AQW 7929/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 01/03/2024
Answered On Date: 15/03/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the June 2023 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendation that the NI Executive repeal provisions for compulsory attendance in collective worship and establish statutory guidance to ensure the right of all children to withdraw from religious classes without parental consent.

Answer:

I have no plans to repeal provisions for compulsory attendance in collective worship. Parents continue to have the right to have their child withdrawn from religious education or collective worship. Collective worship is governed by Article 21 of The Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986. This article states:

“21(1) Subject to the provisions of this Article, religious education shall be given in every grant‐aided school other than a nursery school and the school day in every such school shall also include collective worship whether in one or more than one assembly on the part of the registered pupils at the school”.

Since all pupils including those above compulsory school age are registered at school, the need for parental consent to be excused from religious education or collective worship would still be required as defined by article 21(5):

“If the parent of any pupil requests that the pupil should be wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious education or collective worship or from both, then, until the request is withdrawn, the pupil shall be excused from such attendance in accordance with the request”.