Agenda item

An Update on the Work of Developing the Collective Worship Guidelines

To accept the report and the proposal by the Reverend Nick Sissons that we as a SACRE send a letter to WASACRE and the national bodies of all the churches in Wales to enquire how they could assist in moving the matter forward.  The Reverend Sissons agreed to draft the letter

Everyone was reminded of the background to the situation, where nominations were requested some months ago by now to look at the current guidelines as they had dated.  Everyone had agreed that the guidelines were no longer suitable, and as a result the Reverend Nick Sissons and Councillor Elin Walker Jones had offered to review the current Guidance.

The Reverend Nick Sissons reported that, after studying the current guidance, it had become clear how much work was required, and he suggested that there was no value in going through the current document and altering it since there were wider issues that needed to be addressed, particularly the need to review the legislation on collective worship. He wondered whether anyone was aware of what the schools were doing at present? The Reverend Sissons felt that there was a role here for the Churches to lead on the work, as there really was a need for a more suitable document by now.

He referred to the paper where four options had been proposed, which were:

Option 1: Do nothing

Option 2: Review the existing Policy

Option 3: Write to the Welsh Government asking them to take the issue of Collective Worship or assembly seriously, and review the legislation as a matter of urgency.

Option 4: A compromise? Write to the Welsh Government and create a new policy that takes children and young people’s mental health, spiritual and moral needs seriously. A policy that is written by those who undertake these tasks within schools regularly: A policy that values the idea of a whole-school community.

The Reverend Sissons noted that the situation would continue to cause concern until the legislation was changed, and he stated his concern that collective worship was too important a matter to be left to one side.

Councillor Walker Jones elaborated on the above and noted that an opportunity was being missed to address the matter of collective worship, and that merely revising the current document would not address the issue. 

She also reported her concern that it appeared that neither the Welsh Government nor ESTYN were taking the matter seriously, and consequently there was a need for the SACRE to do something urgently in order to address the situation.

The Reverend Nick Sissons and Councillor Elin Walker Jones were thanked for their work in delving to the root of the matter, and the floor was opened to comments.

Concern was noted that it was not very clear what currently took place in schools, and it was questioned why ESTYN reports were no longer being brought to the attention of the SACRE?  The Assistant Resources Officer and SACRE Clerk confirmed that the layout of ESTYN reports was now quite different, with very little reference to collective worship.  

She noted the feeling that it was a duty for the SACRE Members to monitor what went on in the schools, but she questioned whether the receipt of an invitation to attend a school assembly truly meant that a service was held regularly in the school?

It was reported that schools were requesting a copy of the guidance, therefore the Council had a responsibility to make them fit for purpose, and it was suggested that perhaps we should ask the WASACRE to raise the matter with all SACREs, and look at the matter nationally. In addition, it was noted that any changes would have to be made by individuals who were knowledgeable in the field.

The importance of bringing children together was noted, and that meaningful consideration was needed in order to do the task well and perhaps offer something creative, especially having heard the comments that there was shortage of space in some schools, and that the opportunity to assemble was being lost.

The committee took the opportunity to question specialists from education about their experiences, and one noted that a service for different school years was held every week, with the years being combined when that was possible, but it was a challenge to get all the children into the Hall.  It was noted that collective worship had its benefits, but COVID had had a negative effect on the children's listening and concentration skills.  This was reiterated, noting that children needed to see the value of collective worship.  With regard to having everyone in the Hall at once, it was noted that some schools had high numbers of pupils in some years, and that collective worship with one form year at a time was the only option.  The 'Minute to Think' model was referred to, where a slide was placed on the white board in the registration classroom, giving the pupils the opportunity to reflect on its contents during registration.

Many of the Members were keen to take the matter further, such as discussing with the national bodies of all the churches in Wales, raising it with the WASACRE, await a change in legislation through the Welsh Government and enquire with individual schools, but concern was noted that the timescale for some of the options was slow, and the feeling that we need to do something urgently.

The members noted their thanks for the above options, and noted that perhaps there were other options, but whatever the best option was, there was agreement that we needed something more useful than what was currently available.

RESOLVED: To accept the report and the proposal by the Reverend Nick Sissons that we as the SACRE send a letter to the WASACRE and the national bodies of all the churches in Wales to enquire how they could assist in moving the matter forward. The Reverend Sissons agreed to draft the letter.