The Lancashire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) met on Monday 17th November 2025 for their annual general meeting. The agenda included an update on SACRE membership, a review of their development plan, and a discussion of a statement from the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE) regarding curriculum and assessment. Councillors were also scheduled to discuss working towards achieving a Westhill or Culham St Gabriels Award.

NASACRE Statement - Report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review

The meeting included time to note, consider, and discuss the NASACRE statement on the Curriculum and Assessment Review report, Building a world-class curriculum for all.

The NASACRE statement welcomed the report and the attention given to Religious Education (RE) within the review. NASACRE was pleased the report recognised that:

Some SACREs support high-quality regional practice.

The report highlighted inconsistency in the quality of RE, as well as compliance at both primary and secondary levels. NASACRE noted the proposal for RE post-16 to become non-statutory for all pupils, seeing this as a pragmatic decision.

The review expressed a wish to see RE in the national curriculum¹, but recognised that this was not immediately achievable, and suggested a staged approach to reform. NASACRE looked forward to engaging with this process, which would create a curriculum written by RE experts, whilst maintaining the voice of religion and belief communities.

The review made the following recommendations to the government:

• Add RE to the national curriculum in due course, following a staged approach.
• Invite the sector to establish an independent task and finish group to develop a draft RE curriculum, building on the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC)'s National Content Standard.
• Consider the legislative framework for RE, including the implications of any changes to its status in the curriculum.
• Consider removing the statutory requirement for learners in school sixth forms to study RE.
• Review the non-statutory guidance for RE, which has not been updated since 2010.
• Conduct a formal consultation on the detailed content of a draft RE curriculum if consensus can be reached.
• Consult on proposed changes to the legislative framework.

SACRE Development Plan 2023-25 Evaluation

The Lancashire SACRE was scheduled to consider the updated SACRE Development Plan 2023-25, as set out in appendix A. The plan sets out SACRE's key priorities for improvement over the two years from 2023-2025, and progress is evaluated on an ongoing basis.

Key priorities include:

• Ensuring that the SACRE is effectively managed, carries out its statutory duties, and works in collaboration with Lancashire County Council and other stakeholders.
• Working with the local authority to improve the quality of teaching, learning, and assessment in Religious Education.
• Improving the provision of Collective Worship².

Westhill or Culham St Gabriels Award

The agenda included a discussion of working towards achieving a Westhill or Culham St Gabriels Award.

A Westhill/NASACRE Developing Diversity Award offers up to £12,000 for an innovative two-year project within Religious Education or Collective Worship. The purpose of the award is to enable a SACRE to develop and run an innovative project that it would not normally be able to finance, fostering collaboration between SACREs and local schools, and strengthening the provision and impact of RE and Collective Worship.

Culham St Gabriels also offers project grants, with a maximum grant award of £30,000. These grants support projects which align with their strategic objectives, including:

• Promoting positive public perception and understanding of religion and worldviews education.
• Influencing governments' policies in supporting a high-quality religion and worldviews education.
• Advocating for the importance of high-quality religion and worldviews education within the education world.
• Empowering the current and next generation of religion and worldviews education teachers and leaders.
• Fostering and nurturing collaborative partnerships within the religion and worldviews education community.

SACRE Membership Update

The Lancashire SACRE was scheduled to note a membership update. There were a number of vacancies to report:

• Four of the five positions for Islam remained vacant, with a response awaited from the Lancashire Council of Mosques.
• One position for Judaism was vacant following the resignation of Dr Sarah Carlick, with a response awaited from the British Board of Deputies.
• One position for the Lancashire Governance Association was vacant following the appointment of Mrs Kathleen Cooper as a representative of the Roman Catholic faith, with a response awaited from the Lancashire Governance Association.

Other items

The agenda also included:

• The election of a chair and vice-chair.
• The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2025.
• An introduction from the SACRE Support Officer, Afrasiab Anwar.
• An update on the Lancashire SACRE Annual Report 2024/25.
• A discussion on the future structure and remit of the Quality and Standards Sub-group.
• An update on the SACRE Newsletter Autumn 2025.
• A discussion of student voice.
• An update on Building Bridges Burnley from Afrasiab Anwar.
• A draft calendar of meetings for 2026.
• Members' news.
• Observers' contributions.
• Correspondence.