Religious Education and SACRE
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.
- Due to the current Covid circumstances the meeting for 2020 -2021 will be virtual and are scheduled to take place 5.00 -6.30 until further notice. Dates for the meeting 2020 -2021:
- Tuesday 20 October 2020
- Tuesday 1 December 2020
- Tuesday 23 March 2021
- Tuesday 29 June 2021.
- 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. SACRE meetings are open to observers to attend.
- 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
Membership
Group A: Christian denominations other than the Church of England and principal religions represented in Great Britain | |
Robert Allaway (Chair) | Baptist Churches |
Tonye Philemon | The Peace Alliance and Pentecostal Churches |
Sandra Kviat | Crouch End Chavurah |
Vacant | Local Mosque |
Breda Parsons | Baha’i Community |
Norman Bacrac | Humanist |
Ali Arslan | Alevi Community |
Maitripushpa Bois | Buddhist |
Mark Grosskopf | Tottenham Jewish Community Association |
Group B: Church of England | |
Vacant | TBC |
Sally Moore | Primary RE Advisor London Diocesan Board of Schools |
Eddie Griffiths | Lay CoE Member |
Group C: Teachers Associations, including representation from Academy Schools | |
Glenford Johnson Vice-Chair | Teacher, Hornsey School for Girls |
Bernie Sheridan | Teacher, Greig City Academy |
Group D: Local Authority, including elected Councillors | |
Fay Jackson | HEP Advisor |
Sheila Peacock | Cllr & Mayor |
Chenot Sakina | Cllr |
Alessandra Rossetti | Cllr |
James Chiriyankandath | Cllr |
Co-opted non-voting members | |
Jan McGuire | Independent RE Advisor to Haringey SACRE |
Jean Brown | LB Haringey |
Also in attendance | |
Maria Gabrielczyk | Clerk |
Meeting Agendas and Minutes
Minutes | 24 September 2019
Agenda | 3 December 2019
Minutes | 3 December 2019
Zoom Meeting | 24 March 2020
Zoom Meeting | 31 March 2020
Zoom Meeting | 21 April 2020
Zoom Meeting | 30 June 2020
Zoom Meeting | 20 October 2020
Zoom Meeting | 1 December 2020
Annual Report
Resources
Guidance for Academies and Free Schools | |
NASACRE Leaflet | |
RE and Collective Worship in Academies and Free Schools Q&A | |
Collective Worship | |
Collective Worship Information | |
NASACRE Collective Worship Leaflet | |
Guidance on Withdrawal | |
Withdrawal Exemplar Document | |
Role and Purpose | |
About SACREs | |
SACRE Members Handbook | |
SACREs and Religious Education |
Download the Determination Advice
Download Islam: the Concept of Jihad
PREVENT: Teaching controversial issues toolkit
Suffolk SACRE under the leadership of Jan McGuire 2016/17 (The Advisor to Haringey SACRE) and with contributions from many Suffolk teachers produced this suite of resources for working with schools on the PREVENT Agenda. The Toolkit provides a bank of exemplar resources that introduces a 6 step teaching methodology for the delivery of controversial and sensitive issues in the RE classroom. The resource won a special commendation and National Accord Award 2017. The Teaching Controversial Issues Toolkit was adopted by the UN in 2018. All schools have free access to these materials.
https://www.suffolklearning.co.uk/leadership-staff-development/learning-teaching/religious-education/sacre/prevent
Council of Europe (2015). Living with controversy: Teaching controversial issues through education for democratic citizenship and human rights (EDC/HRE). Training pack for teachers. Available at: https://rm.coe.int/16806948b6
Resources
Teaching Controversial Issues Toolkit
Death and Coping with Bereavement: Free Booklets
Westhill NESACRE Bridging Diversity: SACRE Servicing Officers Report 29th June 2019
Worldviews and Religious Education Training and Curriculum Support
Specific support to:
- NQTs
- Teachers
- RE subject leads
- Deputy Headteachers
- Headteachers
- Governing Bodies
- Department audits
- Curriculum action planning
- REQM pre and post Ofsted support
Please contact Jan McGuire or Fay Jackson at the Haringey Education Partnership – 020 3967 5090.