Religious education and SACRE

Religious Education (RE) in schools celebrate the diversity of religions and human experience.

Every maintained school in England must provide the basic curriculum which includes RE (although, it is not part of the National Curriculum).

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) is responsible for determining the RE syllabus for local authority run or funded schools in Waltham Forest.

The role of SACRE

By law, each local authority (LA) is required to establish a SACRE. The group's role is to:

Advise the LA on matters connected with RE in community schools and foundation schools which do not have a religious character
Ensure RE is taught according to the locally agreed syllabus
To advise the authority and its teachers on matters concerning collective worship
Determine on behalf of the LA whether it is appropriate to provide daily collective worship and if, according to the legal requirements, it needs to be modified for all or some of the pupils of the school
Produce and publish an annual report of its work

SACRE is made up of four groups:

Group A: Representatives of other faiths and religions, including Christian denominations (except Church of England)
Group B: The Church of England
Group C: Teachers' professional associations / teachers in the borough
Group D: Elected members from the majority and minority parties, a representative of the LA and Governors of local schools

Members of these groups are nominated by their respective organisations.