Article 21 Religious education in controlled and voluntary schools other than nursery and special schoolsC1

Subject to the provisions of this Article, religiousF1 education shall be given in every grant‐aided school other than a nurseryF2. . . school and the school day in every such school shall also include collective worship whether in one or more than one assembly on the part of the F3registered pupils at the school.

In a controlled school, other than a controlled integrated school, the religious education required by paragraph (1) shall be undenominational religious education, that is to say, education based upon the Holy Scriptures according to some authoritative version or versions thereof but excluding education as to any tenet distinctive of any particular religious denomination and the collective worship required by paragraph (1) in any such school shall not be distinctive of any particular religious denomination.

Subject to paragraph (3A), in—

the religious education and collective worship required by paragraph (1) shall be under the control of the Board of Governors of the school and that religious education shall be subject to such arrangements for inspection and examination as the Board of Governors thinks fit.

In a grant-aided school the religious education required by paragraph (1) shall include religious education in accordance with any core syllabus specified under Article 11 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

Religious education and collective worship required by paragraph (1) shall be so arranged that—

If the parent of any pupil requests that the pupil should be wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious education or collective worship or from both, then, until the request is withdrawn, the pupil shall be excused from such attendance in accordance with the request.

No payment from public funds in respect of a pupil shall be varied by reason of his attendance or non-attendance at religious education or collective worship.

Ministers of religion and other suitable persons, including teachers of the school, to whom the parents do not object shall, subject to paragraph (8), be granted reasonable access at convenient times to pupils in any grant‐aided school other than a nursery. . . school for the purpose of giving religious education, whether as to tenets distinctive of a particular religious denomination or otherwise, or of inspecting and examining the religious education given in the school and education given by virtue of this paragraph may be in addition to that provided under paragraph (1).

Paragraph (7) shall not, without the consent of the managers of the school, apply to a voluntary school in existence immediately before 1st October 1973 which was not at that date required to give such access as is referred to in that paragraph and where a pupil has been wholly or partly excused from attendance at religious education in any voluntary school to which such access is not granted, such pupil may be withdrawn from the school during such periods as are reasonably necessary for the purpose of enabling him to receive religious education of which his parents approve.

The Department shall make such regulations as it considers necessary for securing that the provisions of this Article relating to religious education are complied with in all grant‐aided schools other than nursery. . . schools, and in particular such regulations may contain provisions with respect to—