Agenda item

Members considered the report on the implementation of the 2020 Durham Agreed Syllabus that provided details on the initial plan for the launch of the new Durham Agreed Syllabus; the response to the national lockdown; the digital blended learning programme and the costs associated with the production and launch of the Durham Agreed Syllabus (for copy of report, see file of Minutes).

The Chair indicated that the launch of the Durham Agreed Syllabus was never intended to be virtual.

The Education Durham Support and Provisional Lead Officer and C Robson, Religious Education Consultant were in attendance to present the report.

The Education Durham Support and Provisional Lead Officer indicated that it had been a challenge to move to a virtual launch event. The event was launched roughly around the same time as they had planned for the physical event, so that the agreed syllabus would be implemented from September 2020.

The model that was used for the virtual launch was something that had subsequently been used in two other local authorities.

Members were advised that the feedback on the launch was extremely positive but they did acknowledge that there were some challenges to overcome initially due to teachers not being familiar with Microsoft Teams and some school systems not being set up with the right permissions, but this was overcome.

The way the syllabus was launched was the same way that training had been delivered to schools since last April. They felt that since Easter 2020 they had maintained the same presence that they had before, because they switched all training to online.

They had received more requests for support and made available more training courses than they would have previously for Religious Education, at the request of schools.

The platform that was used for the launch was still available and could still be used to communicate with each other and access the materials used at the launch event.

In response to a question on the e-book of resources, C Robson advised members that this included support materials that had been put together for KS1 and KS2. Within the Agreed Syllabus there were exemplar long term plans and the e-book contained editable support materials for seventeen of the units. The e-book was also extended to other local authorities who purchased the agreed syllabus. Members could access the e-book by downloading and purchasing it, but Education Durham would share some of the resources with SACRE Members.

Members asked for a comparison of the attendance for the virtual launch as opposed to the physical launch of the Durham Agreed Syllabus. The Education Durham Support and Provisional Lead responded that attendance was slightly more for the virtual launch.

Members asked if they were able to access the recordings of the launch so that they could see what was presented on the day. The Education Durham Support and Provisional Lead Officer indicated that they may be able to provide some selections, as it was delivered over a period of time. There may be some copyright issues and, as some of the material was interactive and they were not recorded to be published, they would also need to check around GDPR.

It had been intended for SACRE Members to be involved in the physical launch. The Chair indicated that he had had some involvement in the launch of the Durham Agreed Syllabus. He provided some voice-overs for the virtual launch. As the materials used were still available some schools had been able to buy into the launch at a later date.

The Chair also indicated that if they had not taken the decision to carry out a virtual launch of the Durham Agreed Syllabus it would still not be launched today. He commended the Education Durham Support and Provisional Lead Officer and C Robson for their work, alongside the launch, that enabled teaching staff to work on the medium and long term plans to help them implement the Durham Agreed Syllabus from September.

The Chair then referred to the costs associated with the launch of the Durham Agreed Syllabus that were included in the report. It was a substantial amount of money and was an investment for Religious Education in Durham schools. Members commented that the costs associated with the Agreed Syllabus did not include the time spent by SACRE members over a period of two years.

In response to a question on the use of the Durham Agreed Syllabus with other local authorities the Education Durham Support and Provisional Lead advised Members that an Agreed Syllabus had been provided for North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Hartlepool and they had carried out a virtual launch for Hartlepool and South Tyneside.