Schools that break the law

By not providing children with the opportunity to have a worship assembly each school day many schools are falling foul of the law of the land.

The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 Section 70 states that, "subject to the parental right of excusal or other special arrangements, …each pupil in attendance at a community, foundation or voluntary school shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship." which is to be: 'wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character' - Education Act 1996 Part V, Chapter 3, section 386 (2)

Now even when a school does hold an assembly the content can be anything from 'show and tell' to a telling off - hardly worship. The time given to assemblies is also being eroded. One school I visit has restricted the assembly time to 15 minutes maximum, which in my experience is a record! This includes the time taken for the children to file in and out, so that less than ten minutes remains for actual worship. When asked the reason for this the answer given was "percentages". (One more consequence of the pressure from government to perform as per its' set targets?) Now I didn't stick around to find out exactly what that meant, and maybe I'm being cynical about this, but I guess it's just another way of saying that figures on pieces of paper have to take precedence over figures in school uniforms.

The law is not being adhered to by the majority of the schools in this country, and the school authorities know it and not only turn a blind eye, but are active in 'reinterpreting' the law with their guidelines, in favour of the views of groups such as the British Humanist Society and the like. Why, because on the whole they consider worship as largely irrelevant to a child's development. Why, because on the whole they are atheistic Humanists who have their own agenda. However, If they don't like the law in this country then there is a democratic process for changing it. Until then any school that does not hold assemblies each school day, that are wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character, is breaking the law and should be made to comply, and the education authorities such as the DfEE who actively promote this stance should to be brought to boot.

Heads or Hearts?

What a responsibility leaders have to shoulder. Whether it be a business manager, a church leader, a school teacher, a youth worker - whatever, the influence they exert on others lives is considerable. I visit around 17 primary schools each month, taking Christian based assemblies, and I can't help but notice the difference in the kids (and teachers) behaviour, and the general atmosphere of the places. Many are obviously happy institutions where staff and pupils enjoy working together, yet increasingly more schools are becoming places of frustration and stress, with poor relationships across the board. Certainly some of the differences have to do with demographics (some schools have to handle more than their fair share of disruptive pupils) but more and more I've come to believe the main factor is the approach of the headteacher to leadership. Put simply some heads are people orientated while others major on programmes. Increasingly heads are being trained (and unfortunately chosen by school governing bodies) almost solely for their business skills - Heads with no Heart. Money management and an ability to manipulate dubious league tables is fast becoming the bottom line in measuring success. The government has created so many performance and financial pressures that Heads are reluctantly giving up their first love of teaching for the stressful world of management. Let's get priorities right. First create a warm, secure, accepting environment for staff and pupils alike and the school will flourish. Then let's do all in our democratic power to remove the bureaucratic stranglehold that is choking the heart out of our schools. Teachers not politicians or business managers are the experts at teaching -let them do it.
Heads, don't give in to the pressure - the well being of your staff and pupils is far more important than any league table or balance sheet.