Collective Worship and the Law

Collective worship in community schools is grounded in the historical past and enshrined in educational law to be

"wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character"  (2 Education Reform Act 1988 section 7(1) and the corresponding section of the Education Act 1993).

In Church schools the requirement instead to reflect the Anglican status of the school as expressed in its trust deed liberates those leading collective worship to build on the rich, lived diversity of Anglican tradition and identity. In the same way as worship in churches is aspirational, constantly evolving and being re-imagined there is an expectation of a continuous, dynamic reimagining of what collective worship means in the Church school.