Education Reform Act 1988

6 Collective worship

(1) Subject to section 9 of this Act, all pupils in attendance at a maintained school shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship.

(2) The arrangements for the collective worship in a school required by this section may, in respect of each school day, provide for a single act of worship for all pupils or for separate acts of worship for pupils in different age groups or in different school groups.

(3) The arrangements for the collective worship in a county or voluntary school required by this section shall be made—

(a) in the case of a county school, by the head teacher after consultation with the governing body; and

(b) in the case of a voluntary school, by the governing body after consultation with the head teacher.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the collective worship in every maintained school required by this section shall take place on the school premises.

(5) If the governing body of—

(a) an aided or special agreement school; or

(b) a grant-maintained school;

are of opinion that it is desirable that any act of collective worship in the school required by this section should, on a special occasion, take place elsewhere than on the school premises, they may make such arrangements for that purpose as they think appropriate.

(6) The powers of a governing body under subsection (5) above shall not be so exercised as to derogate from the rule that, in every such school as is there mentioned, the collective worship required by this section must normally take place on the school premises.

(7) For the purposes of this section—

• “maintained school” does not include a maintained special school; and

• “school group” means any group in which pupils are taught or take part in other schools activities.