Agenda and minutes

Councillor David Mellen (Chair)

The Chair, Councillor David Mellen, welcomed attendees to the meeting.

Helen Baird  –  Middleton Primary (Group C)

Martin Bennett  )  Salvation Army (Group A)

Julie Obermeyer  )

Rav Kalsi  –  Sikh representative (Group A)

David Wand  –  UNISON (Group C)

Councillor Morris  )   Nottingham City Council representative (Group D)

Councillor Webster  ) 

Caroline White  –  Victoria Academy (Group C)

Presentation by Alison Rowe and Reverend Annabel Copeland

Kirsty Lacey, representative from Bluecoat Academy, gave a presentation on Chaplaincy, collective worship and religious education at Bluecoat Academy, highlighting the following points:

(a)  pupils at Bluecoat Academy are mainly Christian, but many other faiths are also represented, such as Hinduism and Islam;

(b)  every year 7 pupil was presented with a Bible on Founders’ Day;

(c)  the Academy holds a ‘Believe Day’ where pupils’ individual beliefs are shared and celebrated;

(d)  student-led worship is held weekly;

(e)  a multi-faith Holy Communion is held;

(f)  the end of term service is held at St Margaret’s church in Aspley and Saint Mary’s church in Wollaton;

(g)  each week, two acts of worship are observed within year groups. This ‘Believe Time’ can take the form of prayer or reflection;

(h)  local Christian youth workers mentor all students, and a Iman visits every Friday for mentoring;

(i)  the religious studies team covers Church of England, Islam, and Atheism. GCSE and A Level Religious Education include theology and feminism, and involve trips to Lourdes and Jerusalem;

(j)  an event called ‘Bluecoat Big Questions’ involves discussions between pupils and invited guests;

(k)  a good translation of the Koran is available in class;

(l)  there are minimal issues concerning parents objecting to the content of religious education.

Meeting held on 29 November 2017

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2017 were agreed as a correct record.

Matters arising

(a)  Determination requests

There were no determination requests.

(b)  Annual Report

Rav Kalsi, representative of Sikhism, will prepare the Annual Report and present it to the next meeting of Nottingham SACRE.

Heidi Shewell-Cooper, Local Authority Officer for SACRE, presented the Cardiff University booklet - Diversity of Religion and Belief, a guidance and resource pack for primary schools in England and Wales (a copy of which is appended to these minutes).

The NASACRE ‘RE - Practice, Policy and Powerful Knowledge - A conference for professionals in religious education’ event will be held over Saturday / Sunday, 13 / 14 October 2018 in Crewe. Visit http://www.nasacre.org.uk/sacre-news-and-events for further information.

Jane Lewis, of the Southwell and Nottingham Diocese, informed SACRE that twelve representatives attended the City Primary RE Event, which was led by Fiona Moss of RE Today. Discussions are ongoing regarding organising further RE events, including one on 19 July from 4pm to 5pm.

A questionnaire for RE Leaders and faith settings is appended to these minutes for feedback.

Actions

(i)  Debs Hunt offered to support website development with guidance for places of workshop regarding welcoming school visits;

(ii)  Robina Din offered to link with the inter-faith council re developing the resource for schools in accessing Places of Worship.

The next meeting of Nottingham SACRE will be on Thursday 15 November 2018 (4.00pm for a 4.30pm start) at:

Nottingham Liberal Synagogue

Lloyd Street

Sherwood

NG5 4BP

 https://www.nottinghamliberalsynagogue.com

1)  Members wished to extend their thanks to the staff at Bluecoat Academy for use of the school as a meeting venue, and for their informative presentation.

2)  Members would like to hear how schools are implementing the new syllabus, and to hear from RE Teachers on challenges.