Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE)
This section contains the following information about the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE):
Purpose
a) The law states that religious education (RE) must be taught in all schools. However, RE is not part of the National Curriculum, it is a local responsibility.
b) Every Local Education Authority (LEA) is required by section 390 of the Education Act 1996 to have a SACRE.
Composition
a) SACRE is required to comprise four groups in order to bring a wide range of interests and talents to its work and to reflect local communities:
(i) Group A: faiths and beliefs representative of the local communities, including Christian denominations other than Church of England;
(ii) Group B: representatives of the Church of England;
(iii) Group C: representatives of the teaching profession;
(iv) Group D: representatives from the LEA, including councillors and RE advisors.
b) Full Council is responsible for appointing all members of SACRE.
c) In addition, the LEA must:
(i) Establish an occasional body called an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC) to produce and recommend to the LEA an agreed syllabus for RE for adoption by the Council. This may have common membership with the SACRE but is a separate entity and must therefore be separately convened;
(ii) Institute a review of its agreed syllabus within five years of the last review, and subsequently every five years after the completion of each further review;
(iii) Appoint committee members represented on the ASC;
(iv) Ensure that the composition of Group A on a SACRE and Committee A on an ASC is broadly representative of the proportionate strengths of the denominations and religions in the area. The statutory provisions recognise that there will be occasions when the interest of efficiency overrides the requirement for directly proportionate representation; and
(v) Take all reasonable steps when appointing a person to be a member of a group on a SACRE or a committee of an ASC to represent any religion, denomination or association, to ensure the person appointed is representative of the religion, denomination or associations in question.
Terms of Reference
a) To provide advice to the LEA on all aspects of its provision for RE in its schools (not including Voluntary Aided Schools), including methods of teaching, the choice of materials, and the provision of training for teachers.
b) To advise the LEA on its agreed syllabus for RE and require it to review it.
c) To provide advice to the LEA on collective worship in its schools (not including Voluntary Aided or Voluntary Controlled Schools).
d) To consider requests from head teachers to hold collective worship that is not of a broadly Christian character.
e) To consider complaints assigned to it by the LEA concerning collective worship or RE.
f) To publish an annual report on its proceedings and those of its representative groups, to specify any matters on which the SACRE has given advice to the LEA and the reasons for offering the advice.