The Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill continues to move through Parliament, with Stage 1 expected to conclude by 28 November. The Bill covers two main areas: children’s right to be withdrawn from Religious Observance (RO) and Religious and Moral Education (RME), and technical changes to how the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 operates. 

Together has welcomed the Bill’s intent to strengthen children’s rights and clarify how the UNCRC Act will work in practice. However, our evidence to the Education, Children and Young People Committee in October raised concerns that the Bill, as currently drafted, falls short of UNCRC standards. 

We highlighted that: 

the Bill still does not give children an independent right to withdraw from RO – a key element of meeting UNCRC requirements; 

it continues to conflate RO with RME, which is a core curriculum area that promotes understanding and respect for different beliefs; 

the decision to insert new provisions into the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 risks placing parts of the Bill outside the scope of the UNCRC Act, potentially weakening accountability; 

the proposed amendment to the UNCRC compatibility duty must be carefully framed and clearly explained so it is not seen as reducing children’s rights; and 

additional safeguards are needed to ensure that children’s access to justice is not negatively affected by changes to the 2024 Act. 

In her letter to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 21 October, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Jenny Gilruth MSP responded to concerns raised by Together and other witnesses. She reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to strengthening children’s rights, while emphasising that the Bill aims to balance children’s and parents’ rights and ensure legal clarity for public authorities. The Cabinet Secretary also confirmed that updated statutory guidance will accompany the changes, and that further work is underway to explore how legislative barriers could be removed in the longer term. 

Following the Cabinet Secretary’s letter and evidence session on 28 October, Together wrote to the Committee to set out how the Bill could be strengthened to better reflect Scotland’s obligations under the UNCRC. You can read our full letter here. 

In our letter, we urged the Committee to agree the Bill at Stage 1 in principle – recognising the limited parliamentary time available – but to ensure key amendments are made at Stage 2 to bring it fully in line with children’s rights. 

Our key asks are: 

Independent right of withdrawal: Amend the Bill so that children and young people have an independent right to withdraw from Religious Observance, in line with the UN Committee’s latest recommendations. 

End the conflation of RO and RME: Protect RME as a core curricular entitlement and ensure statutory guidance clearly distinguishes between RME and RO, supported by child-friendly information. 

Bring the Bill within the scope of the UNCRC Act: Re-enact provisions on children’s participation in withdrawal decisions as stand-alone sections within this Bill, ensuring they fall under the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. 

Strengthen safeguards in Part 2: Introduce transparency and accountability measures, including broader powers for courts to issue declarators, a statutory duty for public authorities to report incompatibilities, and stronger ministerial duties to act on any breaches. 

Together remains committed to working with MSPs, the Scottish Government and partners to ensure the Bill both strengthens and upholds children’s rights. With the right amendments at Stage 2, this legislation could mark another important step in embedding the UNCRC across law, policy and practice in Scotland.