The News Letter has seen correspondence sent to schools from parents demanding that religious assemblies are suspended, claiming that they breach human rights. It is understood some schools were considering halting assemblies as a result.
However, the DUP education minister has now written to principals reminding them “that both Religious Education and collective worship continue to be a legal requirement”.
It comes after a ruling from the UK’s top court that the provision of Christian religious education in Northern Ireland’s schools does not comply with human rights standards – and that exercising the right to withdraw a child from collective worship could place an undue burden on parents. But judges stopped short of striking down existing legislation.
Mr Givan has said he will consider the judgment in full before determining any remedies that “both respect the law and safeguard the role of religion in education”.
In a letter to school principals, seen by the News Letter, the DUP minister said the court “held that the arrangements for religious education and collective worship in this case breached European Convention rights. It further determined that the core syllabus for Religious Education at the primary school did not provide teaching in an objective, critical, and pluralist manner and that collective worship was similarly not conveyed in such a way”.
But he added: “Significantly the Court did not strike down the existing legislation. Schools will note, therefore, that both Religious Education and collective worship continue to be a legal requirement in schools. Indeed, there is a legal obligation that they must continue”.
He cited the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, which he said makes clear that the “school day in every publicly funded school must include collective worship”.
The minister told school head that as per the law, “controlled schools must provide undenominational Religious Education based on the Holy Scriptures and collective worship that is not distinctive of any denomination”.
Mr Givan also said “comprehensive guidance” will be issued to schools in the coming weeks “to ensure consistency and legal compliance”.
It is understood some schools were considering suspending collective worship in assemblies after receiving letters from parents in light of the Supreme Court ruling. The parents argued that withdrawing their children from school assemblies over their religious content breached their human rights, and requested that the “unlawful” assemblies were stopped until guidance is produced.
In the Assembly on Monday, DUP MLA Harry Harvey raised concerns with the education minister about the issue. He said that in recent days, “some schools have been unsure about whether they have been acting lawfully by continuing with school assemblies” and asked Mr Givan to confirm that “teachers can continue with assemblies and that they are within the law in doing so”.
The minister responded: “I very much confirm that schools can continue with their collective worship and assemblies. Indeed, it would be unlawful for schools to stop collective worship and assemblies from taking place, because the law has not been struck down. If any school has been contemplating doing that, they should not, because that would be unlawful and would rightly be challenged by any parent of that school.
“In the controlled sector in particular, there is legislative underpinning for collective worship, and there are distinct legal approaches around it. When it comes to the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), boards of governors have greater responsibility for such matters, but, for controlled schools, it is the legislation, not boards of governors, that underpins collective worship. Governors have to comply with the law in that respect”.
The Department of Education is currently in the process of reviewing the curriculum for religious education in Northern Irish schools, as part of a wider overhaul – the first such review in almost two decades. It is responsible for the RE core syllabus.
Minister Givan says that under the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, the syllabus should be prepared by “a group of persons appearing to the Department to be people who have an interest in the teaching of religious education in grant-aided schools.”
He says he will set out the process for reform over coming weeks.