No more faith schools

No more faith schools

Page 199 of 310: We need inclusive schools free from religious discrimination, privilege or control.

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.

  • 58% of Brits oppose faith schools and only 30% say they have "no objection" to faith schools being funded by the state.
  • 72% of voters, including 68% of Christians, oppose state funded schools being allowed to discriminate against prospective pupils on religious grounds in their admissions policy.

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.

  • Other representatives

    We also have template letters to write to your Members of the Scottish or Welsh Parliaments or Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly.

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

UN calls on Ireland to recognise needs of non-Christian children in the education system

Posted: Thu, 4 Feb 2016 14:25

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has criticised Ireland in its periodic review, urging the country to protect the rights of non-religious and non-Christian children and families.

Strong criticism was made of the overwhelming religious control of Ireland's schools, and the Committee said that Ireland must improve access to non-religious schools. 97% of Irish primary schools are denominational schools.

It said Ireland must "Expeditiously undertake concrete measures to significantly increase the availability of non-denominational or multidenominational schools and to amend the existing legislative framework to eliminate discrimination in school admissions, including the Equal Status Act".

The report concluded that "Schools continuing to practise discriminatory admissions policies on the basis of the child's religion" and the Committee said it remained "concerned at the very small number of non-denominational schools."

The Committee also recommended that Ireland "ensure accessible options for children to opt-out of religious classes and access appropriate alternatives to such classes, in accordance with the needs of children of minority faith or non-faith backgrounds."

In its report, the Committee expressed its concern that "children are not [currently] ensured the right to effectively opt-out of religious classes and access appropriate alternatives to such classes."

Atheist Ireland, which campaigns for an "ethical, secular state", said their calls for a secular education system had been vindicated by the report.

The secularist group said that their representatives were "in Geneva in January when the UN Committee was questioning Ireland, and we highlighted the State's attempt to mislead the Committee about the Minister for Education's intentions to change the Equal Status Act."

Claims that the Irish government were to amend the Equal Status Act were false, Atheist Ireland warned. "Actually, the Minister and the Government have made clear that they will not be amending the Equal Status Act to remove the right of publicly funded religious schools to discriminate against children in access. The Government says they cannot do this without a referendum, as they say they have a constitutional obligation to buttress religious discrimination."

‘Catholics-only’ school bus policy to be reviewed

Posted: Tue, 2 Feb 2016 12:27

The National Secular Society has welcomed news that a 'discriminatory' school bus policy, which gives Catholic pupils free travel but makes non-Catholics pay, is to be reviewed by Flintshire Council.

Pupils at the St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School in Flint are currently given a free bus pass if they live over three miles away from the school. However the pass is only given to Catholic pupils, and non-Catholic children are made to pay for the bus or use other more expensive travel options.

To receive the pass pupils are expected to provide "suitable evidence of adherence to the faith of the school such as a baptismal certificate or a letter from a priest".

The bus is run by the Council and the school's headteacher has now said that the policy should be changed. He told the BBC that he wished "they would scrap it."

One parent said it was blatant discrimination and that pupils "stand at the same bus stop [and] wear the same uniform" but some are made to use "non-Catholic" school-run minibuses, which are more expensive, or pay £55 for the service that Catholic pupils can access for free.

The division in the school caused by the scheme has seen the bus labelled the "Catholic bus" by pupils and parents.

Flintshire Council said that all of their "discretionary transport provision and policies are currently subject to a review." A consultation on the proposals prior to it being introduced in 2013 saw 85% of 638 respondents strongly disagreeing with the plans.

The National Secular Society previously warned Flintshire against adopting such a discriminatory policy and said it was very pleased to learn it is to now be reviewed.

NSS campaigns manager, Stephen Evans, commented: "Once children have been accepted into a school it's reasonable to expect that any assistance they receive for transport arrangements to and from that school are equitable and non-discriminatory. It is absolutely wrong that children are being treated differently purely on the basis of their or their parents' religious beliefs or activities."

The NSS has again written to the council urging it to amend the policy to remove the distinction between pupils of Catholic and non-Catholic faith.

School transport arrangements have a special exemption from Equality Act provisions prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion or belief.

The publicly-funded St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School also prioritises both children from Catholic and other faith backgrounds over children of non-religious parents in its admissions arrangements.

More information

Research and reports