Collective Worship: how to comply with the law and benefit all your pupils

Audience: Governors, Head Teachers, Teachers in schools with responsibility for Collective Worship, SACRE members.

The training will be taking place on Wednesday 22 November 2023, 6pm to 8pm via Zoom. 

Providing all registered pupils with a daily act of collective worship is a legal requirement for all schools. This can be a challenge in a diverse borough like Waltham Forest, where many different religious and non-religious beliefs are represented; but it is one that can be overcome to the benefit of all. Collective worship is different from assemblies; some schools choose to place the daily act of collective worship within assembly time, whilst others choose to place it elsewhere on the school timetable. In community schools and foundation schools without a religious character, head teachers have the responsibility of managing the provision for collective worship, after consultation with the governing body. This means that providing collective worship is an issue for governors, head teachers, and teaching staff.

This session is exclusively for those working in or with schools in Waltham Forest and will:

1. Clarify the law surrounding collective worship in schools
2. Share examples of how schools make arrangements for collective worship
3. Share examples of best practice in collective worship
4. Consider the link between collective worship and SMSCD and how schools can maximise on this

Course Leader: Lat Blaylock (RE Today Services)

This course is free. Governors, Headteachers and SACRE members can book their places by clicking here. 

Teachers and other members of school staff can book by sending an email to governor.services@walthamforest.gov.uk

Please book by Wednesday 15 November 2023. We advise deciding as a school which governors and members of staff should attend before bookings are made.