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Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

SACRE stands for Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education. Following the 1988 Education Act, when religious education was confirmed as a compulsary part of the curriculum, it became a statutory requirement for every Local Education Authority (LEA) to appoint a SACRE.

Visit the SACRE resources page for teaching resources and syllabus information.

About SACRE

The role and function of SACRE

The SACRE has a statutory duty:

  • to advise Warwickshire County Council upon matters connected with religious worship in community schools and in foundation schools which do not have a religious character. Religious education in these schools is to be given in accordance with the Agreed Syllabus;
  • to advise Warwickshire County Council on teaching methods, choice of materials and teacher training in religious education and collective worship;
  • to produce an annual report;
  • to require Warwickshire County Council to review the locally agreed syllabus for religious education at least every five years.

In addition, the SACRE can consider applications made by a headteacher to release some or all of the pupils in a particular school from the requirement for collective worship to be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character. This is called a determination.

The constitution of Warwickshire SACRE (pdf, 138Kb) provides further information on the way SACRE is organised in order to carry out it's statutory duties.

SACRE Membership

SACRE is made up of four groups of members representing:

  • Christian denominations other than the Church of England, and other faith groups that appropriately reflect the principal religious traditions of the area. Currently, SACRE has representatives from the religious backgrounds of Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity (Roman Catholic, Non-Conformist, Quaker), Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism;
  • the Church of England (Christianity);
  • Teachers' Associations;
  • Warwickshire County Council.

In addition, members are co-opted to the group to include people with particular expertise in the areas of religious education or to represent other groups (Humanism, Paganism and Universities).

Current SACRE membership (pdf, 115Kb) - The current membership meet on a termly basis.

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Annual report

We produce a report each year in line with statutory requirements. The report includes details about our work in the previous academic year, clarification of our role and function, and statistics relevant to RE in Warwickshire.

Due to the difficult financial situation facing the Local Authority at the present time, we have decided to publish the latest report in electronic format only. All Warwickshire schools and members of the County Council will be alerted to the report which is available to download below.

In the past, reports have also been sent to the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), however this is no longer the case as QCDA is now closing as part of the Government's education reforms. We await guidance from The National Association of SACREs (NASACRE) on where to send reports in future.

Latest report:

SACRE Annual Report 2009/10 (pdf, 337Kb)

Reports from previous years:

SACRE Annual Report 2008/09 (pdf, 446Kb)

SACRE Annual Report 2007/08 (pdf, 418Kb)

SACRE Annual Report 2006/07 (pdf, 113Kb)

SACRE Annual Report 2005/06 (pdf, 457Kb)

SACRE Annual Report 2004/05 (pdf, 319Kb)

SACRE Annual Report 2003/04 (pdf, 431Kb)

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Collective worship

What is meant by ‘worship’?

It is envisaged that pupils should be able to respond in some way to the opportunity offered to them in collective worship. This means that the worship should be distinct from ordinary school activities in that it reflects aspects of life that are mysterious, it will be concerned with experiences that stretch into what is not totally understood and beliefs about life that are still being thought through. Therefore, references to ultimate power and divine being should be sensitive to the fact that participants will be at many different stages in their own belief and commitments.

How does collective worship differ from Religious Education?

Collective worship is the responsibility of the headteacher and should aim to provide an opportunity for worship, reflection and the exploration of belief. Ideally it should draw on the whole of the curriculum and should celebrate all aspects of life in school.

Its scope is not limited to the study of religion in relation to life experiences, which is the province of Religious Education (RE). RE must follow the Locally Agreed Syllabus and should aim to develop pupils’ knowledge, understanding and awareness of religion.

What is meant by “broadly Christian” worship?

The Education Reform Act 1988 stipulates that in County schools, most acts of collective worship in any school term must be “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”. Schools are advised to keep records of the content of collective worship, indicating which acts of worship were of a broadly Christian character.

Advice from the DfES suggests that to meet the “broadly Christian” requirement, collective worship should:

  • contain some elements that relate specifically to the traditions of Christian belief and which accord a special status to Jesus Christ

should not:

  • exclude or alienate pupils who do not come from Christian families
  • be denominational or sectarian

may:

  • contain non-Christian elements and include a minority of acts of worship within a term which do not fit this broadly Christian base
  • include elements common to Christianity and one or more other religions.

Who may withdraw from collective worship?

A parent’s right to withdraw his/her child from part or all of the act of collective worship is confirmed in the Education Reform Act 1988. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 also allows sixth form students to withdraw themselves from the act of collective worship at their school.

SACRE guidelines on collective worship (pdf, 120Kb)

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Newsletters

We publish a termly newsletter updating schools on national and local developments in Religious Education and Collective Worship and our work. 

Warwickshire SACRE Newsletter - Issue 4, November 2011 (pdf, 412kb)

Previous newlsetters:

Warwickshire SACRE Newsletter - Issue 3, July 2011 (pdf, 379kb)

Warwickshire SACRE Newsletter - Issue 2, April 2011 (pdf, 1075kb)

Warwickshire SACRE Newsletter - Issue 1, November 2010 (pdf, 1417kb)

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Youth SACRE

The aim of the Youth SACRE initiative is to:

  • enhance the knowledge and understanding of young people of the beliefs, practices and traditions of different faith groups in Warwickshire;
  • contribute to the development of social cohesion between young people of different faiths in Warwickshire;
  • support the development of RE in Warwickshire schools through the production of documentary resources for schools within the county;
  • support Citizenship through RE;
  • develop young people's understanding of and respect for the democratic process in this country.

SACRE Competition

We were recently awarded a grant from the NASACRE/Westhill Awards (NASACRE is the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education) to fund a project that encourages schools within the county to engage young people with diversity, as well as to contribute to the national RE Celebration that will be taking place in March 2011. As a result, we have launched a competition for all schools in the county to submit details of an event that has helped to develop links with the wider community.

SACRE competition prize winners 2009 (pdf, 56Kb)

Youth SACRE 2009

'The Credit Crunch: is God Bothered?'

Youth SACRE 2009 was held on Friday 3rd July 2009 at Higham Lane School, A Business and Enterprise College. Year 8 students from Secondary Schools across Warwickshire came to the event which gave students the opportunity to explore a variety of religious and secular perspectives on the theme of wealth, poverty and inequality.

Representatives from a variety of different religions and traditions ran workshop sessions giving students an overview of their faith or tradition and also their views on wealth and poverty. Students then had the opportunity to respond creatively to the different issues they had discussed in their workshops and produced some very imaginative presentations that were shared with the other groups at the end of the day.

At each Youth SACRE event pupils and teachers are asked to complete evaluation forms which are looked at and taken into consideration when planning the next event. You can find a full evaluation of Youth SACRE 2009 by clicking on the link below.

Youth SACRE 2009 evaluation (pdf, 23Kb)

Youth SACRE 2008

The Youth SACRE event was held on Friday 11th July 2008 at Kineton High School. Around 100 Year 8 pupils from Bilton School, Harris School, Higham Lane School, Lawrence Sheriff School, Myton School, King Edward VI School, Southam College and Kineton High School attended.

Members of different faith groups led interactive workshops for students, each focusing on a particular aspect of their own religion. Students participated in various activities, such as dance, music, art, ICT and discussions about the new RE Syllabus.

At the end of the day, each group prepared a performance or presentation so they could share with the other groups what they had learnt during their workshops. The overall feedback from the event was very positive, both from students and teachers and it is hoped that this success will continue with Youth SACRE 2009.

Youth SACRE 2008 evaluation (pdf, 32Kb)

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Meeting dates and minutes

We hold one meeting in every term of the school year. To reflect our various partnerships, we meet in either a school, a local place of worship or in County Council offices. Details of SACRE meetings, including information about the issues discussed each term, are available in the Annual Report

2011/12 meeting dates

  • Spring - Wed 7 March 2012. 6.30pm - 8.30pm, venue TBC
  • Summer - Wed 13 June 2012. 6.30pm - 8.30pm, venue TBC

Archive of minutes

Minutes 16 March 2011 (pdf, 128Kb)

Minutes 6 Octover 2010 (pdf, 265Kb)

Minutes 9 June 2010 (pdf, 266Kb)

Minutes 10 March 2010 (pdf, 143Kb)

Minutes 14 October 2009 (pdf, 33Kb)

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Faith communities

The directory of faith communities can be found on the Community Information Database (CID).

Community Information Database > religion

If you wish to add or update details about your faith community please click on the link above, select 'browse by general subjects' and then click 'Add Organisation' .

Information on national faith organisations is available at The RE Directory

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