Guidelines to Catholic schools on how best to integrate students of other faiths have been issued by the Joint Managerial Body/Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (JMB/AMCSS).

Among the recommendations is that, depending on the number of students of other faiths in the school, a decision should be made as to whether a prayer room is specifically a Catholic place of worship or welcome to those of all faiths.

The guidelines, written by religion teacher Aiveen Mulally, who is an expert on world religions, also recommend that recognition of some of the festivals from different religions “is appropriate in the Catholic school, provided that the festivals and seasons of the Christian calendar are clearly and prominently acknowledged and celebrated also”.

The report, ‘Guidelines on the Inclusion of Students of Other Faiths in Catholic Secondary Schools’, also suggests that a clear admissions policy, stating that a school is Catholic and explaining to parents prior to enrolment what that means, avoids a lot of difficulty.

The document stresses the importance of allaying any parental fears about proselytising in the Catholic school.

However, it does add that it should be made clear to parents “that their son or daughter will be experiencing the values and ethos of the school in the day-to-day running of the school, not just in RE class”.

And it insists that students of different denominations “cannot insist that religious instruction in that denomination be provided”.

The report recommends that schools should encourage all students, whether Catholic or not “to grow in their own faith or spirituality”

The document accepts that the withdrawal of students from from Religious Education can present a difficulty for Catholic schools, but it adds that “students who are withdrawn from formal

The time can instead be used to explore their own faith tradition or some philosophical text, rather than doing their homework.

The recommendations also say that the full face veil used by Muslim girls should not be worn in Catholic secondary school, although it leaves this open-ended.

Among the issues that arise in some schools is the preference of Islamic parents to provide their own guidance about sexual behaviour; concern that modern pop music may include obscene language; and the participation of girls in sports that also involve boys.

Other issues covered include Muslim students bringing in their own cutlery to the school canteen because of sensitivities about food preparation.

The guidelines also recommend that, if there is a large group of a particular faith in the school, it would be respectful to invite ministers or leaders from that faith into the schools during religious education times to meet those pupils.