Have your say
Related links

Standing Advisory Council on Religous Education (SACRE)

North Somerset Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) is made up of representatives from the council, local religious and teachers' organisations.

Every local education authority is required by law to establish a SACRE to advise on matters relating to religious education and collective worship.

Our mission statement is to provide high quality, informed service in the LA and to schools regarding religious education and collective worship in North Somerset.


We will try to ensure that schools are:

  • Aware of the value of religious education and collective worship, especially in contributing to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
  • Challenged to provide high quality collective worship and religious education which meets the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus (Awareness, Mystery and Value
  • Supported by SACRE in providing them with information, in-service training opportunities and professional advice.

SACRE conducts all its business through the LA.


Other SACRE activities planned for the next two years include: 
 

  • Gathering information about RE in schools
  • Providing support for RE teaching and management through in-service training, the website, conferences.
    Keeping schools updated through termly RE Newsletters
  • Encouraging specific support for RE teachers through the use of information and communications technology
    Supporting effective RE teaching and learning in the light of the national initiatives for PSHE and Citizenship by providing resources and exemplars
  • Developing schemes of work to support Awareness, Mystery and Value
  • Working with representatives of faith communities to provide guidance for schools.

North Somerset SACRE is made up of the following groups:
 
GROUP A : Christian and Other Religious Denominations
Chris Williamson - Free Churches Federal Council
Sylvia Best - Quaker Community
Kevin Magner - Roman Catholic Community
Sharda Panchal - Hindu Community
Jarnail Singh Sindhu - Sikh Community
Qari Majeed - Muslim Community
Vacancy - Buddhist Community
Vacancy - Jewish Community
Vacancy - Greek Orthodox Community
 
Group B : The Church of England
 
Pauline Dodds - Diocesan Schools Adviser
Vacancy
Naomi Sager - Diocese of Bath and Wells
 
Group C : Teachers' Associations
 
Vacancy - Secondary Heads Association
Vacancy - National Association of Headteachers
Pauline Davis - VOICE (formerly Professional Association of Teachers)
Jenny Judd - Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Emma Smith - National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers
Marianne McAleer - National Union of Teachers
Alison Russe - Headteachers Association of North Somerset
 
Group D : Local Education Authority
 
Councillor Howard Roberts
Councillor Tony Moulin - Chairman
Councillor Roz Willis
 
CO-OPTED
 
Jo Backus - Bath Spa University 
 
Local Authority Officers
 
Colin Diamond - Director of Children's and Young People's Services
Dave Francis - Associate Adviser for RE
Paul Jacobs - Head of School Improvement
Janet Wood - Clerk to the SACRE
 
 
HOW TO CONTACT SACRE
 
Write to:
 
Janet Wood
Clerk to SACRE
Democratic Services
PO Box 138,
Town Hall
Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1DZ
 
SACRE e-mail : janet.wood@n-somerset.gov.uk
 
To contact Dave Francis, the Associate Adviser for RE e-mail : mayfly@blueyonder.co.uk
 
or contact him through :
 
Carole Thorne
School Improvement Team
North Somerset Council
tel: 01275 884034
fax: 01275 884058
email: carole.thorne@n-somerset.gov.uk

SACRE Publications

SACRE produces three  newsletters per year.

Other Dimensions : How R.E. Can Contribute to PSHE & Citizenship at Key Stages 1 & 2

SACRE provides artefacts and other resources for schools.

These may be borrowed by schools from the following centres:
 
Christ Church CofE VC Primary School, Weston-super-Mare
(tel. 01934 620738)
 
Mary Elton Community Primary School, Clevedon
(tel. 01275 876432)
 
There are also resources available from the Diocesan Resource Centre, Wells (tel. 01749 670777).
 
PUBLICATIONS
As well as the Locally Agreed Syllabus for RE, North Somerset SACRE has produced guidance for schools on collective worship (Nourishing the Spirit) spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and how to make connections between RE, PSHE and Citizenship.
Nourishing the Spirit
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development
Other Dimensions - Primary
Awareness, Mystery and Value 2004
 
Awareness, Mystery and Value, 2004 : The Locally Agreed Syllabus For Religious Education In North Somerset
SACRE is required to review the Agreed RE Syllabus within five years of its implementation. A new LA syllabus has recently been approved and sent out to all North Somerset schools.
 
The new syllabus contains:
 
attainment targets that meet national guidance
 
advice for teaching RE in Reception classes
 
strategies for teaching RE to pupils with different special educational needs
 
ideas for extending learning for gifted and talented pupils
 
additional material for post-16 students
 
North Somerset SACRE also has its own agreed syllabus website offering further practical guidance for schools at:
http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/amv/

SACRE
AWARENESS, MYSTERY AND VALUE: REVISED EDITION 2004
Schools should by now have received two copies of the new edition of Awareness, Mystery and Value (AMV), the agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) in Somerset and North Somerset.
This replaces the 1998 edition. The programmes of study in this new edition remain in place, as does the structure of the syllabus, and there is additional guidance for schools on the Foundation Stage curriculum, on RE for pupils with learning difficulties, on RE for able pupils and on RE for post 16 students.
There is a guide for RE Co-ordinators and Heads of Department on how to use the new syllabus as well as additional notes on how to ensure that RE is truly a subject for pupils from all religious and cultural backgrounds.
Appendices from the old syllabus have not been reproduced; schools should retain these in their old AMV binder and slide in the new front cover and side strip.