According to the statutory instrument published on legislation.gov.uk, the Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (England) Order 2026 came into force on 27 August 2026. The Order designates Barnet Hill Academy, Barnet, NW4 3ES, as a school having a religious character. Article 2 states that Barnet Hill Academy is a voluntary aided school and specifies Islam as the religion by reference to which religious education is, or may be, required under Schedule 19 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The effect is to give the school's Islamic religious character formal status in law.
The Secretary of State made the Order on 26 August 2026 under section 69(3) and (4) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The instrument also records that the procedure in the Religious Character of Schools (Designation Procedure) Regulations 1998 was followed. It was signed on behalf of the Secretary of State by Lorna Howarth, Deputy Director at the Department for Education. The Order extends to England and Wales, although the designation concerns a school in Barnet and the source note states that the power is exercisable by the Secretary of State only in relation to England.
The explanatory note on legislation.gov.uk states that designation is relevant to the statutory mechanism for deciding the form of religious education provided under Schedule 19 to the 1998 Act. That is the first direct policy effect of the Order. For the school, this means religious education arrangements are now anchored to a formally designated Islamic religious character within the existing statutory scheme. The Order does not create a new category of school, but it confirms which part of the existing framework applies.
The same explanatory note states that designation is also relevant to the mechanism for determining the form of collective worship under Schedule 20 to the 1998 Act. Collective worship is therefore the second area where the Order has a practical legal effect. In administrative terms, the measure does not alter the national rules on collective worship. It identifies Barnet Hill Academy as a school to which the religious-character provisions apply when those arrangements are determined.
Staffing is the third area identified in the explanatory note. Under sections 58 to 60 of the 1998 Act, designation is relevant to staffing matters in schools with a religious character. That point is significant for governance and employment administration. The Order does not amend staffing legislation, but it establishes that Barnet Hill Academy falls within the statutory regime in which those provisions may operate.
The Department for Education states that no full impact assessment has been produced because no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. That reflects the limited reach of the instrument, which applies to one named school rather than the school system more widely. Even so, the change is immediate. From 27 August 2026, Barnet Hill Academy's Islamic religious character is recognised for the purposes of religious education, collective worship and staffing under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.