New schools report underlines urgency of RE and collective worship reform

A new report from Stranmillis University College, Faith in our Schools, has laid bare the scale of Christian influence in Northern Ireland schools. The report comes just months after the UK Supreme Court ruled in the landmark JR87 case that exclusively Christian Religious Education (RE) and collective worship were ‘indoctrination’. Northern Ireland Humanists said the findings add further weight to the need for urgent reform to both RE and collective worship.

The report, which was commissioned by Scripture Union Northern Ireland, explores how churches and Christian groups engage with schools across Northern Ireland. It found that:

• 94% of school leaders reported links with at least one local church
• 73% of school leaders reported partnerships with Christian organisations. 

The report also found serious gaps in transparency and parental awareness of church involvement in schools. Only 38% of parents surveyed felt sufficiently informed about activities involving churches or Christian organisations. Only one third of pupils knew they could opt out of these activities, with many saying they feared stigma if they did so. In its ruling on JR87 the Supreme Court found that withdrawal was stigmatising, and ‘reasonable apprehension’ of stigma was ‘sufficient’ enough to mean they do not have to have actually withdrawn their children, and found that stigma does indeed occur.

Report’s recommendations don’t go far enough

However, Northern Ireland Humanists said the report’s recommendations do not follow from the seriousness of its own findings. While proposals on transparency, communication, and evaluation are welcome, other recommendations appear to assume that the answer is to better explain and preserve Christian influence in schools, rather than to ask whether that influence is still appropriate in a diverse, publicly funded education system following JR87.

In particular, Northern Ireland Humanists questioned recommendations that schools and providers should ‘recognise and communicate the enduring contribution’ of churches and Christian organisations, clarify school ethos, and support principals to maintain a Christian ethos while accommodating an increasingly diverse school population. This risks treating Christian involvement as the default position, with non-Christian and non-religious families merely accommodated around it. This could lead to further challenge of the process if the review and outcome is not seen to be addressing the concerns of the Supreme Court ruling.

The report also raises wider questions about church influence in the governance of controlled schools. It notes that the main Protestant churches retain statutory rights of representation in controlled schools and on the Education Authority, and that the Transferor Representatives’ Council works to maintain the connection between church and school. In light of JR87, there must now be proper scrutiny of whether these historic privileges are compatible with an inclusive, rights-respecting education system. 

Commenting on the report Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator, Boyd Sleator, said:

‘These findings are deeply concerning. They show just how extensive church and Christian organisation involvement in schools has become, while also revealing serious gaps in transparency, parental awareness, and pupils’ understanding of their right to opt out.

‘It is not acceptable for families to be left in the dark about religious activity in schools, or for children to be placed in a position where they have to single themselves out to avoid taking part.

‘The Department must now act with urgency. Reform cannot be limited to tweaks around the edges or better paperwork for parents. Northern Ireland needs a genuinely inclusive curriculum and proper oversight of external religious involvement in schools.’