NASACRE Constitution
1. The Name of the Association:
The name of the Association shall be the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE).
2. The Aims of the Association:
The aims of the Association shall be:
2.1 To assist the Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) to fulfil their responsibilities
2.2 To represent their common concerns to other bodies
2.3 To assist in the training and mutual consultation of SACRE members
2.4 To encourage the development of SACREs
2.5 To undertake such other activities, appropriate to SACREs, as may benefit RE and collective worship
3. Basis of membership and duties:
3.1 Each SACRE shall be invited to join the Association, membership being renewable annually on payment of the annual subscription in place at that time. These 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 member SACREs is represented.
3.3 Each member 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, each member SACRE shall 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.
4. The Honorary Officers:
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, when the position will be regularised.
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.
5. The Executive Committee (the Committee):
Committee 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 Committee 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.
The Committee shall comprise the elected Honorary Officers together with no more than eight other members elected by the Council. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to three additional members. The Committee shall include the following:
5.1 The Assistant to the Chair who shall be the previous Chair and shall assist for a period of two years
5.2 A Membership Secretary who shall monitor the membership, keep up to date records and work with the Treasurer to ensure members have paid their fees on time
5.3 A Communications Officer who shall have oversight of the Association’s communications strategy and communications, including the NASACRE briefings sent to member SACREs
5.4 A Conference Organiser who shall have oversight of the Annual Conference in partnership with the Secretary and the Treasurer
5.5 A Development Officer who shall oversee the production of a development plan and report to the Executive and Council on its progress
With the agreement of the Committee, the roles set out in 5.1 – 5.5 may be shared between members of the Committee. Members of the Committee shall serve for a period of three years, at which time they must seek re-election by the Council at the appropriate AGM. Normally, members of the Executive Committee should not serve more than six years consecutively. Co-opted members shall normally serve for two years when a review by the Committee will take place; they may serve as a co-opted member for up to six years consecutively.
If a member of the Committee misses three consecutive Committee meetings they shall be deemed to have left the Committee.
The Committee shall be responsible for the planning of other activities and events in fulfilment of the aims of the Association.
6. Subscriptions and Finance:
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 for that part of the Conference that is not the Council.
7. Winding-up:
If for any reason the Association were to be dissolved, any assets remaining in the Association’s bank account(s) shall be divided equally between those SACREs which were members at the time of the dissolution of the Association, once all other debts outstanding had been cleared.