AQW 1176/16-21

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 14/06/2016
Answered On Date: 17/06/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to outline the actions he plans to take in response to the recent report from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child thats recommends children should be able to decide on their own not to attend religious worship in schools.

Answer:

It is for Boards of Governors, in consultation with the school trustees and the principal, to decide the arrangements for collective worship, having regard to the ethos of the school and its registered pupils. Parental consent is required for children to withdraw from Collective Worship and I have no plans to change this at present.