Faith schools undermine equality, choice and social cohesion.
Let's build an inclusive education system today, to ensure an inclusive society tomorrow.
Our education system should be open and welcoming to all. That's why we want publicly funded faith schools phased out and an end to religiously selective school admissions.
Around a third of publicly funded schools in England and Wales are faith schools – schools with a religious character. Scottish and Northern Irish schools are still divided along sectarian lines.
Separating children according to religion is divisive and leads to religious, ethnic and socio-economic segregation.
To make matters worse, many faith schools can discriminate against pupils and teachers who do not share the religion of the school.
Parents are entitled to raise their children within a faith tradition, but they are not entitled to enlist the help of the state to do so. The state should not allow the schools it funds to inculcate children into a particular religion.
Faith schools seriously limit choice for parents who do not want a religious education for their children, or do not share the faith of the local school. Our research has found that 18,000 families were assigned faith schools against their wishes in England in 2017 alone.
Despite a consistent and dramatic decline in church attendance, and a growing majority of non-religious citizens, successive governments have paved the way for ever greater religious involvement in education, often to the detriment of inclusive community schools.
A secular approach to education would ensure publicly funded schools are equally welcoming to all children, regardless of their backgrounds.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Please call on your MP to support a secular, inclusive education system for all.
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
NSS calls for end to state funded ‘religiosity inspections’ in schools
Posted: Wed, 21 Jun 2017 14:04
The National Secular Society has called for Ofsted to inspect religious education in faith schools after research revealed that millions of pounds of public money has been paid to religious organisations to carry out additional inspections of denominational RE.
Inspections under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005 evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of a school as a religious institution, including its provision of collective worship and RE.
In the last six school years, figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show that almost £5 million in Section 48 grants has been handed out to "faith bodies". The vast majority of the £4,904,800 grant money went to the Church of England (over half a million pounds per year) and the Catholic Church (over a quarter million). The Association of Muslim Schools, the Board of Deputies and two Sikh organisations also received tens of thousands of pounds.
The National Secular Society has now written to schools minister, Nick Gibb, urging him to ensure that Ofsted, rather than 'religious authorities', inspect schools' RE provision.
Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns director, commented: "The purpose of state funded inspections should be to ensure that schools are serving the needs of their pupils, not the interests of religious organisations.
"Putting all schools on the same inspection regime should have no discernible impact on Ofsted's costs as they already inspect these schools, but it would save millions in unnecessary grants to religious bodies. More importantly it would better ensure that religious education in faith schools is broad and balanced and not being used to promote religion or inculcate pupils into a particular faith.
In Anglican and Methodist faith schools the Section 48 inspections are known as SIAMS reports. Staff and governors at church schools have raised fears with the NSS that such inspections are being used to 'pressure' church schools to advance a more rigorous religious ethos – whether or not it's suitable for their school community.
At a time where Ofsted is facing a 'funding black hole', the NSS argues that getting rid of Section 48 inspections and giving the money to the school inspectorate could help them meet over 10% of their budget deficit.
Defending the separate inspection regime, a Church of England spokesperson told Schools Week that the Church was "legally obliged to ensure the religious education in its schools was consistent with its ethos".
Mr Evans said that a big part of the problem was that schools are still delivering denominational RE, rather than objective education about religions and beliefs.
"We want to ensure that all pupils to have the same entitlement to high quality, non-partisan education about religion and belief. Under the current legal framework, the religious education syllabus is decided locally by committees dominated by faith representatives or by religious bodies responsible for running faith schools.
"The whole legal framework around religious educations needed serious review. Denominational RE and 'local determination' survives merely because of the privileged position of churches and other religious organisations. The needs of pupils growing up in 21st century Britain must now take priority."
Catholic Church backs down on ‘faith certificates’ for pupils
Posted: Thu, 8 Jun 2017 13:12
The Catholic Church has dropped plans to take the Government to court in order to give priests the right to arbitrarily determine whether pupils are eligible for a school place on the basis of faith.
In 2016 the Office of the Schools Adjudicator upheld several complaints about the 'Certificates of Catholic Practice' and said schools had "failed" to comply with the admissions code.
Schools Week reports that the Church has now backed down over a threat to challenge the Government with a judicial review.
The certificate, which would be signed by a priest, testifies: "I hereby certify that this child and his/her family are known to me and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the child is from a practising Catholic family."
But Schools Adjudicator Dr Bryan Slater ruled that the certificate did not meet the requirement to be "reasonable, clear, objective, procedurally fair, and comply with all relevant legislation".
The certificates were "the gift of an applicant's parish priest", he said, and were opaque to parents because even meeting the standard of a 'practising Catholic' in church attendance would not guarantee receipt of a certificate. This would create unfairness.
The Church has now said a certificate will be issued if a parent has attended mass for a minimum of five years.
A certificate can be signed for parents who do not meet this threshold in "exceptional circumstances".
Professor Anna Vinoles of Cambridge University told Schools Week that no new definition would make the schools "more socially inclusive."
Stephen Evans, campaigns director of the National Secular Society, welcomed the Church's decision to drop the threat of court action, but said, "No discrimination against pupils on the basis of their religious background should be considered fair.
"To determine whether children can attend their local state-funded school on the basis of their parent's churchgoing activity is discriminatory and plain wrong. The next government should remove the rights of faith schools to have admissions policies that prioritise pupils on the basis of baptism, religious affiliation or the religious activities of their parents."
More information
Protect relationships and sex education
Age-appropriate relationships and sex education should be every child’s right.
Remove religious appointees from Scottish councils
Religion shouldn’t grant people privileged places in local democracy.
Research and reports
The faith schools research bank
The choice delusion: how faith schools restrict school choice
Three in ten families across England live in areas where most or all of the closest primary schools are faith schools and thousands are being assigned faith schools against their wishes.
Power grab: Academisation and the threat to secular education
Academisation has enabled faith groups to increase their influence over all schools, including those with no religious character. With little public debate, religious governance has increased, while secular oversight has diminished.
Religiosity inspections: the case against faith-based reviews of state schools
Faith based inspections of state schools are an unnecessary drain on public finds, frame widely held values as exclusive, and promote biased religious education.
Faith-shaped holes: How religious privilege is undermining equality law (PDF, 1.3 Mb)
