What about Catholic schools?published at 12:59 GMT
12:59 GMT
The Catholic maintained sector, which has more than 400 primary and secondary schools, is the only large faith-based sector in Northern Ireland.
About half the grammar schools in Northern Ireland are also Catholic in ethos and are identifiably religious.
The ruling is likely to have some impact on Catholic schools, but only in terms of the curriculum and worship.
Other religious elements, such as crucifixes on classroom walls, statues and preparation for Holy Communion will likely continue and ethos will be largely unaffected.
The laws around collective worship and Christian-focused RE lessons apply to Catholic schools in the same way as they do to the state controlled sector, which while non-denominational, largely serves the Protestant community.
All schools – Catholic maintained, state controlled, integrated, Irish-medium and voluntary grammar must follow the core syllabus. Individual schools are then free to build upon this in a way that best suits the
needs of their pupils and their ethos.
In addition, the RE core syllabus includes Christianity, morality, world religions and a requirement at Key Stage 4 (GCSE) “for pupils to study the Christian church from both a Protestant and a Roman Catholic perspective” at all schools.