Agenda item

See appendices 1 & 2

The Salvation Army and Methodist positions were still vacant as no replies had been received to emails sent.

It was also noted that Kirsty Mabbot had left the area and therefore a replacement was required for Presbyterian Church of Wales/United Reformed Church.

Martin Dacey would be stepping down as the LEA representative and his place had been taken by Nerys Wherry who was welcomed to the meeting.

A request to be a full member of Newport SACRE had been received from Clare James, a member of Humanists UK.  This would involve a change to the Constitution in order to admit a group not specified in the current Constitution.  Therefore this request required SACRE to write a report to the Local Authority recommending that a Humanist representative secure a position on Committee A.

Previously Humanists could not be considered for a position on Committee A but only as a co-opted member and co-opted members had not previously been permitted on Newport SACRE. WASACRE had previously asked Welsh Government for a definitive answer as to the membership of SACRE and guidance had recently been received from the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams.  Welsh Government (WG) considered that to ensure compatibility with the Human Rights Act 1998 Humanists should be considered for a position on Committee A of SACRE although the final decision would rest with the Local Authority.

SACRE debated the issue of whether Humanists should be represented on Newport SACRE.

Several questions were raised in relation to the request:

a.           How many Humanist representatives there were in the Newport area.

b.           Whether it was a requirement of SACRE members to attend acts of collective worship which may take place when SACRE visit schools for their meetings. 

c.           Whether other SACRE in Wales had Humanist representation and were they full or co-opted members.

In answer to these questions VT confirmed:

a.      A letter from the person requesting membership was read out that outlined there were approximately 3000 Humanists in Wales but this number only related to those who contributed to campaigning work done by Humanists UK. Many humanists did not feel the need to identify themselves as such by taking out a paid membership.

b.      All SACRE new members would receive a copy of So you are joining your local SACRE booklet and she suggested that all members current and future receive an induction session from the new Consultant in the next academic year outlining the requirements, duties and expectations of members.

c.       There are other SACREs in Wales with Humanist members, currently as co-opted representatives and some of those SACREs were moving to give full Committee A status as a result of the letter from the Cabinet Secretary, Kirsty Williams. VT stated that in her experience she had found input from Humanists on SACREs very helpful on occasions and delivered in a spirit of collaboration. 

The matter was then voted upon by the three groups, local authority representatives, faith representatives and teacher representatives.

The vote was carried to recommend that a place on SACRE be allocated to a Humanist representative.

There were some comments which were to be recorded:

1.           Whilst members could not go against legislation there was concern as to whether a humanist would be willing to witness acts of collective worship etc at schools. This could be checked with the WASACRE Humanist observer, Kathy Riddick.

2.           As a representative of residents of Newport Cllr W wishedto record that she represented all members of the public, irrespective of their beliefs.

3.           It was important to acknowledge and respect all beliefs which is what SACRE was all about and it was suggested that a presentation be made at the next meeting to remind members of the purpose of SACRE.

4.           It was pointed out that in the revised GCSE specification it is required for pupils to look at secular as well as religious views and this would be included in some parts of the exam paper and therefore a Humanist perspective on SACRE could prove helpful. .

VT recognised that there had been some discussion and dissent to the recommendation but that the correct voting procedure had been followed and a recommendation would be made to Council.

Whilst on the subject of membership VT queried whether members wanted to permit Co-opted members (who would not have voting rights) onto Newport SACRE.  Whilst there was currently no request for this it was recognised that there might be occasion when someone who did not qualify as an LEA rep, faith rep or teacher rep might be invited to join as they possessed some particular expertise in RE.  As there was presently no such request it was decided remain the status quo until such an occasion arises.

Agreed:

VT to prepare an outline report for the Local Authority confirming SACRE’s recommendation that the membership of Newport SACRE be increased buy one member to include a Humanist representative.

That a presentation be made at the Autumn SACRE meeting on the purpose of SACRE and the roles and responsibilities of SACRE members.