As the new school year gets under way, the role of religion in British education remains a lively and contentious topic of debate.

In Scotland, the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament is to examine the issue of religious observance (RO) in schools, after a petition calling for school worship to operate on an opt-in basis received over 1,500 signatures.

The petition, lodged by parent Mark Gordon and the Scottish Secular Society, argues that the current system, under which parents must opt-out on behalf of their children, is unsatisfactory, with many families not adequately informed of their rights:

"The current Opt Out arrangement is ineffective for most parents, with only 20% properly informed by their school of the right to opt out, and nearly 40% of parents never finding out their right to Opt Out.

There are serious concerns voiced by parents when asked why they often do not exercise their right to Opt Out. These include concerns that their child will be disadvantaged or singled out, lack of suitable alternative provision, the perception of the child that they are being punished for non-belief, and the breach of privacy which occurs when they are forced to publicly declare non-belief in state sponsored religion.

Changing the basis of provision from Opt Out to Opt In removes the assumption of faith which occurs under the current system. It requires each school to not only communicate that RO occurs in school, but the conditions and content of that RO, information which is currently not shared with parents despite the legal requirement to do so. It ensures that those who wish to participate in RO can do so with integrity, knowing that their co-participants share their faith and views. It also ensures integrity of provision for those of different faith or none, and raises the overall profile of the discussion of the role of religion in state schools."

The Scotsman reports that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Church of Scotland is opposing the petition. In its submission to the committee, the Church argues that an opt-in system would have a detrimental effect on education in Scotland:

“Religious observance is no longer tied to any one faith community’s creed or liturgical calendar. Nor should it be. It is instead focused on the beliefs and values that shape and are shaped by each school community.

To argue that it should be opt-in rather than opt-out would be to diminish the educational experience for young people in the same way as to remove personal social development would affect severely the capacity of a school to deliver on the four capacities as its primary goal.”

In England, meanwhile, last week saw a significant victory for the British Humanist Association, as the Office of the Schools Adjudicator ordered a leading Catholic school, London Oratory, to rewrite its admissions criteria following a complaint that the school was prioritising parents based on the degree of their involvement with the Catholic Church.