Agenda item

David Taylor welcomed Joni McAuliffe from the organisation Christian Outreach in Newbury Schools (COINS). David Taylor said that whilst he had hoped the SACRE members could have met Joni in person, he was very pleased that Joni’s presentation was still able to go ahead despite the current Covid-19 situation.

Joni said that SACRE members may have met her predecessor, Tania Wolak. Tania had now left COINS and Joni said she was very pleased to have the opportunity to introduce herself to the West Berkshire SACRE and provide more information on COINS.

Joni made the following points during her presentation:

·         The organisation COINS had been in operation for approximately thirty years and provided a rich resource in Newbury and the surrounding areas.

·         Before joining COINS, Joni had experienced a varied teaching career including being the head of drama in a secondary school, a SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and working in a Special School.

·         Before the Covid-19 lockdown, Joni had been working on some exciting new programmes for KS3 children (‘God and the Big Bang’ which explored the relationship between God and science) and KS4 (‘The P word’ which looked at the harmful effects of pornography). Unfortunately, lockdown meant that COINS would need to delay taking these programmes into schools.

·         The main project COINS had been working on since lockdown was developing their new website to provide a bank of resources for people to access.

The members of SACRE asked a series of questions:

·         In response to a question from Councillor Billy Drummond, Joni McAuliffe said that COINS currently worked in twenty-one Primary Schools in West Berkshire and ran lunch clubs in sixteen of those schools. In terms of Secondary Schools, COINS had a presence in all the West Berkshire Secondary schools and one of the iColleges with lunch clubs at Kennet School and Park House School. Joni said that she was still trying to make contact with The Clere School in Burghclere (a Hampshire County Council secondary school). Joni added that her links with secondary schools were often based on knowing a person in the school to allow her to make contact with the RE specialist.

·         The lunch clubs that COINS ran in schools were faith-based clubs which included a Bible story and a craft connected to that story.

·         Joni McAuliffe said that the COINS Christmas and Easter events had been particularly popular and well attended over the years. Each event was very creative and interactive and started with a game, often with a professional actor, and then went on to provide a carousel of activities for the children to choose from. Approximately 800 West Berkshire school children had been involved in these events.

·         In response to a question from Councillor Peter Argyle, Joni McAuliffe said that COINS did not have a presence in schools in Tilehurst as a Reading based charity called ‘RE Inspired’ covered the schools in that area.

·         Councillor Tony Linden said he noted the position regarding the schools at the eastern end of the district but he was also concerned that schools at the western end of the district had been included in the COINS programme. In response to a further question from Councillor Linden, Joni McAuliffe said that whilst she had a personal interest in connecting with people from different religions and having conversations about other religions, her specific remit set by the COINS trustees was to focus on Christianity.

·         On the subject of other religions, David Taylor said that the West Berkshire SACRE had been involved in the cross Berkshire project entitled ‘Real People  Real Faith’ which involved talking to other faith leaders, visiting their places of worship and producing videos for school children and young people. David Taylor said he would be happy to share the videos with COINS. Joni McAuliffe said she would appreciate receiving the information. Action – David Taylor to share the ‘Real People Real Faith’ project with Joni McAuliffe when it was ready.

·         In response to a question from Mobasshir Mushtaq, Joni McAuliffe said that Winchcombe School in Newbury did not have a COINS lunch club but children from the school attended every event that COINS ran.

·         In response to a question from Bernard Eggleton, Joni McAuliffe said that whilst she had the contact details for a lot of schools, she often did not know who the RE specialist was. David Taylor said that he was constantly working with David Rees, the West Berkshire SACRE’s independent consultant to update their school RE specialist database and they would have a conversation about whether they could share that information with COINS.

·         In response to a question from David Rees, Joni McAuliffe said there was no cost to the schools or other users for accessing the COINS service. COINS was privately funded by a number of churches who also paid her salary. David Rees said he would like the opportunity to meet up with Joni McAuliffe outside the meeting to discuss the work of COINS in more detail. Action – David Rees to contact Joni McAuliffe to arrange a meeting.

On behalf of the West Berkshire SACRE, David Taylor thanked Joni McAuliffe for attending the meeting.

Joni McAuliffe left the meeting at 4.40 pm