NASACRE
c/o Religious Education Council of England and Wales, Northgate House, North Gate, New Basford, Nottingham, NG7 7BQ
c/o Religious Education Council of England and Wales, Northgate House, North Gate, New Basford, Nottingham, NG7 7BQ
In March 1993, SACRE representatives met to set up and formally constitute a National Association of SACREs. This followed the implementation of the Education Reform Act [ERA 1988] and the statutory powers and responsibilities now entrusted to the local SACREs.
The new National Association (NASACRE) was launched in 1993 in the House of Lords in the presence of religious leaders and the then Minister of State for Education, Baroness Blatch.
For the launch, the National Association published its aims and has subsequently developed a mission statement. These continue to provide the focus for NASACRE’s programmes and activities.
NASACRE has a constitution, which recognises the primary powers of affiliated SACREs. To work on behalf of all SACREs, NASACRE has an Executive Committee comprising:
Honorary officers – Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary, Treasurer – elected at the AGM for a 2 year term
8 Executive members – nominated by SACREs and elected at the AGM for a 3 year term
Up to 3 co-opted members.
Your Executive meets once or twice a term, usually in London. Previous Minutes may be viewed here.
The National Association is a non-profit making organisation which is financed by affiliation fees from SACREs and subscriptions to public meetings. It aims to raise sufficient monies to pay for speakers and meeting places and to meet its own, internal, running costs.
The Executive Committee comprises the four elected honorary officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary, and up to eight others, elected by member SACREs at the annual meeting. The Executive has the power to co-opt up to 3 additional people. Also in attendance is the immediate past Chair, acting as Executive Assistant.
The Executive is responsible for policy and planning of events and activities in fulfilment of the aims of the association, meeting together at least once a term to plan events and discuss policy and operational issues as they arise.
What does the Executive Committee do on behalf of its members?
Members of the Executive Committee for the year 2023-24 are:
Linda is a member of Cornwall SACRE and has she has been Chair of NASACRE since 2020 having rejoined the Executive Committee in 2018. She is an education consultant, working primarily in teacher professional development networks, and managing the RE Quality Mark for the RE Council of England and Wales.
David gained an M.Ed. from the University of Manchester and served as an innovative and creative teacher for over 33 years in Lancashire and Salford. The latter 20 years of David’s career was in Head of RE and Community Links roles in 2 large Salford City High Schools. Post-retirement, David joined Salford SACRE in 2016 representing his professional association. David became Chair of Salford SACRE in 2021 and is also acting Chair for Wigan SACRE. David is a member of the Greater Manchester Belief and Faith Forum.
Sue has been Secretary to NASACRE since 2014. She is an independent education consultant in the East Riding of Yorkshire where she advises the SACRE. Sue has previously worked in a variety of roles in the LA, the diocese and at Hull University. She is an assessor for the REQM and chairs a local Church-School Trust. She enjoys weaving into RE aspects of her personal passion for the environment, whenever she can.
Paul is currently Programme Lead for Edge Hill University’s three year Undergraduate QTS programme (English, maths and RE), where he has worked as a Senior Lecturer in RE since 2006. He has been a member of Halton SACRE since 2001 and was chair of NASACRE from 2016-2020. He is a Trustee of the IFN, an REC Board member and sits on the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Education. His research has been in the fields of RE Policy and Practice, Collective Worship and Spirituality. He has also published work on mentoring and teacher development.
After completing a degree in French and German, Anne trained as a secondary school modern languages teacher. With the introduction of languages to primary schools in 2005, Anne retrained for the primary sector, and it was there that she encountered RE. In 2014 she began work as RE adviser to the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education, offering support and training in over 200 schools, as well as in various LAs and for teaching alliances. This role also led to her involvement in SACREs and the work of NASACRE. Anne is part of the communications team for NASACRE.
Bill is currently adviser to three SACREs and is visiting lecturer for Primary RE ITE at the University of Hertfordshire. He taught and led RE in 5 secondary schools and was the School Improvement Adviser for RE and ‘other things’ in Buckinghamshire from 1999 – 2014, since when he has been an independent consultant. A previous Chair of NASACRE and the Association of RE Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants, Bill’s enthusiasm for the subject lies in its heady mixture of academic rigour and profound personal significance.
I am currently the Curriculum Leader for Religious Education at a Catholic school in St Helens. I have been teaching for 20 years, with over 10 as Curriculum Leader. I am also the Chair of St Helens SACRE. I have completed both stages of the Culham St Gabriel Leadership programme, which has allowed me to develop a great understanding of RE outside of a faith school and at a national level.
Following a degree in English & Theology from Southampton University, Denise taught in Middle, Junior and Secondary schools in Buckinghamshire & Hillingdon. She has since worked as an Adviser & Inspector with SACREs in many parts of London and currently supports the Lewisham SACRE as Lewisham’s part time School Improvement Officer for community cohesion and RE. She has previously served on the REC as a Board member, chairing the Celebrating RE National Festival in 2011. Having served on NASACRE as Chair in the past, Denise is currently on the executive, working with special interest in SACRE training, communications and the SACRE Briefings.
Sheila is a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews where she served for 6 years as a Vice President. She now leads the Board’s UK Education working group which focuses on outreach Judaism education to non-Jewish school children. She is a member of Cumbria SACRE and speaks in schools about her faith and way of life. She is on the development sub-group on the NASACRE executive, looking to improve the effectiveness of all SACREs in these uncertain times when RE is being challenged as a fundamental core curriculum subject.
Sukaina Manji is currently Chair of Peterborough SACRE. By profession she is a Secondary RE teacher. On the NASACRE Executive, Sukaina is taking an active role within the development sub-group and also supporting conference organisation. She also manages the NASACRE Twitter account.
Since 1995 Claire has been a member of Essex, Redbridge, Newham, Barking & Dagenham SACREs in a variety of roles. Claire currently works in Newham, Barking & Dagenham, as the SACRE RE and Collective Worship consultant, leading professional development around RE / Religion and Worldviews for teachers in schools from EYFS to Key Stage 5. On the NASACRE Executive, Claire is part of the conference team and leads the online training programme.
Michael is one of the Church of England representatives on Group B of Staffordshire SACRE, and its elected Chair since about 2001. He is a retired priest and educationist, and a Prebendary (Emeritus) of Lichfield Cathedral.
His earlier posts include Head of Religious Studies and Senior Lecturer in a teacher training college, and Director of Education for Lichfield Diocese; he was an Open University tutor for 17 years on The Religious Quest course.
Married with one son, one daughter, and one son-in-law. Treasurer of NASACRE since its beginning, he currently also represents NASACRE on the Inter Faith Network (UK), and convenes the Awards Panel for SACRE Projects for Young People (the Westhill/NASACRE Awards).
The name of the Association shall be the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE).
NASACRE’s Mission Statement shall be:
❖ NASACRE exists to strengthen local SACREs and to support them in carrying out their statutory duties and responsibilities.
❖ NASACRE represents and celebrates SACREs at a strategic national level.
3.1 Every SACRE in England is affiliated to NASACRE and each SACRE shall be invited to subscribe to the Association, membership being renewable annually on payment of an annual subscription. These subscribed member SACREs constitute the Council.
3.2 The Council shall meet at least once annually; this meeting shall be known as the Annual General Meeting (AGM). It will be deemed to be quorate when one quarter of subscribed SACREs is represented.
3.3 Each subscribed SACRE shall be entitled to send any number of representatives to the meetings of the Council, but on any matter on which the Council takes a vote, subscribed SACREs shall each be entitled to cast one vote only.
3.4 The Council shall be responsible for review and amendment of the Constitution, as appropriate.
3.5 A majority of one half plus one of the Council shall be necessary for any amendment to the Constitution.
Honorary Officers shall be nominated by a SACRE and must be an officer to, or a member or co-opted member of, that SACRE.
These shall be elected for a period of two years and shall comprise:
4.1 The Chair
4.2 The Vice Chair
4.3 The Assistant to the Chair
4.4 The Secretary
4.5 The Treasurer
The Vice Chair / Chair / Assistant to the Chair is a 6 year term of office with 2 years in each Officer role, the Vice Chair being elected to automatically move into the next role after two years. At any one time, 3 officers will be on the Executive at different stages of these roles. If at any time, one of these Officers is unable to continue, the Executive may appoint a temporary substitute from the other two post holders until the next AGM. The Exec may extend period of service on the Committee to ensure posts are filled.
An Honorary Officer may relinquish their office at any time. If an Honorary Officer is absent from three consecutive Committee meetings they shall be deemed to have relinquished their office and would need to seek re-election at the next Council AGM if they so desired.
Exec members shall be nominated by a SACRE and must be an officer to, or a member or co-opted member of, that SACRE. Similarly, a person co-opted by the Exec would normally be an officer to a SACRE or a member of a SACRE, but in some cases their specific area of expertise might be deemed more significant than the aforementioned criteria. Exec members are elected to serve for 3 years.
The Exec comprises the elected Honorary Officers together with no more than eight other members elected by the Council. The Exec has the power to co-opt up to three additional members. The Exec shall include the following roles:
5.1 Communications Officers who shall have oversight of the Association’s communications strategy and communications, including the SACRE Briefings sent to SACREs
5.2 Conference Organisers who shall have oversight of the Annual Conference in partnership with the Secretary and the Treasurer
5.3 Development Officers who shall oversee the production of a Development Plan and report to the Exec and Council on its progress
With the agreement of the Exec, the roles set out in 5.1 – 5.4 may be shared between members of the Exec. Members of the Exec shall serve for a period of three years, after which time they must seek re-election by the Council at the AGM. Normally, members of the Exec should not serve more than six years consecutively. Co-opted members shall normally serve for two years when a review by the Exec will take place; they may serve as a co-opted member for up to six years consecutively.
If a member of the Exec misses three consecutive meetings, they may be deemed to have left the Committee.
The Exec shall be responsible for the planning of other activities and events in fulfilment of the aims of the Association
There shall be a membership fee, which shall be fixed from time to time by the Council. This fee shall not be deemed as the payment for the Annual Conference, which is additional to the annual meeting of the Council (AGM).
If for any reason the Association was to be dissolved, any assets remaining in the Association’s bank account(s) shall be divided equally between those SACREs which were subscribed members at the time of the dissolution of the Association, once all other outstanding debts have been cleared.
