Statutory Requirements for Collective Worship

The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) is a statutory body that every Local Authority is required to establish to advise on matters relating to the provision of RE and collective worship in its schools and to produce the Agreed Syllabus for RE. SACRE also has a statutory duty to monitor the provision and quality of RE and collective worship, as well as providing opportunities for training for teachers, headteachers and governors. As part of this statutory responsibility, we have been asked to remind schools about their responsibility for providing daily collective worship for all registered pupils.

Circular 1/94, which provides guidance on the legal requirements, indicates that the responsibility for arranging collective worship rests:

	in a voluntary controlled (VC) or voluntary aided (VA) school, with the governing body after consultation with the head
	in other maintained schools, with the head after consultation with the governing body

The headteacher, with the governing body and the Local Authority (as appropriate) have a duty to secure this provision. The arrangements can be flexible - including the time of day at which collective worship takes place and whether the whole school takes part together or in appropriate groups - but the intention is that collective worship is appropriate for and includes all pupils attending a school from the age of five upwards unless parents have exercised their right of withdrawal. Circular 1/94 has some helpful guidance on this. For more information click here.

'Collective worship' is not synonymous with 'assembly' - although both may take place as part of the same gathering. Collective worship should be capable of 'eliciting a response from pupils' and must 'in some sense reflect something special or separate from ordinary school activities' and should have an element of reverence and reflection.

Taken over the course of a term, the majority of acts of collective worship 'must be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character', although it is open to a school to arrange particular acts of collective worship that are 'broadly in the tradition of another religion' or which 'contain elements drawn from a number of different faiths.' Circular 1/94 goes on: 'The extent to which and the ways in which the broad traditions of Christian belief are to be reflected in such acts of collective worship should be appropriate to the family backgrounds of the pupils and their ages and aptitudes. It is for the headteacher to determine this after consultation with the governing body.' SACRE can agree to lift the requirement for collective worship in a school to be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character where this requirement would be inappropriate. This is a formal process set out in the Education Acts 1988 and 1993 and referred to as 'determination'. The Secretary of State has the power to direct a SACRE in respect of determinations that it has agreed or is proposing to agree.

Provision of appropriate collective worship in school is a skilled and sometimes complex matter. Therefore, we are planning a series of events in the Autumn Term 2009 to support those who have responsibility for arranging collective worship. Each event will provide advice, support and professional development on collective worship across all phases. The sessions will include practical examples and case studies. Further information will be sent to schools later this term. In the meantime, if you have questions or need advice about this then place don't hesitate to contact Kathryn Wright (Secondary RE Consultant) or Ali Ranson (Primary RE Adviser) at the Norwich PDC. They will be happy to help.

If you need any further help at this stage, or if you would like to discuss this with members of SACRE please contact David Orsborne.