The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) is scheduled to meet on Thursday 5 November 2026. The meeting's agenda includes discussions on the Education Durham report, the SACRE Annual Report, and a personal perspective on faith and community.

Education Durham Report to SACRE

The meeting is scheduled to consider a report from Education Durham, which will provide an update on various aspects of religious education (RE) provision. The report is expected to detail statistics on attendance at networks and courses, references to RE in Ofsted reports under the new framework, and an explanation of an anomaly in Key Stage 4 outcomes for 2025. It will also outline an opportunity for SACRE to lead a professional development day for schools. The report notes that attendance at professional learning networks and courses has been strong, with numbers ranging from 22 to 50 teachers. Work is ongoing to develop a new Ofsted toolkit framework, and RE is being reflected within the personal development and wellbeing sections of inspection reports, often showing an expected standard of understanding different faiths and cultures.

The report also addresses a previous query regarding Key Stage 4 'actual' and 'value-added' outcomes for 2025. An explanation is to be provided concerning a data mismatch due to a cohort of young people not undertaking SATs in year six during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in no Key Stage 2 data being available. This has led to 353 pupils having no value added at GCSE level.

An opportunity is highlighted for SACRE members to lead a 'Nobody Stands Nowhere' event, aimed at supporting teachers and subject leads in adopting a religion and worldviews approach. The report also mentions the progress of the local authority representative group, which serves as a regional network for local authority officers to share ideas and support, with a view to developing a signposting tool for materials and resources. This group is mindful of avoiding duplication with the work of RE Hubs and North East Religious Resources Centres.

Councillor Elizabeth Pears raised a point regarding two out of five Ofsted inspection judgements shared within the Education Durham Report to SACRE that were found to 'need attention'. She enquired about the support being provided to these schools to improve their performance. The report indicates that advisory teachers, networks, and courses are available to offer ongoing support to schools.

Nobody Stands Nowhere RE Conference

A significant item on the agenda is the 'Nobody Stands Nowhere' RE Conference. Plans are being developed for this event, which is designed for upper-primary-aged pupils. The conference aims to explore how personal worldviews shape individuals' lives and actions, and how these can sometimes limit understanding of others. Key learning opportunities are expected to include exploring what it means to have a worldview, meeting representatives from a range of religious and non-religious worldviews, and engaging in question-and-answer sessions. The event is intended to foster understanding and respect for difference, and to consider how pupils can promote respect and tolerance within their school contexts. Durham County Council has committed a budget to support this event.

SACRE Annual Report

The council is scheduled to consider the SACRE Annual Report for 2024-2025. This report is a statutory requirement for local authorities to publish and is submitted to NASACRE and the Department for Education (DfE). It provides an overview of SACRE's work during the academic year and references efforts to strengthen regional provision for RE. It is noted that an update on ongoing and completed work will be shared in the 2025-2026 report. The report also highlights that Durham SACRE had not submitted an annual report to the DfE since 2013, but future reports will be shared with members for review before submission.

My Faith & Community: A Personal Perspective

The meeting is also scheduled to include a presentation titled My Faith & Community: A Personal Perspective. This is intended to be a standing agenda item, welcoming individuals to share their ideas and recognise that not all attendees may represent a religious faith.

NASACRE Updates and Training

The agenda includes a discussion on updates from the National Association of SACRE (NASACRE). NASACRE represents SACREs nationally, supports RE, and provides resources and training for individual SACREs. Durham County Council pays an annual subscription for membership. NASACRE offers training for members, distributes a termly newsletter, and hosts an annual Conference and AGM. Councillor Elizabeth Pears is noted to have referred to training suitable for new members, specifically mentioning the annual training session 'So you've joined your local SACRE'. Details of upcoming NASACRE training are to be circulated by email, with recorded sessions also available online.

Agreed Syllabus Conference

The minutes of the Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC) meeting held on 5 March 2025 are to be confirmed. Discussions at that meeting indicated that the ASC was in an interim period, awaiting clarity on the future of RE within the National Curriculum. It was proposed that the ASC should be disbanded, with SACRE focusing on how best to support schools. Members agreed that the current Locally Agreed Syllabus would be extended as the statutory document, and the ASC would be paused until legal clarity on the National Curriculum position was obtained.

Other Topics

The meeting is also scheduled to cover the minutes of the previous SACRE meeting held on 4 June 2026, and to confirm the date of the next meeting.