The review into religious observance in Scotland was set up in 2002 by Jack McConnell, then education minister, after a report by HM Inspectorate of Education. It found that non-denominational secondary schools were failing to provide time for religious observance in accordance with ministerial guidance.
Inspectors said they did not believe that schools were being deliberately negligent, rather that headteachers were finding difficulty in taking account of the guidance, and of the intentions of legislation dating back to 1872, in ways that were meaningful in the social, cultural and education context of the twenty-first century.
Their report raised the question of the continuing appropriateness of current advice on religious observance, while in England, David Bell, the chief inspector of schools, last week called for a repeal of the law requiring a daily act of collective worship in schools.
Mr Bell said it would not weaken Britishness no longer to require children and young people to worship daily in the Christian tradition bound up with our history and heritage, but to strengthen it "by being more honest about the fact that the majority of people do not attend church".
The Scottish review of religious observance in schools takes a similar stance, stating: "Where, as in most non-denominational schools, there is a diversity of beliefs and practices, the review group believes that the appropriate context for an organised act of worship is within the informal curriculum as part of the range of activities offered, for example, by religions, groups, chaplains and other religious leaders."
In the introduction to the report, leaked to The Herald, Anne Wilson, director of education of Dundee City Council and the review group's chairwoman, states: "This report reflects a vision for religious observance in schools that I hope will have the support of schools and the wider communities who can, and do, contribute to religious observance. We have tried to make the report inclusive, reflecting Scottish society as it is today."
It is envisaged that religious or faith groups could be invited into schools to hold after-school clubs or activities – an option that would decrease pressure on schools from parents who do not wish their children to participate in acts of worship.
The report also recommends that chaplains should not be asked to do anything they are not comfortable with in the context of their own faith, and calls on local authorities and schools to consult closely with pupils and parents and to take account of local circumstances when drawing up their programmes for religious observance.
Education authorities are also urged to provide smaller areas appropriate for different forms of religious observance and quiet contemplation when they are planning and designing school buildings.
The report also calls on the Scottish Executive to redefine religious observance as "community acts which aim to promote the spiritual development of all members of the school community and express and celebrate the shared values of the school community", and to define the aims of religious observance as "to promote the spiritual development of all members of the school community and to express and celebrate the shared values of the school community".
Susan Leslie, secretary to the Church of Scotland's committee on education, said: "It is not customary for the Church of Scotland to comment on unpublished leaked reports.
"However, it may be helpful to note that, as the Church of Scotland's representative on the review group, I can say that the report I worked on with other members of the review group is not substantially different from the consultation paper that the committee on education guided through the general assembly last year."