Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

Every Local Education Authority (LEA) is required by law to have a SACRE. Its origins go back to the Education Act of 1944, but the Education Reform Act 1988 and the Education Act 1996 strengthened its place in an LEA. The responsibilities of SACRE are:

  • to provide advice to the LEA on all aspects of its provision for Religious Education (RE) in its schools (this does not include Voluntary Aided Schools)
  • to decide whether the LEA's Agreed Syllabus for RE needs to be reviewed and to require the LEA does so
  • to provide advice to the LEA on Collective Worship in its schools (this does not include Voluntary Aided or Voluntary Controlled Schools)
  • to consider any requests from Head teachers to hold Collective Worship that is not of a broadly Christian character
  • to advise on matters relating to training for teachers in RE and Collective Worship
  • to publish an annual report of its work

How SACRE is structured

  1. representatives of Christian denominations and other religions and their denominations which reflect the principal religious traditions of the borough
  2. representatives of the Church of England
  3. representatives of the teaching profession
  4. representatives from the LEA, including Councillors and RE advisors

The LEA provides a clerk to the SACRE and a small budget for general running expenses, this budget rises in the years when a review of the syllabus is due. It is the duty of the SACRE to ensure that a revision of the locally agreed syllabus takes place every five years.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s SACRE meets three times a year

A SACRE is quorate (has enough members present) if at least one member of each committee is present. Each committee has equal voting rights, one vote per committee vote.

Schools are required by law to provide a daily act of collective worship which ‘shall be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character’, one of the duties of a SACRE is to offer advice to head teachers and governing bodies and disseminate good practice. A SACRE should also discuss any determinations (exceptions from broadly Christian collective worship). However, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has never had any applications for such a determination.

Agreed Syllabus

The Borough’s Agreed Syllabus and its related resources, as well as additional materials and information provide by members of the SACRE, can be found on the services2school site – the information is stored under resources. It is a public area and a password is not required to access the information. Please take a look at the Services2Schools website for more info.

Personnel

  • Chair of SACRE: Laurence Julius 
  • Clerk to SACRE: Natalija Sorokina
  • Local Authority representative: Cllr Roberto Weeden-Sanz
  • RE Adviser – to be confirmed
  • Local Authority Advisor: Jackie Saddington

If you want information about places of worship to which SACRE members have links or you want additional information about the work of the SACRE – please contact the clerk.

Further information and details about location and contact details of each known faith organisation in RBKC are available on the Faith Communities page, which is maintained by the Borough’s Community and Engagement team.

Meeting Dates for 2023/24

  • Autumn term – 5.30pm, Wednesday 27 September 2023 – Committee Room 5, Kensington Town Hall
  • Spring term – 5.30pm, Thursday 29 February 2024 – Committee Room 2, Kensington Town Hall
  • Summer term – 5.30pm, Thursday 6 June 2024 – Committee Room 5, Kensington Town Hall

Clerk contact details: [email protected]

Meetings of the SACRE are open to the public. 

If a member of the public wishes to speak at a meeting, they must contact the Clerk at least three working days before the meeting and indicate the item they wish to speak on. The Chair will determine whether and for how long the member of the public will be allowed to speak.

At present, where possible, effort will be made to arrange face to face meetings; however, virtual/hybrid meetings may also be a possibility. Please contact the clerk for further information about attendance.

Agendas and minutes 2023/24
Agendas and minutes 2022/23

 

 

Agendas and minutes 2021/22
   
Agendas and minutes 2020/21
 
Agendas and minutes 2018/19
Annual reports

 

 

SACRE Constitution and key documents
Other documents

Ramadan Advice

You can find the Ramadan Guidance on the services2schools page. Please note that this is advice only and every school must make their own decisions with regards to approaching Ramadan.

Last updated: 26 March 2024