School Worship and Assemblies

This chapter is concerned primarily with aims, content and provision of school worship and assembly in church and county schools. Within an empirical framework it attempts to clarify some of the issues regarding the place of worship and assembly in the life of the school. It discusses headteachers’ views as to whether the idea envisaged in the 1944 Act is considered desirable or practical. In doing so, this chapter describes the two distinct approaches adopted by church and county schools in their responses to the plurality of faiths and cultures in schools. The 1944 Education Act requires that: . .. the school day . .. shall begin with collective worship on the part of all pupils in attendance at the school, and the arrange­ments made therefore shall provide for a single act of worship attended by all such pupils unless in the opinion of the local education authority .. . the school premises are such as to make it impracticable to assemble them for that purpose.1