Catholic school governors in the UK have criticised the National Governors’ Association (NGA) for advocating the abolition of compulsory Christian assemblies in schools. But the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, who is the Church of England’s head of education, said that changing the law could be “liberating” for schools and churches, and called for assemblies to be replaced with a time of “spiritual reflection”
According to The Tablet, The NGA decided to call for the abolition of laws that say daily worship is compulsory in schools at the most recent meeting of its policy committee, claiming that few schools met the requirement and that it was “meaningless” in communities where the majority were not Christian.
Elizabeth Mills, a Catholic who was governor at Henry Box School, Oxfordshire, a state comprehensive, for nine years and previously governor at Christ Church primary school in London, criticised the decision, saying that a period of reflection in a busy day was for good for students, whatever their faith.
“We live in chaotic times. Many young people are denied the opportunity for quiet and learning a bit about their place in the world. Learning about the Christian faith – even for non-believers – helps all to become engaged with shared values and community life,” she said, adding that removing worship in schools was part of a general trend to marginalise Christianity.
Fr Wilfrid McGreal, a Carmelite priest former chairman of governors at St Matthew’s Academy, a Catholic school in south-east London, agreed, saying: “There has always been a tradition of gathering pupils together to help them to pray. If this is eliminated it disassociates young people from contact with the spiritual and the transcendent. To undermine this link is a negative and an impoverishment.”
But the Daily Telegraph reports that Bishop Pritchard, who as chair of the Church of England’s Board of Education is responsible for the teaching of around a million children in Anglican schools, as well as speaking for the Church on education in the House of Lords, said a change in the law could be “liberating” for schools and churches alike.
“I think in the 1940s when all of this was put together it was possible to say that collective worship represented the mood of the nation but I don’t think that is where we are now,” he told the Telegraph.
“There is a sense in which a compulsion about religion does a disservice to that which I think is most important which is keeping the good news of the Christian faith alive in our culture.”
“We welcome the Bishop of Oxford’s comments as an area for further reflection.”
Pavan Dhaliwal, head of public affairs at the British Humanist Association added: “In a plural and fair-minded society that cares about children and their development, schools should be holding inclusive assemblies that forward the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all pupils and staff, regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs.”
But Greg Pope, deputy director of the Catholic Education Service, said: “We are not convinced that there needs to be a change in the law. The current guidance is flexible enough to meet the needs of each school’s community while respecting Christian traditions.”