Most school leaders disagree with law on worship, poll finds
The Government is under pressure to repeal the law requiring collective worship in schools after polling indicated most senior teachers disagree with the law, and most schools ignore it. A poll of around 2,000 senior leaders at primary and secondary schools in England found 70% “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with the law requiring all schools to hold daily acts of collective worship. In schools without a religious character, the law states the worship must be “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”. Just 12% of senior leaders support the current law. The figures, from a Teacher Tapp survey commissioned by the National Secular Society, were broadly similar for senior leaders at schools with and without a religious character. The NSS has also obtained previously unreleased polling from Teacher Tapp, which reveals 66% of teachers say their school does not hold collective worship. This includes 79% of teachers at schools without a religious character, and 11% at faith schools. Most teachers who say they do not hold collective worship are at secondary schools (84%). These …
