a notional amount of funding for SACRE but not a specific allocation. SACRE spending included the cost of the Head of Governor Services and the Clerk’s time supporting the meeting. If there were further resources desired by members, they were welcome to make a request.

·       It was noted that for SACRE to move to ‘advanced’ level, they would need a strategic costed development plan, which could be developed this year looking ahead and shared with the LA.

1b – SACRE meetings

·       Members said Camden was ‘established’, not ‘advanced’ level in this area.

·       Members said they would like to hold meetings in different venues, but it was noted that hybrid capacity may not be possible in some other venues, but schools and faith venues could be explored.

1c – Membership and training

The Professional Advisor said in their view Camden had good systems of training and induction. The membership had also developed to a good level.

1d – Improvement/development planning

·       In response to members saying that it would be useful to see the figures of LA spending and a record of previous years, the Professional Advisor said that information was already included in the SACRE Annual Report.

·       Members said that it was hard to see how SACRE was influencing LA plans. The Professional Advisor replied that it may not be clear to members, however Camden was investing in the interfaith network work and SACRE wanted to be feeding into that. The Head of Governor Services said Camden Learning did not have an improvement plan and did not operate on those terms so the wording on the toolkit did not easily translate over, however the Professional Advisor worked with subject networks who linked to school improvements and termly meetings for network leads. There was a strategy which Religious Education (RE) was linked into. It was noted that there was possibly work to do in making this connection clearer to members and there could be a standing item introduced to update members on the network meetings to demonstrate the professional development. The Professional Advisor said in drafting a costed development plan for SACRE that links could be made clear on that document.

·       In response to a member suggesting introducing an action tracker or an effective way of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Camden SACRE will consider what interventions to run with the Local Authority in this academic year for Religious Education and what funding to make an application for.

Consideration was given to the Possible Interventions and Developments for Religious Education paper.

The Chair highlighted weaker overall GCSE and A-Level outcomes for the previous academic year, though Camden performed relatively well compared to national averages. The Professional Advisor reported on discussions with secondary network leads and RE teachers, regarding the types of support schools would find most helpful. Feedback emphasised the need for actionable strategies to support schools effectively. The Head of Governor Services confirmed funding for three key priorities at Key Stage (KS) 4: improving maths outcomes, addressing educational disadvantages, and conducting a deep dive into open bucket subjects (which RE formed a part of). Collaboration with secondary schools to develop these interventions was emphasised.

The Professional Advisor proposed several initiatives to support GCSE students and teachers, including masterclasses by chief examiners focusing on long-answer questions for higher-tier students, webinars on revision techniques and course planning support. A teacher representative emphasised the importance of improving students’ ability to tackle 12-mark questions, including providing in-depth analysis, examples, and sources of wisdom to strengthen arguments and explore multiple perspectives, because students currently averaged half of the available marks. Another teacher representative highlighted challenges with GCSE specifications, noting that strong work in KS3 syllabuses often lacked continuity at GCSE level. They stressed the need to allocate sufficient KS3 time to build foundational skills and prepare students for GCSE, nothing that some schools allocate as little as 40 minutes per fortnight. They also supported the Professional Advisor’s suggestion of masterclasses, particularly to aid non-specialist teachers, and recommended creating opportunities for staff moderation of exam scripts to enhance quality assurance. The Professional Advisor agreed to explore these initiatives at the next network meeting.

The Chair queried how aware secondary schools were of the knowledge and skills levels of Year 7 pupils upon entry, noting that while church schools and primaries in Camden were strong, current cohorts did not follow a unified syllabus. It was highlighted that in a few years, pupils would join secondary schools with consistent foundation knowledge. The Professional Advisor suggested using the summer term to remind secondary schools of what Year 6 pupils had covered and to provide examples of their standard of work to support effective transition planning. Additionally, support via the network meetings would be impactful.

Members said that faith schools should not reduce focus on the faith curriculum in exam years, which was likely a result of schools prioritising league table success. A member highlighted the need for more creativity in the curriculum, especially in Year 9, GCSE, and A-Level, to better engage students while providing knowledge. The Chair agreed, noting that if history could be engaged successfully, RE should be just as effective.

RESOLVED –

THAT SACRE

1.     agree actions Camden SACRE would like to recommend to the Local Authority in terms of teachers’ professional development in 2025.

2.     agree Camden SACRE would like to submit an application for Westhill/NASACREfunding for an RE project run with Camden schools.

Members will be asked if they have any suggestions of points to add or edit on this draft document and asked to agree a set of development targets for this academic year.

There was not enough time to discuss this item and Professional Advisor asked members to email her outside of the meeting with any suggestions to edit the draft document and draft development targets.

RESOLVED –

THAT the draft document be noted.

A member asked how children who were not attending mainstream schools, such as special schools, virtual school, or alternative provisions, were supported by SACRE. In response, it was confirmed that schools did as much as they could to support those children and they were involved where possible. The Chair said members could discuss this topic at the next meeting.