The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986

Religious education in schoolsN.I.

Religious education in controlled and voluntary schools other than nursery and special schoolsN.I.

21.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Article, religious[F1 education] shall be given in every[F1 grant‐aided] school other than a nurseryF2. . . school and the school day in every such school shall also include collective worship whether in one or more than one assembly on the part of the [F3registered pupils] at the school.

(2) In a controlled school[F1, other than a controlled integrated school,] the religious[F1 education] required by paragraph (1) shall be undenominational religious[F1 education], that is to say,[F1 education] based upon the Holy Scriptures according to some authoritative version or versions thereof but excluding[F1 education] as to any tenet distinctive of any particular religious denomination and the collective worship required by paragraph (1) in any such school shall not be distinctive of any particular religious denomination.

[F4(3) Subject to paragraph (3A), in—

(a)a controlled integrated school;

(b)a grant‐maintained integrated school; and

(c)a voluntary school,

the religious education and collective worship required by paragraph (1) shall be under the control of the Board of Governors of the school and that religious education shall be subject to such arrangements for inspection and examination as the Board of Governors thinks fit.]

[F5(3A) In a grant-aided school the religious education required by paragraph (1) shall include religious education in accordance with any core syllabus specified under Article 11 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.]

(4) Religious[F1 education] and collective worship required by paragraph (1) shall be so arranged that—

(a)the school shall be open to pupils of all religious denominations for[F1 education] other than religious[F1 education];

(b)no pupil shall be excluded directly or indirectly from the other advantages which the school affords.

(5) If the parent of any pupil requests that the pupil should be wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious[F1 education] or collective worship or from both, then, until the request is withdrawn, the pupil shall be excused from such attendance in accordance with the request.

(6) No payment from public funds in respect of a pupil shall be varied by reason of his attendance or non-attendance at religious[F1 education] or collective worship.

(7) Ministers of religion and other suitable persons, including teachers of the school, to whom the parents do not object shall, subject to paragraph (8), be granted reasonable access at convenient times to pupils in any[F1 grant‐aided] school other than a nurseryF2. . . school for the purpose of giving religious[F1 education], whether as to tenets distinctive of a particular religious denomination or otherwise, or of inspecting and examining the religious[F1 education] given in the school and[F1 education] given by virtue of this paragraph may be in addition to that provided under paragraph (1).

(8) Paragraph (7) shall not, without the consent of the managers of the school, apply to a voluntary school in existence immediately before 1st October 1973 which was not at that date required to give such access as is referred to in that paragraph and where a pupil has been wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious[F1 education] in any voluntary school to which such access is not granted, such pupil may be withdrawn from the school during such periods as are reasonably necessary for the purpose of enabling him to receive religious[F1 education] of which his parents approve.

(9) The Department shall make such regulations as it considers necessary for securing that the provisions of this Article relating to religious education are complied with in all[F1 grant‐aided] schools other than nurseryF2. . . schools, and in particular such regulations may contain provisions with respect to—

(a)the times during which any religious observance may be practised or any religious[F1 education] may be given;

(b)the times during which pupils may be withdrawn from the school so that they may receive religious[F1 education] in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (8);

(c)the making of arrangements for religious[F1 education] in schools;

(d)the amount of time which may be allotted in the time-tables of schools to religious[F1 education].

F3Words in art. 21(1) substituted (23.3.2007) by Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1915 (N.I. 11)), arts. 1(4)(c), 44(1), Sch. 2 para. 24, SR 2007/197, {art. 2(a)}

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Duties of teachers in controlled schools as to collective worship and religious instructionN.I.

22.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Article, the teachers in every controlled school other than[F6 a controlled integrated school or] a nurseryF7. . . school, if so requested by [F8the Authority] F9..., shall conduct or attend collective worship in the school and give undenominational religious[F6 education] in the school but a teacher in a controlled school shall not be required to give religious[F6 education] other than undenominational religious[F6 education].

(2) A teacher who has, under paragraph (1), been required to conduct or attend collective worship or give undenominational religious[F6 education], may make a request to the Board of Governors of the school in which he is serving to be wholly or partly excused from conducting or attending such worship or giving such[F6 education] or both from conducting and attending such worship and giving such[F6 education] and at the same time furnish to the Board of Governors for submission to [F8the Authority] F9... a statutory declaration that his request to be so excused is made solely on grounds of conscience.

(3) Where a teacher makes a request under paragraph (2) and furnishes the statutory declaration required by that paragraph, the teacher shall, until the request is withdrawn, be excused in accordance with the request and whilst he is so excused shall not receive less emoluments or be deprived of, or disqualified for, any promotion or other advantage by reason of the fact that he does not conduct or attend collective worship or give undenominational religious[F6 education].

(4) Where [F8the Authority] is wholly or partly unable to arrange that the teachers in a school conduct the collective worship or give the undenominational religious[F6 education] which it is required to provide in the school in accordance with the provisions of Article 21, [F8the Authority] may, for the purpose of fulfilling its obligations under that Article, advertise for and appoint a teacher to conduct such collective worship or give such religious[F6 education].

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Religious instruction not to be inspected, but complaints to be investigated, by DepartmentN.I.

  • 23.  Para. (1) rep. by 1989 NI 20

  • Para. (2) rep. by 1993 NI 12