Agenda item

·        To present the SACRE’s revised Action Plan

·        To present a copy of correspondence sent to the WJEC regarding the provision of INSET arrangements and guidance in relation to the new GCSE Course and the availability of Welsh medium resources for the new A Level course. (Copy to follow)

•           The Primary Education Officer confirmed that he had received a response from the Diocese of Bangor to correspondence sent at the request of the SACRE regarding the Church’s use of terminology in its Section 50 inspection report in relation to Ysgol Llangaffo. The Church’s Director of Education for the Bangor Diocese had explained that the Church in Wales has its own framework for inspections carried out under Section 50 of the 2005 Education Act and that this sets out the expectations and process in relation to the conduct of those inspections.

•           The GwE Challenge Advisor provided the SACRE with a revised copy of the  Action Plan based on its 2014/15 Annual Report and the matters which have arisen during 2015/16 and she said that she would elaborate on the contents of the Plan under item 7 on the agenda under which she would be providing the SACRE with an update on this and other relevant developments.

•           With regard to RE provision and planning at Ysgol Garreglefn which the SACRE had requested that the GwE Challenge Advisor keep an oversight of, the Officer said that she had visited Ysgol Garreglefn to scrutinise Religious Education provision and had made recommendations thereon. As there had been changes in the staffing at Ysgol Garreglefn she intended to re-visit Religious Education provision at the school.

•           The Chair confirmed that the Head teacher of Ysgol y Bont had accepted the invitation to attend a meeting of the SACRE to give a presentation on the school’s RE provision but that the details of his attendance remain to be confirmed.

•           The Primary Education Officer confirmed that the letter which the SACRE requested be sent to the WJEC regarding the provision of INSET arrangements for the new GCSE course and the availability of Welsh medium resources for the new A Level course had been drafted but might require adapting.

Mrs Mefys Edwards, Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones informed the SACRE that the new A Level syllabus commences in September, 2016 and that she had learnt informally that materials for the new specification are unlikely to be ready until the end of October and that there is no confirmation regarding the availability of Welsh medium materials. Training provision for teachers for both  the new GCSE (commencing in September, 2017) and A Level Course syllabus has been made but attending the A Level course training in October entails a cost in the region of £200 for one member of staff  and in practice means that schools will incur a further £250 cost to engage a supply teacher. There is concern that many schools will find this unaffordable. Mrs Mefys Edwards also reported that GwE has introduced a system of “Lead Practitioners” which means that for every subject there will be 3 Lead Practitioners – one for each Hub in Gwynedd/ Anglesey, Conwy/Denbigh and Flint/Wrexham. In addition, one of the three has been appointed as Lead Regional Practitioner who will be responsible for co-ordinating support across the region. Mrs Edwards said that she would be taking on the role of Lead Regional Practitioner for Religious Education and Lead Practitioner for  Gwynedd and Anglesey and that she would be in contact with the GwE Challenge Advisor and would be in a position to update the SACRE on developments.

The SACRE was agreed that the letter which it had proposed at the last meeting be sent to the WJEC be revised to address the concerns regarding the cost to schools of releasing RE teachers to attend training for the new A Level course syllabus in terms of both meeting the cost of the course itself and the cost of providing cover for the absent teacher in the classroom.

ACTION ENSUING: Primary Education Officer in consultation with the Secondary Head teacher/teacher representatives on the SACRE to re-draft the letter to the WJEC to also include representations regarding the cost of the teacher training for the new A Level course syllabus as well as the need for Welsh medium materials to be made available in time for the commencement of the course.