AQW 40199/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 10/02/2026
Answered On Date: 18/02/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail his rationale for not progressing fundamental changes to collective worship, given that the Supreme Court judgment in the matter of an application by JR87 and another for Judicial Review (Appellant) stated that both the teaching of Religious Education and the arrangements for Collective Worship was in breach of both appellants’ rights.

Answer:

The Supreme Court judgment, in the matter of ‘JR 87 and another’, explicitly states that “there is no challenge in this case to collective worship in schools in Northern Ireland being focused on the Christian religion or that in Catholic maintained schools the focus of collective worship may be distinctive of the Catholic denomination”. The Supreme Court did not strike down or question the legality of collective worship, and the duty placed on schools remains firmly in place.

While the Court found that the arrangements for collective worship in JR 87’s school breached rights, this was because how it was delivered in that school. The finding related to ineffective withdrawal arrangements and the risk of stigmatisation not because Christian collective worship itself was unlawful.

My focus, therefore, has been to ensure that every school now implements a simple, immediate, and confidential withdrawal process. I issued new guidance confirming that an unqualified right exists for parents to withdraw their children wholly or partially from RE and/or collective worship.

By strengthening the right of withdrawal and ensuring consistent implementation across all schools, I have taken the precise and proportionate action needed to meet the Court’s requirements while maintaining the statutory framework for collective worship in Northern Ireland.