Daily collective worship: requirements and guidance

Find out about your requirements for providing collective worship and how to go about holding it. Be clear on whether pupils and teachers can choose not to attend.

Last reviewed on 8 November 2023
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 1228
Contents
  1. Which requirements apply to my school?
  2. Which religion does my school need to cover?
  3. What if Christian worship isn't appropriate for our pupils? 
  4. How should we hold collective worship?
  5. Can parents request to withdraw their child?
  6. Can staff withdraw from collective worship?

Which requirements apply to my school?

Maintained schools

You must provide daily collective worship for all registered pupils. There's a limited exception for maintained special schools, which we explain in the drop-down section below.

These requirements are outlined in annex G of the collective worship in schools guidance (the religious education requirements have since been updated, but the requirements for collective worship are the same). 

Special schools  You must, "so far as practicable", provide daily collective worship for every pupil attending the school. This is set out in section 10 of the Education (Special Schools) Regulations 1994.  There's no national guidance on what circumstances would mean this isn't practical. Some

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