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School worship

School worship, commonly known as 'assembly', has traditionally formed part of the school day in English schools. Much misunderstood and often controversial, school worship is intended to provide an opportunity for the school to come together, to foster a sense of community and to promote pupils' spiritual and moral development. This section explores the requirements for collective worship in different school settings and support and resources are offered for those responsible for the school's worship programme.

The collective worship resource web site, produced by Culham Institute in association with The National Society provides topical collective worship suggestions for both primary and secondary schools. It is updated with new material for each term, and special occasions such as Pentecost or major national events are also covered.

Church of England Chief Education Officer, Canon John Hall, responds to David Bell's remarks on collective worship
Response to speech given by HM Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, on Wednesday 21 April 2004.

Community schools
This section explores the provision for school worship in community schools.

Foundation schools
This section explores the provision for school worship in foundation schools

Voluntary schools
This section explores the provision for school worship in voluntary schools that have a religious character.

Daily attendance
Does the whole school have to attend worship together every day? Why do many secondary schools in England do not comply with the law requiring an act of collective worship to be provided every day for every registered pupil?

These are some of the controversial issues about school worship tackled in this section of the web site.

Withdrawal
Parents retain their right to withdraw their child/children from school worship. This section gives the legal background and some practical implications for schools.

Worship in Church
Many Church schools will wish to hold school worship in church, either on a regular basis, or for the major Christian festivals. Guidelines are offered in this section to ensure the smooth running of these events.

Visitors
The offering of hospitality to visitors from faith communities, as part of the school's worship programme, is likely to be of great importance in Church schools. Guidelines are offered in this section to ensure the smooth running of these events.

Copyright
This section contains guidance on copyright issues for schools wanting to reproduce worship materials, for example, writing out words of songs or prayers onto an acetate sheet for projection.

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