By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
UNITED KINGDOM (ANS) -- A survey commissioned by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) local radio has found that many state schools in England are not providing group worship, despite its being a legal requirement.
An online article on the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk says some schools are opting to teach pupils about community rather than religion at assemblies, according to educationalists.
The Bishop of Oxford has responded to the survey by telling the BBC that doing daily worship in schools was an “important statement.”
The Rt Rev. John Pritchard said: “What we believe as a country is important in the education of our young people, so I think it is an important statement that the country makes to its schools and says will you please do this.
“If schools refuse to do that, or fail to, then I think they need to be encouraged to do it, I wouldn't use the word enforced though at all.”
The Comres survey for the BBC found that 64 per cent of the 500 parents questioned said their child did not attend daily acts of collective worship. But 60 per cent of the 1,743 adults asked said that the legislation should not be enforced.
According to the BBC story, the Department for Education states that “all schools in England receiving local authority funding must provide a daily act of collective worship that must reflect the traditions of this country, which it says are, in the main, broadly Christian.
“However, parents have the right to withdraw their child from the daily act of collective worship, and 16-18-year-olds can decide for themselves whether or not to attend.”
The BBC story says the survey follows reports last year that more than 140 primary and secondary schools across Britain had won the right to opt out of the legal requirement to provide a daily act of worship that is “broadly Christian” in character.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ (ATL) chief policy advisor Alison Ryan questioned how much schools and parents wanted daily worship: “People are concerned about inclusivity, how much is it wanted by parents, pupils or even the staff themselves?
“When a law is being flouted on a pretty major scale that is telling you something about its use, about how maybe it should be reformed or changed, so we believe it needs to be looked at.”
Martin Cooper, deputy head teacher of Mile Oak School, near Brighton, said that fulfilling the government's worship requirement was difficult.
"Having a pressure within an Ofsted expectation to be seen doing the daily act of worship, in the way they want it to be every day is challenging," he said.
“In a school like ours, there isn't a great Christian ethos, so the message has to be a social one really.
"It has to be the message about how they are going to behave."
The National Secular Society said group worship amounted to a breach of human rights.
In a statement the group said: "England is the only country in the western world to enforce participation in daily worship in community schools.
"To do so goes beyond the legitimate function of the state and is an abuse of children's human rights, especially those who are old enough to make decisions for themselves."
A spokesman for the Church of England said the law stated schools provide collective worship and the church supported that.
He said: "It provides an important chance for the school to focus on promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its pupils.
"Collective worship is when pupils of all faiths and none come together to reflect -- it should not be confused with corporate worship when everyone is of the same belief."
Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) chief policy advisor Alison Ryan questioned how much schools and parents wanted daily worship.
"People are concerned about inclusivity, how much is it wanted by parents, pupils or even the staff themselves?
"When a law is being flouted on a pretty major scale that is telling you something about its use, about how maybe it should be reformed or changed, so we believe it needs to be looked at."
Elaine Smith, head teacher at St Matthews Church of England Primary school in Blackburn, where 96 percent of the pupils are Muslims, said talking about faith regularly was beneficial.
She said: "The majority of the pupils are children of faith and talk very openly about religion.
"The staff who are practicing Christians or Muslims talk to the children and a bond is formed, which perhaps wouldn't be there if they didn't have the collective worship."
The National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE) advises schools on daily collective worship.
Bruce Gill, from the association, said school assemblies did not have to be church-led, but could teach about community and responsibility.
"It's an important role in these times when we are worried about community values and people's sense of community," he said.
"We try to get people to look beyond the materialistic life and material gratification and I think we will regret it greatly if we continue the trend of losing it."
| ** Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter |  |
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