COLLECTIVE WORSHIP in SCHOOLS
Guidance for West Sussex Community Schools
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Comments from
Andrew Edmondson appear in BLUE
Introduction
Collective Worship in schools is
important. (Collective Worship
means the collective veneration of a deity, which can hardly be important to
the proper functioning of a community school) It makes a major contribution to the spiritual
and moral development of pupils, which is a main aim of education. (Moral lessons at a morning assembly
may contribute to moral development of pupils, but worship cannot. Spiritual
development is a loose term that is commonly associated with religion, and is
used to give greater importance to religion in secular matters such as
education) Collective Worship contributes towards schools’ statutory
obligation to provide opportunities for students’ spiritual and moral
development. (Collective
Worship is a legal requirement that is inconsistent with the Human Rights Act
and Equality laws. It is an unenforceable law, broken every day by most
secondary schools) It helps to equip young people to understand more
about themselves, foster a sense of the aesthetic and to cope with
life-changing moments. (Collective
Worship is likely to foster resentment amongst the non-religious pupils, who
are the majority in secondary schools)
Collective Worship is also of
educational value to children, young people and adults within school. It
provides a means of developing an appreciation that goes beyond the material
world, fostering a concern for others and providing a forum for exploring
shared values. (It is
unnecessary to coerce pupils into taking part in collective worship in order
for them to appreciate the non-material world or to care for others)
It is important that children and
young people become familiar with the language and silence common to many forms
of public worship. They are all likely to attend, at the very least, at some
point in their lives, a funeral, a wedding or a baptism. (Non-religious pupils have no
interest in the language of public worship. Is it really necessary to oblige
pupils to take part in a communal act of worship every day, from the age of 5
to 16, in order to teach them how to be silent on those rare public occasions
they are required to do so?)
Collective Worship is a shared
experience. It offers children, young people and adults an opportunity to
participate in humanity’s shared search for God (the non-religious do not wish to search for God),
and in doing so builds community in and beyond the school. It offers opportunities for
co-operation and the fostering of strong relationships between individual
schools and the local communities they serve. (Obliging pupils to take part in collective worship can
only divide society) Local faith leaders should be utilised as a
resource and invited to play a part in Collective Worship in schools in their
own localities. (This is
wholly unacceptable in a community school. There may be an argument for
involving religion and belief representatives in school debates and lessons,
but certainly not for the purposes of collective worship)
It is generally accepted that
Collective Worship should provide pupils with space for reflection and should
be evocative and challenging. Words can be very powerful, but they do not
always have the desired effect and impact in a world of fast action multimedia
presentations. Through words, still and moving images, sound, active
participation from pupils and well chosen moments of silence and contemplation
collective worship makes a unique contribution to pupils’ spiritual and
moral development and more generally to a positive school ethos. (Pupils will have less respect for a
school that imposes collective worship on them. They should be given a choice
in whether to attend or not. Collective worship should be replaced by secular
assemblies)
WHAT IS MEANT BY "WHOLLY OR MAINLY OF A BROADLY
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER"?
This clause in
the Act of Parliament is difficult to define but there are some fairly clear
points that attach to it.
The requirement for worship to be
of a "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character" is for
community schools and does not apply to voluntary schools. Worship in community
schools should not be distinctive of any particular denomination.
There is nothing in the Act or the
Circular 1/94 that suggests any form of content. This means that the content,
such as the use of hymns, prayers, Bible readings etc is for the Headteacher in
community schools to decide. (Christian worship is impossible
without at least one of these) In making this decision the Headteacher
must take into account:-
a) any
relevant circumstances relating to the pupils' family background; (Impossible, since all pupils are
grouped together)
b)
their ages and aptitudes.
It is not
necessary for every single act of worship to be wholly or mainly of a broadly
Christian character but within each school term, most acts must be.
The acts of
worship should contain some elements which relate specifically to the
traditions of Christian belief and which accord a special status to Jesus
Christ. (Circular 1/94) (This
is contrary to freedom of religion or belief)
An act of
worship which is "broadly Christian" need not contain only Christian
material provided that, taken as a whole, it reflects the traditions of
Christian worship.
The term
"broadly", however, discourages a narrow interpretation being given
to Christian worship and encourages schools to use a variety of resources and
methods.
Although the Act and Circular say little
about how to interpret Christian worship we are told that it must relate to the
"broad traditions of Christian belief". It is very clear that within these broad
traditions we see a wide range of practices in use, any of which could be used
in school worship.
The Act of
Parliament talks of exploring Christian "belief" and not
"practice". This point
emphasises that the worship found in schools will not be the same as that found
in churches but will be a different type of worship that is relevant to the
pupils and helps them to explore Christian beliefs.
Whether a
school has worship that is "wholly" Christian or "mainly"
so is for the school to decide. It is intended that the character of the
worship is such that all pupils will take part unless they have been withdrawn
by their parents.
(This is an exercise in how schools can bend the rules as
much as possible and still claim to be carrying out collective worship, when
they don’t really wish to do so)
HOW LONG SHOULD WORSHIP BE?
Neither the
Act of Parliament or the government circular gives us guidance on the length of
worship, but it should be of a reasonable length. In the final analysis only a
court of law could decide what is reasonable.
Advice is that
a quick prayer, a short blessing or grace at meal times would probably not be
considered as reasonable, however a short period of worship handled with care
and sensitivity which included, for example, a reading and a prayer would seem
acceptable.
It would also
be quite acceptable, and probably desirable, to vary the length of worship
depending on the setting so that some days would consist of a relatively short
act of worship while other days would consist of a longer event.
(Secondary schools have voted with their feet. Most
teachers refuse to hold collective worship. Also they fear a backlash from the 64%
of pupils who are non-religious. Primary school pupils are more compliant)
COLLECTIVE WORSHIP OR ASSEMBLIES?
The Act of
Parliament talks of collective worship while schools usually refer to
assemblies. Assemblies are a general term to describe occasions where pupils
get together and will often include both collective worship and other
activities. (They should be
separated. Pupils who wish to pray together could stay later after school or
come early, provided there were teachers willing to participate. Collective
worship takes place during assembly because of the captive audience)
Collective
worship is legally different from curriculum matters and when calculating the
amount of curriculum time in the week the time given to collective worship is
not counted. The programmes of study of the national curriculum and religious
education should not be taught during collective worship. There is nothing in
the Act to suggest that collective worship should be carried out in isolation
from assemblies and it is acceptable for "Assemblies" to consist of
both worship and other activities. In order to enable aspects of the curriculum
to be covered alongside worship it would be wise to identify this formally and
to allocate the time to be given to each area.
A school would
need to be able to identify the distinct part of the activity which is the
collective worship required by the Act and care would need to be taken to
ensure that collective worship could properly be described as wholly or mainly
of a broadly Christian character.
(In other words, schools cannot opt out of collective
worship)
DETERMINATIONS
A determination is a process whereby
schools can apply to SACRE that their worship could be other than “wholly or
mainly of a broadly Christian character”.
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Which
schools can apply to SACRE and for what?
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Applications for a determination
can be made only by community schools.
·
Community schools may apply to
SACRE for worship in the school to be other than "wholly or mainly of a
broadly Christian character".
·
They may apply on behalf of the
whole school or groups of pupils in the school.
·
The considerations that may apply
are:
“any
circumstances relating to the family background of the pupils concerned which
are relevant for determining the character of the collective worship which is
appropriate in their case e.g. the faith of the family.”
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How can a
school apply to SACRE?
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If any school in West
Sussex is considering an application to SACRE the Headteacher should
first contact the General Adviser (R.E.) who will be able to explain the
procedures.
·
Before an application the
Headteacher must consult the school's governing body.
·
The governors may wish, in turn, to
seek the views of parents.
What form will
worship take following a determination?
·
SACRE will give their determination
in writing to the Headteacher and the worship will have to be carried out in
accordance with those instructions.
(No school in West Sussex has ever applied for a
determination. Surprise, surprise)
WITHDRAWAL
The
provision for parents to withdraw their children from collective worship was
first put in place in the 1944 Education Act and has been re-enacted in
subsequent acts of parliament since with little change. The original purpose
was to allow parents who for reasons of conscience did not want their children
to attend collective worship to withdraw them from attending.
The Statutory Requirements
Subsequent
acts of parliament were brought together in the School Standards and Framework
Act 1998. The provision for withdrawal is set out in section 71 and
subsequently amended by the 2006 Education and Inspections Act to include a
clause about sixth form students
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The
main requirement is set out in subsection (1)
(1A) If the parent of any pupil at a community,
foundation or voluntary school other than a sixth-form pupil requests that he
may be wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious worship at the
school, the pupil shall be so excused until the request is withdrawn.
(1B) If a sixth-form pupil requests that he may be
wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious worship at a community,
foundation or voluntary school, the pupil shall be so excused.”
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Summary of requirements
If a parent asks that a pupil
should be wholly of partly excused from attending collective worship, then the
school must comply.
·
Parents are not obliged to state their reasons for
seeking withdrawal.
·
Schools should not divulge information about withdrawal
to other schools without the agreement of the parents.
·
This applies to all LA maintained schools – community
and voluntary.
If the request is to be partly
excused the school must make all reasonable attempts to comply but have the
flexibility to deny the request if the logistics of agreeing makes it too
difficult.
A parent may request that a pupil
be withdrawn from school premises to receive worship of a denominational
nature. A school may comply so long as the LA is satisfied that this will not
interfere with the child’s attendance at school other than at the beginning or
end of the school day.
A parent may request that, once the
child has been legally withdrawn, a child receive collective worship of a
denominational nature on school premises. The school is required to allow this
request if:
-
the provision cannot be conveniently provided elsewhere;
-
the school does not meet the costs;
-
the school does not consider that because of the special
circumstances it would be unreasonable to do so.
There are some special conditions
relating to boarders allowing them to attend a place of worship on Sundays or
other days exclusively set apart for religious observance.
A school continues to be
responsible for any child withdrawn by its parents from collective worship
unless the child is lawfully receiving collective worship elsewhere.
Schools are required to set out the
right of withdrawal in their prospectus.
(In
practice, most parents would not dream of withdrawing their child from any
collective school activity, for fear of ostracising. Instead of a right to withdraw, there should
be a right to opt in. Of course, pupils under 16 years of age have no right to
opt out, presumably because they do not have the moral competence to decide
(even though they may be about to take their GCSE in Religious Education). And
yet children aged 10 and over are considered old enough to be prosecuted,
because they have sufficient moral awareness. It is clearly immoral to coerce
pupils to take part in collective worship; perhaps a topic for GCSE Religious
Education?)
Advice
for Schools
What should a school do if a request is made?
- As this is a legal provision the school should ask
for any request for withdrawal to be made in writing.
- To avoid any misunderstanding a head teacher will find
it helpful to establish with a parent wanting to exercise the right of
withdrawal:
- the religious issues about which the parent would
object to their child being taught and the elements of worship they would
object to the child taking part.
- The practical implications of withdrawal
- The circumstances in which the school can
reasonably be expected to accommodate parental wishes; and
- If the withdrawal is partial, whether the parent
will require any advance notice of such collective worship.
- This should not affect the fact that parents do not
have to state their reasons for seeking withdrawal.
- The school must then make arrangements to enable
the withdrawal to take place and ensure the health and safety of the
pupil.
How to organise withdrawal?
·
The pupil’s health and safety is the most important
responsibility the school has.
·
It would be normal for withdrawal to be exercised
through the physical withdrawal of the pupil from the place where the
collective worship is taking place.
·
However, if both the parent and the school agree that
the pupil could remain physically present there is nothing in the law that
prevents this.
·
It is good practice to ensure that the pupil is
gainfully employed when withdrawn so if they do not bring work from home a
check should be made to ensure they have something to do. (If schools could offer an
attractive alternative, e.g. more maths tuition, I wonder how many parents
would withdraw their child? In practice,
nothing of benefit is offered, else this could be seen as encouraging
withdrawal)
If the pupil is withdrawn from
worship a number of organisational options are used by schools such as:
- the pupil works in the back of class and is supervised by that class
teacher;
- the pupil woks in another classroom
- the pupil works in a library and is supervised by
the librarian or other adult;
- in smaller schools the pupil may sit outside the
office and be supervised by the office staff.
·
There is nothing to stop the pupil joining the assembly
for those aspects that are not worship and parents do not have the right of
withdrawal from these aspects.
What about withdrawal from school premises?
If a parent requests that a pupil
should be withdrawn from the school premises for of collective worship the LA
is the responsible party.
The school should contact the
General Adviser (RE) for advice on how to proceed.
No costs can be met by the school
or LA.
How
should a school respond to a request for alternative collective worship to take
place?
·
Some times where a group of pupils are legally withdrawn
from collective worship a parent or other responsible adult will offer to come
into school to run the worship. This is often a convenient way of making the
provision.
·
The school is still responsible for those children and needs
to feel secure that the person running the session is capable and has the
confidence of the school. This would include conducting an advanced CRB check
·
The school must consider this request if made and must
agree unless there is good reason not to.
·
No costs should be met by the school’s budget share or
otherwise by the local authority.
PLANNING COLLECTIVE WORSHIP
Collective
worship is an important event in schools and should be planned carefully. It is
recommended that outline plans for the whole year and detailed termly plans are
made.
Records should
be kept:
- to enable the planners to arrange a
coherent experience for the pupils;
- to provide evidence of the daily act
of collective worship;
-
to provide evidence in a community school demonstrating that collective worship is wholly or mainly of a
broadly Christian character;
SOME PLANNING PRINCIPLES
Schools need
to plan for worship to be of educational value for ALL who attend. (An impossible aim) In trying to meet this end the following
principles might prove useful.
1.
There is a need for a clear whole
school policy which should involve a wide audience for discussion (But presumably not including
pupils, because of their inability to make informed decisions about their beliefs)
and include a clear statement of aims.
2.
There needs to be an assembly
co-ordinator. This could be the Headteacher or a senior member of staff or another
member of staff, who need not be the R.E. co-ordinator. It needs to be
recognised that this is a difficult and time consuming responsibility if it is
to be done well. It may be appropriate for a team to undertake this work with a
leader to co-ordinate the whole programme.
3.
Although assemblies may deliver
aspects of personal and social education this is not collective worship and
care needs to be taken to ensure that these aspects do not predominate.
4.
There is a need for worship to be
an activity and experience to which all can contribute and from which all can
benefit irrespective of personal commitment or life stance. (Impossible. Simply requiring a
non-religious pupil to attend a gathering with the aim of any form of worship
is a disbenefit)
5.
There is a need to regard assembly
as a planned learning experience which does not place the presenter or
recipient in an awkward or less than honest position. (Most secondary school teachers are unwilling to conduct
an act of worship)
6.
There is a need to value groups of
pupils coming together as the whole school community or part of the community
in a meaningful way. The assembly can then have the purpose of fostering a
sense of belonging and affirming and celebrating the ideals and values of the
school. (The only way this can
be achieved is to omit worship, which can only divide the community)
7.
Where possible, pupils should be
encouraged to play an active role in collective worship. (Coercion to worship is immoral)
ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGIES
Schools are
free to choose how they organise their worship. It may be at any time of the
school day and in any grouping that is also used for other activities. The
organisational strategies differ in primary and secondary schools with size and
space being important factors.
Primary
·
whole school assemblies – proves to
be the most successful strategy.
·
Separate Infant and Junior
assemblies – allows the content to be focussed more carefully on the age and
aptitude of the pupils. Normally a successful strategy.
·
Class assemblies. Proves to be the
least effective strategy because it depends on all staff being able and
comfortable in taking the worship. (If the staff are unwilling, how do you think the pupils and their
parents feel?)
·
The beginning of the day is still
the most effective time for worship but this is under pressure as it is the
best time for learning. (Incorrect.
The best time for learning has been shown to be the afternoon. There is no best
time for a non-religious pupil to worship) Immediately before the end of
the day is the least effective. (Compulsory
worship is best applied to a captive audience)
Secondary
·
For most secondary schools the
whole schools assembly is not practicable due the numbers of pupils involved
and the size of accommodation available.
·
Smaller units such as the year or
house assemblies are common and work effectively.
·
Form assemblies are not very
successful.
MUSIC,
ASSEMBLIES AND "COLLECTIVE WORSHIP"
(WHY SUDDENLY THE SPEECH
MARKS?)
Introduction
Music is used
widely in school assemblies and enables pupils to listen to music, to sing
and to perform with instruments. Music is often used to help create an atmosphere
that is conducive to worship and can contribute to the spiritual development
of the pupils. (Once again,
the term “Spiritual” links religion to all positive human experience and endeavour,
such as music, as if they could not exist without religion. In practice, music
in assemblies is there to make religion more palatable)
Music in assemblies
There is very
little doubt that music enhances the assembly in a number of ways and that it
can contribute to the music curriculum provided it is planned coherently. (Music at assembly seems very
sensible in its own right. Linking it to religious worship detracts from the listening
experience)
Singing Practice
In order to
learn hymns/songs for assemblies schools often have an identified period of
learning and practice. If it is well done children enjoy the singing and the
process adds to the success of the assemblies.
Singing
practice itself is unlikely to constitute the daily act of collective worship
but it would be possible to develop the occasion to meet the requirements. For
example it would be easy to have brief explanations of the words in the songs
and to allocate a short period at the beginning or end of the practice that
would, for instance, consist of a reading and a prayer to complement the hymns.
(Singing hymns is clearly a form of worship. Singing ABBA
is not)