Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: equality impact assessment (EQIA)

The Scope of the EQIA

The initial framing of the draft Bill allowed us to focus on the groups most likely to be impacted by the provisions in the Bill. This then allowed us to seek evidence to understand the extent of the impacts, particularly in relation to groups identified as likely to be impacted. After reviewing existing evidence, further engagement was conducted to fill gaps in evidence.

Religious Observance and Religious and Moral Education in Schools

Key statistical information relevant to this impact assessment

While data regarding the religion or belief of parents and pupils is not routinely collected, census data published in May 2024 showed that the majority of people in Scotland said they had no religion for the first time. In 2022, 51.1% of people had no religion, up from 36.7% in 2011. The percentage of people with no religion has increased since 2001, coinciding with a decrease in people belonging to the Church of Scotland. It is reasonable to assume that these statistics would broadly align with religion or belief of the current population of parents. In terms of children, 62.3% of 0-15 year olds said they had no religion, up from 47.9% in 2011, with similar changes reflected in the 16-24 age group which reported 62.8% with no religion, up from 48.2% in 2011.

Therefore, this provided an initial idea of the numbers of individuals who have the potential to be impacted by the RO/RME provisions in the Bill. Nevertheless, it is important to note that current guidance highlights that both RO and RME should be delivered inclusively for pupils of all faiths and none. Therefore having no religion does not necessarily mean that a pupil would not benefit from, or would not wish to participate in, either RO or RME.

In terms of the characteristics of individual schools across Scotland, as of the September 2024 School and Pupil Census there are 2,083 non-denominational schools (1,672 primary, 306 secondary and 105 special) and 362 denominational schools (306 primary, 54 secondary and 2 special) which is around 15% of all schools in Scotland, with 358 of these being Roman Catholic. 3 are Episcopalian and there is 1 Jewish primary school. 577,433 pupils attend a non-denominational school, with 124,995 attending a denominational school (with 124,711 of these attending a Roman Catholic school, and 284 of these attending another denominational school).

However, it is important to note that denominational schools are open to pupils of all faiths and none, and engagement with the Scottish Catholic Education Service indicated that a range of different faiths are represented within their schools (though precise figures are unknown). This provided supporting information to add to our scoping of the numbers potentially impacted. Consideration will need to be given to how the faith character of a denominational school might affect the withdrawal process from RO and RME, in particular given RO and RME are more interwoven throughout the school day and life of the school when compared to a non-denominational school.

As of the September 2024 School and Pupil Census a total of 26,092 pupils (3.7%) were assessed and/or declared as having a disability, with 17,825 (2.5% of pupils) of these assessed as requiring curriculum adaptation, and 10,053 (1.4% of pupils) of these assessed as requiring communication adaptation. Additionally 284,448 (40.5%) of pupils had an additional support need, with 16,868 (2.4% of pupils) of these being noted as having communication support needs (though there may be some overlap with the previous figures). These factors may affect either a pupil’s ability to express a view, or the way in which they might participate in RO or RME.

In terms of age related sub-groups, the 2024 School and Pupil Census reported a total of 702,428 pupils, with 379,354 primary pupils and 315,072 secondary pupils (the remaining 8,002 attending a special school). While the proposed changes will affect all pupils, regardless of age, consideration will need to be given to the different support which may be required for pupils of different age and capacity. Additionally, RO and RME are timetabled differently in primary and secondary schools, therefore consideration will need to be given to the different impacts on primary and secondary pupils.

Prior research or engagement with children and young people relevant to this impact assessment

In December 2017 the Scottish Youth Parliament issued a joint letter with Humanist Society Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, calling for an opt out for young people from RO in schools. This call was reiterated by Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) in 2018 at the Scottish Government’s Annual Cabinet Meeting with Children and Young People, following the 2017 update to the RO guidance.

Amendment to the UNCRC Act

Due to the technical nature of the amendment, we did not consider it appropriate to conduct a wide consultation. Instead, we undertook a targeted consultation exercise with stakeholders, including engagement with the UNCRC Strategic Implementation Board, which has representatives from the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland Office, Together, UNICEF, and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. In addition, Scottish Government engaged with the Embedding Children’s Rights in Public Services Group, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the UNCRC Peer Support Network, NHS Education Scotland and the Society of Local Authority Lawyers & Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR).

We worked with Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) to ensure children and young people could understand the proposal. Together consulted children and young people who had previously been involved in shaping the original UNCRC Bill. Their feedback showed broad support for the principle behind the amendment, provided it is clearly explained. This feedback is informing the development of a child-friendly explainer, which will be shared with key children’s rights stakeholders.

Extent/Level of EQIA required

Following evidence from statistical data and the early engagement noted above, the most relevant characteristics identified as being significantly impacted by the Bill’s provisions are age and religion/belief, however there are potential positive impacts across all of the protected characteristics in Part 2 of the Bill. This allowed us to consider the impact on groups with one of these characteristics and, also, to focus on relevant sub-groups where the characteristics interact and ensure sufficient engagement with these groups and key stakeholders who work with children and young people as well as faith and belief groups.