Assemblies and the law

It has been argued that the current UK law on assemblies in school is outdated: either that it does not fully reflect the multicultural nature of contemporary British society or that it sits uneasily with a secular view of what state education should be.

The purpose of this short article is not to discuss these complex issues but to explain the current law and its implications.

The most up to date source of official information is DfES Circular 1/94 which you can find in pdf form here: www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=8342.

The main points in paraphrase are:

• The head teacher is responsible for arranging daily collective worship (assembly).
• Daily collective worship must be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character but only 51% need be identifiably 'Christian' with the remaining 49% reflecting other faiths or 'interests' over the course of a year.
• It can happen at any time of the school day and should generally happen on the school premises.
• Parents can withdraw children from assemblies.
• Individual teachers may withdraw from assemblies.
• The school's annual prospectus should carry information about collective worship and how parents may withdraw their children from it.

There is an excellent and full resource on this subject available at the website of the London Borough of Lambeth SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education). www.lambeth.gov.uk/sacre/cw_guidance.aspx