Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

Welcome to the Lambeth SACRE website, which will in due course include the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, guidance on Collective Worship & Determinations, the annual SACRE report, and a link to other useful websites for those interested in the promotion of Religious Education in Lambeth.

What is Lambeth SACRE?

The Lambeth Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) is an LEA body which is responsible the character of RE in Lambeth schools. Its terms of reference are shown below. When convened as an agreed syllabus conference the representative groups on SACRE are also responsible for the development and dissemination of the Lambeth Agreed Syllabus.

Terms of Reference

The function of the Council is:

• to advise the Authority upon such matters connected with collective worship in county schools and religious education to be given in accordance with the agreed syllabus as the Authority may refer to the Council or as the council may see fit. This includes particular methods of teaching, the choice of materials and the provision of the training for teachers;
  
  
• to consider, following an application made by the headteacher of any community and foundation school after consultation with the governing body, whether it is appropriate for the requirement for broadly Christian worship to apply in the case of that school, or in the case of any class or description of pupils at that school (a determination);
  
  
• to assist the Authority with the consideration and disposal of any complaint about religious education or collective worship in a community and foundation school, within the framework of the LEA's agreed complaints procedure established under the terms of Section 23 of the 1988 Education Reform Act.
  
  
• to publish an annual report detailing any action that SACRE has taken and any advice it has given to the Authority

The Council may also require the Authority to review its current agreed syllabus, and the Authority must establish a conference for that purpose if a majority of the non-LEA groups on the Council requests such a review in writing. Conversely, the Authority may require the Council to work with it to review the existing provision for religious education in its schools on the basis of the current agreed syllabus. In addition, the Council is free to offer advice to the Authority and any matters related to its functions as it sees fit, and the Authority will give careful attention to advice offered.

The work of the Council is now being made more widely available through this website. We commend the work of SACRE to schools and others with an interest in RE with the expectation that it will play an important role in fostering respect for the diversity of faiths and cultures, which enrich the whole community in Lambeth.

Barry Goodwin

Chair of Lambeth SACRE