Agenda item

The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education considered a report of S Blakeman, Senior Advisor for Education Durham that provided a summary of the professional development and networking opportunities available to RE leaders and teachers, observations from Ofsted inspections and training opportunities that had been shared with the advisory team. The report also provided details of the Farmington Scholarship for leaders and teachers (for copy of report, see file of minutes).

S Blakeman, Senior Advisor for Education Durham was in attendance to present the report and answer any questions from Members.

Members advised that C Robson had been Head of RE at Framwellgate Comprehensive School and not Durham Johnston Comprehensive School as indicated in the report.

Canon L Burton raised concerns around the attendance at RE subject leader network meetings and the future of these networks.

The Senior Advisor for Education Durham indicated that low attendance at secondary network meetings were across all subjects and understood Members concerns and wanted to continue offering the opportunities to attend networks.

The Chair indicated that Academies have their own networks and commented that it was difficult for colleagues to get time out from teaching.

Members discussed the network meetings that were held across other authorities, in particular how often they were held and if they were held in person or virtually and the topics covered.

Resolved: That the contents of the report be noted.