New bills in Lords to tackle collective worship and illegal faith schools

Humanists UK has welcomed private members’ bills drawn in the House of Lords ballot on replacing compulsory collective worship in schools with inclusive assemblies, and on introducing a register of home-educated pupils.

Inclusive Assemblies Bill

Baroness Burt of Solihull, who before the election was Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG), has successfully reintroduced her Education (Assemblies) Bill, which is due to have its first reading on 12 September. She has previously introduced a similar bill in 2019 and 2021, with the latter passing successfully through the House of Lords but then falling in the Commons due to lack of parliamentary time.

The Bill would introduce a requirement for schools to provide assemblies that develop the ‘spiritual, moral, social, and cultural education’ of all pupils, regardless of religion or belief. That will replace an existing requirement for daily compulsory collective worship. In fact, the Bill proposes that no compulsory acts of worship or other religious observance should be organised by schools. However, it will permit pupils to opt-in to voluntary acts of worship if they so wish, with parents retaining the right to withdraw those aged under 16 from such sessions.

The UK is the only sovereign state in the world where Christian worship is compulsory in state schools without a religious character, as standard. Schools can apply for an exemption (known as a ‘determination’) from the requirement for worship to be ‘broadly Christian’ which allows them to carry out worship from a different faith tradition. However, they are not permitted to opt-out of worship altogether.

Parents may withdraw their children from worship and sixth form pupils in England and Wales may withdraw themselves, but younger pupils may not withdraw without parental permission. This process is often difficult and no meaningful alternative to worship is offered in the vast majority of schools – a fact that Humanists UK believes is discriminatory. In recent years the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has repeatedly pressed governments across the UK to ‘to repeal legal provisions for compulsory attendance at collective worship in publicly funded schools and ensure that children can independently exercise the right to withdraw from religious observance at school.’ A prior report by the same Committee in 2016 also said the requirement should be abolished.

A 2019 poll found that parents think that religious worship is the least appropriate activity for school assemblies, with the most appropriate being the environment and nature; physical and mental health; celebration of achievements; and equality and non-discrimination.

Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented:

‘We welcome this Bill. At Humanists UK we receive more complaints about collective worship in schools than anything else. Most parents and children are not religious and it is in any case inappropriate for the state to be imposing a particular religion on any child.

‘It would be much better if school assemblies were to bring pupils together so they can learn about each other’s beliefs, as well as covering other important topics like physical and mental health, the environment, and charity and volunteering. While the previous Government opposed this Bill when it was introduced before, we hope the new Government will take a friendlier approach.’

Home Education Register Bill

Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Lord Storey has introduced a Home School Education Registration and Support Bill, which is due to have its first reading on 5 September. This is important in its own right, because there is currently no compulsory register of home-schooled children, leaving the state unsure who such children even are and the children open to abuse. But it is also important because of its interplay with illegal schools.

A significant number of unregistered, illegal schools still operate throughout England and many of these are religious. There are at least 6,000 children who attend them. In many cases, children are made to study religious texts for up to 12 hours a day with no maths, science, or other secular subjects; they are often exposed to extremist literature; and many settings operate in environments that are dirty and unsafe. Physical and sexual abuse is sadly widespread. Proprietors of such settings often claim that children are educated at home, but only attend their establishments for supplementary religious education. The absence of a register of children educated at home means that these claims go uninvestigated.

The Government itself actually announced legislation to introduce such a register and close loopholes around illegal schools, during the King’s Speech on Wednesday. Government legislation is therefore the most likely way this issue will be tackled. But Lord Storey’s Bill is useful as it may help keep pressure on the Government to act.

Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented:

‘It is way past time that a register of homeschooled children is introduced. This is the most basic of safeguarding measures for pupils being homeschooled or in illegal schools. We welcomed the Government’s commitment to do this on Wednesday and we welcome Lord Storey’s bill as encouraging the Government to fulfil that promise.’

Education (Values of British Citizenship) Bill

Finally, crossbench peer and retired bishop Lord Harries of Pentregarth has introduced the Education (Values of British Citizenship) Bill. This Bill will put ‘values of British citizenship’ into education law. The values in question are democracy, the rule of law, freedom, individual worth, and respect for the environment. Humanists UK welcomes this as a valuable contribution to the development of civic education in schools and to the tackling of extremism in schools.