"any free-thinking head teachers circumvent the requirement quite skilfully, managing the ritual with little or no bowing of heads or joining of hands whilst satisfying the needs of any gullible Ofsted inspector"

That's what I meant when I said "covertly evading the law", and I certainly didn't understood you to be disapproving of such actions.

An in-your-face badge like that with a slogan is one thing - but a better parallel might be badge with the Humanist Society symbol. I'd be wholly opposed to any school barring teachers frrom wearing that.

Skilfully circumventing the requirement to the satisfaction of all concerned, rather than openly refusing to comply, is a time-honoured tactic that avoids conflict. There are tens of thousands of schools in this country, many of which contravene this silly law to a greater or lesser extent. You will rarely read about any in the papers. I'm biased and I'm happy with it. We must sometimes oil the wheels of life.

Yes the badge was in-your-face. No doubt as to its intended message. A Humanist Society symbol would convey nothing to most of the people in a school who see it, defeating the whole object of wearing it. A crucifix dangled in a patient's face is just as explicit a statement as that badge. Almost everyone knows precisely what it means, a slogan without words. "I'm a Christian, I'm proud of it and you'd better know about it".