What is SACRE?

SACRE stands for Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education. They were first introduced on a voluntary basis in the Education Act of 1944. The 1988 Education Act, (sections 11-13) however made it the statutory duty of each Local Authority (LA) to establish its own SACRE. Their position was further consolidated by the 1996 Education Act (Chapter 56).

Functions of SACRE:

• To advise the LA on matters relating to Collective Worship (CW) across local schools.
• To advise the LA on the religious education (RE) to be given in accordance with their Agreed Syllabus (AS) www.awarenessmysteryvalue.org

To enable SACRE to deliver these functions the SACRE must:

• Require the LA to review its agreed syllabus – the representative groups (other than the LA representatives) may at any time ask for a review of the syllabus. Following this request, the LA must convene a conference to reconsider the agreed syllabus.
• Offer and provide ways of supporting schools in the delivery of the agreed syllabus and monitoring the delivery.
• Monitor inspection reports on RE, CW and SMSC (spiritual, moral, social and cultural development).
• Consider applications for determinations from Head teachers. This is an application requesting that the school be released from the requirements for CW to be of a mainly Christian character developing and maintaining links with local and national faith communities.
• Develop and maintain links with local and national faith communities.
• Produce an annual report of its work.

Who is on SACRE?

SACRE is required by law to be made up of four groups in order to bring a wide range of interests and talents to its work and to reflect local communities, the categories are:

• Group A: faiths and beliefs representative of the local communities, including Christian denominations other than Church of England.
• Group B: the Church of England.
• Group C: teachers’ professional associations.
• Group D: elected member of the Council and Children’s Services representatives.

The Haringey SACRE is a community of teachers, Haringey-based faith leaders and representatives, and members of the Local Authority. We also have a number of co-opted members who sit outside of these categories.

Through the SACRE, local communities and teachers have the opportunity to influence directly what pupils learn in RE.

Meetings and Responsibilities for the Representative.

• Meetings are held four times a year on agreed dates from 5.00pm -7.00pm at the Haringey Education Partnership office, Hornsey School for Girls, Inderwick Road, N8 9JF. On occasions they have and will take place in a range of faith venues and schools. Some members may attend special meetings of working parties or projects undertaken by SACRE. Members who cannot attend a meeting for any reason are required to send a deputy and notify the clerk 3 days before the meeting of their nominated replacement.
• Contribute to meetings by sharing their enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise as a representative of their nominated group, sensitively and respectfully.
• Champion the work of SACRE to support RE and related areas of work on Collective Worship, Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education (SMSC) more widely across appropriate networks. We welcome contact and visits from interested individuals or representatives of organisations to our meetings.

We recognise that SACRE is a body composed of voluntary members who give up their time willingly to support Religious Education and we thank you for your support.

Find out more about SACRE meetings, members and contact details via our dedicated clerk [email protected]

Haringey SACRE is a member of the National Association of the Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE) www.nasacre.org.uk