Article 22 Duties of teachers in controlled schools as to collective worship and religious instructionC1

Subject to the provisions of this Article, the teachers in every controlled school other thanF1 a controlled integrated school or a nurseryF2. . . school, if so requested by F3the Authority F4..., shall conduct or attend collective worship in the school and give undenominational religious education in the school but a teacher in a controlled school shall not be required to give religious education other than undenominational religious education.

A teacher who has, under paragraph (1), been required to conduct or attend collective worship or give undenominational religious education, may make a request to the Board of Governors of the school in which he is serving to be wholly or partly excused from conducting or attending such worship or giving such education or both from conducting and attending such worship and giving such education and at the same time furnish to the Board of Governors for submission to the Authority ... a statutory declaration that his request to be so excused is made solely on grounds of conscience.

Where a teacher makes a request under paragraph (2) and furnishes the statutory declaration required by that paragraph, the teacher shall, until the request is withdrawn, be excused in accordance with the request and whilst he is so excused shall not receive less emoluments or be deprived of, or disqualified for, any promotion or other advantage by reason of the fact that he does not conduct or attend collective worship or give undenominational religious education.

Where the Authority is wholly or partly unable to arrange that the teachers in a school conduct the collective worship or give the undenominational religious education which it is required to provide in the school in accordance with the provisions of Article 21, the Authority may, for the purpose of fulfilling its obligations under that Article, advertise for and appoint a teacher to conduct such collective worship or give such religious education.