Schools in danger of ratings downgraded if not having Christian daily worship

Indoctrination works best if you start it when the person is young and works even better if it comes from an authoritative source that the child would trust.

Chardy

RE lessons and collective 'worship' is still a legal requirement to the best of my knowledge for all schools. Few secondary schools have space to get everyone together except latterly in a sports hall (maybe Christmas and end of school year in July), but it takes 10-15 minutes to get them all in, and almost the same to get them out again. In my 40 years I don't remember singing hymns. I have worked in schools where form tutors were expected to do a reading, or in a faith school, a prayer.

I agree Chardy and this is what I have found in schools over many years.
It’s nothing new or different and I wonder why the OP should think so and where the information comes from.

www.tes.com/news/schools-may-be-investigated-over-daily-collective-worship-duty

In response to a parliamentary question by Sir John Hayes MP. Its very new.

I still remember the lovely old hymns we used to sing at school and in times of stress they come back to me. At the time I didn’t appreciate them at all but they must have sunk in because I can remember the words to many of them.

Alegrias1 very many thanks for giving this link. Yes, it is new - and, for me, very frightening.

I think this is alarming. That the government should take steps to reinforce an archaic law when almost half of those in the U.K. state that they have no religion, is plainly ridiculous.

What does Collective worship. Wholly or mainly of broadly Christian character mean? Worship implies reverence for a divine being which excludes non-religious pupils, teachers, Buddhists and Jains for starters.

I feel sorry for teachers having to interpret this out of date law.

Teaching children about religion/s is a totally different thing.

Baggs

It's a ridiculous requirement. It is not the job of schools to encourage prayer or religious worship; that's the job of parents and churches.

Schools can teach about religions. That's all that should be required of them.

If I knew a school's rating had been downgraded because of not fulfilling the worship requirement it'd probably influence me in its favour, if I was going to be influenced in the first place.

This is how I feel, as well.

But I’ve always been contrary like that.

Schools can opt out of this. Parents can opt their child out too.

Are you sure schools can opt out, blossoming. I know parents can. We did.

I wouldn’t necessarily want to see them penalised. That sounds like a fine. I would like to see them encouraged more with assemblies and teaching if it is lacking in some areas, but then I am a Christian. My daughter in law is not sending my grandson to her nearest most convenient school when he starts in September, because there is no acknowledgement of Christianity. My other grandchildrens school is very good. Probably a bit like mine was 50 years ago. I think most Christians would agree, we are used to seeing God being pushed further and further away. The Bible does tell us to expect it though.

Baggs I was reading earlier about schools in Birmingham and this was mentioned, so I just checked.

schoolsweek.co.uk/over-40-schools-allowed-to-stop-daily-christian-worship/

Blossoming

*Callistemon*. It’s section 70 of the School Standards and Framework Act of 1998. I haven’t seen anything in the news recently. The act can be read online on the Gov Uk website. It doesn’t seem to have been updated recently.

I meant any recent news about the investigations and downgrading for non-compliance, Blossoming, as I couldn't find any online.

It all seems rather odd

Alegrias1

www.tes.com/news/schools-may-be-investigated-over-daily-collective-worship-duty

In response to a parliamentary question by Sir John Hayes MP. Its very new.

Recent news Call....

Baggs

It's a ridiculous requirement. It is not the job of schools to encourage prayer or religious worship; that's the job of parents and churches.

Schools can teach about religions. That's all that should be required of them.

If I knew a school's rating had been downgraded because of not fulfilling the worship requirement it'd probably influence me in its favour, if I was going to be influenced in the first place.

100% right

No, not new at all!
It’s always been a requirement for schools, and it’s always been there that action can be taken if schools fail to comply with it.
It’s just been reiterated by the minister for schools because a Conservative MP asked a question about it.Presumably he was concerned that it may have been ‘lost’ in the last year because of the Pandemic.

Discipline isn’t a huge problem, at least here in Victoria. Nothing like the UK in that respect. It may be a problem in some of the outback areas , mainly in respect of lack of attendance by indigenous pupils but not in the way you mean.

That's good if there are few problems in Victoria. However, I do have DGC and DGN at school in Australia plus know I some teachers, so do have some idea of the problems in the state sector.

I know some

Thanks Alegrias

Schools will be investigated if the Department for Education is "informed" that they are "in breach" of a "requirement" to have a daily "collective act of worship", schools minister Nick Gibb has said.

It doesn't say Christian so they could pick and mix.

Most schools wouldn't have a large enough hall for a whole school assembly anyway.

Is this for the whole of the UK or just England ?

I'd attach the same importance to it as schools in Wales being put into special measures because they weren't teaching Welsh adequately. The fact that there weren't enough teachers of Welsh seem to have passed the powers-that-be by.
Were parents worried? Not as far as I know and those who were could opt for a Welsh-medium school for their child.

Parents who want their children to be taught a faith could opt for a faith school.

Education is devolved, felice so just England I would think.

lemongrove

No, not new at all!
It’s always been a requirement for schools, and it’s always been there that action can be taken if schools fail to comply with it.
It’s just been reiterated by the minister for schools because a Conservative MP asked a question about it.Presumably he was concerned that it may have been ‘lost’ in the last year because of the Pandemic.

It was a set up question - this attitude is all part of the plan. It’ll the flags in classrooms and oaths of allegiance next ?

What counts as a collective act of worship probably varies quite a lot, especially as schools try to make these things more inclusive, as they should.

But, as I implied before, it's time this requirement was binned. Lessons about world religions, should be sufficient.

That's what I was thinking pity it is not made clear !!!!!
Faiths are taught in school here but not obligatory, DGS is in a semi-private Catholic school and they go to Church twice a year.
The first time DGS went he was looking for our COS minister and complained that the service was really boring compared with ours.

felice the C of E is established so perhaps that is another reason why it may only apply to England.

Does anyone know?