Integrating children of Integrating children of many faiths into “mainly many faiths into “mainly

or broadly Christian” or broadly Christian” collective worship in collective worship in

schoolsschools

Integrating children of Integrating children of many faiths into “mainly many faiths into “mainly

or broadly Christian” or broadly Christian” collective worship in collective worship in

schoolsschools

Government Guidelines 1/94

• All maintained schools must provide religious education and daily collective worship for all registered pupils and promote their spiritual, moral and cultural development.

• Collective worship… must be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character, though not distinctive of any particular Christian denomination.

Ofsted 2002• The school does not comply with the statutory duty set

out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1988, to provide for all pupils to attend a daily act of collective worship, which over a term must be broadly Christian in nature.

• Although the school meets together daily in an assembly, when important messages are imaginatively given about social and moral issues, there is no act of worship. Worship is generally understood to imply the recognition of a supreme being. The words used should recognise the existence of a deity. This is not the case with assemblies at Priestmead and what the school provides is not in keeping with the spirit of the law.

London Boroughs

Priestmead School• Middle school in London Borough of Harrow• 372 pupils• Mainly Asian catchment area• Multiple faith groups

– Buddhist 1– Christian 46 + Roman Catholic 4– Greek Orthodox 1– Hindu 186– Jain 37– Jewish 1– Jehovah’s Witness 1– Muslim 60 (up from 40 in 2002)– Sikh 3 – Pagan 1 No religion 14 Not specified 2

Other 2

Predominantly Hindu• Happy for children to learn about

Christianity• Want their children to understand

about the Christian faith• Strong in their own faith.

Faiths at Priestmead 2002

Christian

Buddhist

Greek Orthodox

Hindu and Jain

Jewish

Jehovah's Witness

Muslim

Sikh

Roman Catholic

Pagan

No Religion

Not Specified

Other

Faiths at Priestmead 2008

ChristianBuddhistGreek OrthodoxHindu & Jain

JewishJehovah's WitnessMuslimSikhRoman CatholicPagan

No ReligionNot SpecifiedOther

Faiths at Priestmead 2015

Farmington Fellowship• Based at Farmington Institute here at Harris

Manchester College in Oxford University• Aim to improve RE teaching and the

performance of classroom teachers in conducting collective worship

• My previous Fellowship in 2004– Developed assemblies that stay within the law by

mentioning a deity– Ensure assemblies were ‘mainly or broadly’

Christian while not alienating non-Christian majority• Conclusions – three golden rules:

• Don’t evangelise• Reading stories from the Bible is

acceptable (part of national culture)

• Use a generic word for the deity (‘Lord’) which works for Christians, Hindus and Muslims

July 7 2005• Muslims newly assertive – did not run

for cover• Attendance in the Mosques went up• More girls have their head covered

now• More Muslim fathers are pressing for

Islamic principles to be observed

Islamic Principles• Dress: Muslim girls from 8yrs have their hair covered, wear long

trousers, long sleeves and loose sleeves

• Diet: Can’t eat pork or drink alcohol. During Ramadan children who are fasting should not drink water. If a child faints (constituting a danger to life), then school may give water.

• Art: Discouraged from portraying prophets. Children may look at pictures but not draw.

• Music: Some disapprove of listening to music (particularly during Ramadan)

• Dance P.E.: Separate changing rooms for boys and girls and preferably each child in their own space. Children should not look at each other between navel and knee.

• Sex Ed: Children shouldn’t see nude pictures.

Education and Cultural Diversity

• No part of life, no thought, no way of thinking, can be considered rightful if it presumes to be independent of the Islamic revelation. For Muslims, education is the means of initiating the young and immature into their full cultural heritage as Muslims. Education begins and ends with the revealed will of God.

• Edward Hulmes

Aims of Project• To discover how to reconcile the

law on one hand with polarising Muslim tendencies on the otherTry to prevent Muslims from being

withdrawn from school assemblies Keep Muslims integrated in

mainstream Western societyAllow Muslim pupils, particularly girls,

to benefit from their full education entitlement

What options are there?

• Disregard Muslim concerns – the French method

• Give in to theocratic separatism – the Iranian way

• Try to find an accommodation – the Turkish way

Risks of each approach

• The French way: Disregard Muslim concerns– Confrontational– Risk pupils being withdrawn from school– Fuel separatism– Disrespecting their faith– Cut children off from secular moderating

influences

Risks of each approach• The ‘Iranian’ way: Sharia Law at

Priestmead– Need to obey UK law– Children need to enjoy the benefits of

the national curriculum– Impractical (separate changing

cubicles for PE; long robes)

Third Way• Find an accommodation

– There is a way to meet the religious needs of Christian and Muslim (and indeed Jewish) pupils in the same assembly

– All three religions share a common holy book (Old Testament)

– OT has rich catalogue of illuminating stories which can be retold in assemblies in a way which meets our legal obligations but does not cause offence to any religion

The ‘Turkey’ option• Telling an Old Testament story is not

‘worship’ so doesn’t offend sensitivities of other faiths

• But it meets the Ofsted criteria because all the OT stories mention a supreme being

• OT stories work well in assembly because they are graphic and strong on narrative so appeal to all children, even if they don’t have faith

• All the Old Testament favourites like Noah, Moses, Jonah, Daniel, David and Goliath can be used

Christian and Muslim names

• Adam and Eve Adam and Hawwa• Cain and Abel Qabil and Habil• Noah Nuh • Jacob and Joseph Yaqub and Yusuf• Pharoah and Moses Firawn and Musa• David and Goliath Dawud and Jalut• Jonah Yunus• Mary and Jesus Maryam and Isa

But not so fast…..!• Need enormous cultural sensitivity

when telling the story• How do we tell stories in a Christian

context?– Pictures– Songs– Drama

Teaching Christian stories

• English• Bible can be read

by anyone • Pictures OK• Songs to help you

memorise• Drama to help

visualise

Strict Islamic Practice

•Wash before reading (wudu)•Wear gloves to read Qur’an?•Women menstruating should not go to the mosque or touch the Qur’an•Keep Qur’an on a stand•Recite in Arabic

Priestmead Practice• Impractical to wash hands before

reading Qur’an• Not our tradition to wear gloves• Have to lead assembly even if

menstruating• Not recite in Arabic for obvious

reasons!

Lessons learned

• Use lots of pictures– It’s OK as long as there are no people

in them!• Tell the story in your own words in

a way you are comfortable with– But make sure you are not biased

towards the version you are familiar with

• Be dramatic in your reading– But don’t act

One last catch!• Does the story mean the same thing

in the two different traditions?– Cultural contexts are so different we

need to check that we are not offending through an inappropriate exegesis

• Check Muslim understanding of the story Yunus/Jonah– Sent questionnaire to 60 Muslim

children in Priestmead asking them what they understood by the story

Questionnaire• Overwhelming response was:

– Jonah story is about disobedience to the will of God

– Repentance leads to forgiveness and a new start

• The Lion Handbook to the Bible says: “In deliberate disobedience Jonah sets out in the opposite direction….At last he comes to his senses and God gives him a second chance.”

Conclusion• Law states assemblies must be ‘broadly

or mainly Christian in character’• Priestmead has an increasingly

assertive Muslim constituency• In collective worship, can exploit the

common heritage of both traditions to meet the needs of both sides at same time

•No children withdrawn from assembly at Priestmead

Future Study

• How do we accommodate Muslim sensibilities in other areas of the National Curriculum?– Music– Art– P.E– Sex education

Eastern European Influence

• Predominantly Christian• Want to succeed and settle• EAL children

And Now………….• Focus on British Values

Influence of Head Teacher• Lead from the front!• Collective Worship – more than

stories• Following Government initiatives.• SMSC• Listen to local SACRE

British ValuesAUTUMN: SPRING: SUMMER:

WEEK: THEME FOR THE WEEK: WEEK: THEME FOR THE WEEK: WEEK: THEME FOR THE WEEK:

           

01-09-14Everyone is special at

Priestmead05-01-15 SEAL- Going for Goals 13-04-15

National Pet MonthApril 1 - May 5

08-09-14 SEAL- New Beginnings 12-01-15Parable: House on the

Rock21-04-15 Shakespeare’s Birthday

15-09-14 We Show Respect 19-01-15 We Have Hope 28-04-15 SEAL- Relationships

22-09-14Rosh Hashanah/ Looking

after the world/responsible.

26-01-15 Telling the Truth/Justice 05-05-15V.E. Day was on May 8,

1945.

29-09-14National Poetry Day (3rd

Oct)

Navaratri (29 – 3 Oct)02-02-15

RSPB The Big School’s Bird Watch

12-05-15Marie Curie and Husband

awarded Nobel Prize

06-10-14Yom Kippur (4 Oct)Black History Month

09-02-15 Safer Internet Day (10) 19-05-15 Walk to School Week

13-10-14

Design a flag to celebrate Magna carta and Simon de Montfort

parliament

16-02-15 Half Term 26-05-15 Half Term

20-10-14 Diwali (23 Oct) 23-02-15Chinese New Year (19)SEAL –Good to be Me

02-06-15 SEAL - Changes

27-10-14 Half Term 02-03-15 Climate Week 09-06-15 D-Day

03-11-14What did the Greeks do

for us?09-03-15 People Who Show Courage 16-06-15 Ramadan

10-11-14Remembrance/World

Kindness day (13th Nov)16-03-15 Do The Right Thing 23-06-15 The Longest Day

17-11-1417th-21st Nov. Theme:

'Let’s Stop Bullying Together'

23-03-15Mothering Sunday/People

who care for us30-06-15 Developing Wisdom

24-11-14Road Safety Week, 17 -

23 30-03-15 Easter 07-07-15 Integrity

01-12-14 E Safety focus     14-07-15 The Next Step

08-12-14 Hanukkah        

15-12-14 Christmas        

Where is Collective Worship going?

• SMSC• PSCHE

• Secure??