UNITED KINGDOM
In Bermuda the law allows collective worship by the students but prohibits
collective worship at public schools from being "distinctive of any particular
religious group." The law also provides for exceptions to the requirement that
pupils in public schools engage in collective worship at least once a week. It gives
parents the right to request that their children be excused from such worship and
authorizes such pupils to worship elsewhere at the beginning or end of the school
day. Home schooling is an approved alternative for religious or other reasons.
Jewish representatives claimed that bringing up children as Jews in a country
where Christian prayers are said in both public and most private schools is a
challenge.
At the end of the previous reporting period, more than 30 percent of state schools
had a religious character. Nearly all of the approximately 7,000 "faith schools" in
England (numbers are not available for Scotland and Wales) are associated with
Christian denominations, although there are Jewish, Islamic, Sikh, and one Hindu
school. No church or religious organization receives direct funding from the
government, with the exception of "faith schools." The government provides
financial support--up to 90 percent of capital costs and 100 percent of running
costs, including salaries--to sectarian schools. In addition several hundred
independent schools of a religious nature receive no state support but must meet
government quality standards. Controversy arose in 2006 regarding more than 100
Islamic schools when an Office of Standards in Education (Ofsted) evaluation of
these schools showed many were "little more than places where the Qur'an was
recited." The schools were given time to correct their deficiencies. The Daily
Telegraph reported that the reviews of a number of the schools carried out this year
were positive, despite having curricula that may not be "broad and balanced." In
November BBC Panorama determined that about 5,000 pupils were being taught
the official Saudi national curriculum in United Kingdom schools. Education
Secretary Michael Gove said that there was no place for anti-Semitic or
homophobic lessons in British schools. As of October 2009, reports from the
Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) indicated there were
approximately 2,000 official madrassas.
Almost all schools in Northern Ireland receive state support. More than 90 percent
of students attended schools that were either predominantly Protestant (state-run)
or Catholic. Integrated schools served an estimated 7 percent of school-age
children whose families voluntarily chose this option, often after overcoming
significant obstacles to provide the resources to start a school and demonstrate its
sustainability for three years before government funding begins. Demand for
places in integrated schools outweighed the limited number available. There were