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
‘Driving ban’ Charedi school criticised by Ofsted after emergency inspection
Posted: Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:58
A school which threatened a 'ban' on mothers driving their children to school has been criticised by Ofsted for failing to sufficiently promote "pupils' safety and well-being."
In an emergency inspection commissioned by the Department for Education, Ofsted found that the Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School was failing to meet independent school standards and raised concerns about safeguarding of pupils at the school.
The strict Charedi school's founding principle is described as "unconditional adherence to the Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish law)" and Ofsted said that school leaders "are aware that this disregards the protected characteristic of sexual orientation within the 2010 Equality Act."
Inspectors were critical about the provision of non-religious education, and said that the secular curriculum was "variable" at best. While the curriculum policy "makes reference to linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, and aesthetic and creative education" Ofsted found that in fact this was not well delivered.
School leaders "do not consider how all curriculum areas should be developed and taught" and asserted that "English tuition beyond Key Stage 3 is provided at home."
There were further problems with the careers advice provided at the school, which "focuses only on steering boys towards continuing with their academic studies in religious institutions."
"No provision" is currently made for "boys who may wish to progress with other careers," the report said.
Safeguarding concerns were also raised and inspectors wrote that "The school does not promote pupils' safety and well-being well enough."
Dates for when pupils join and leave the school are not recorded and a "lack of information" about pupils' further studies after leaving the schools means "the school does not know if pupils are safe or missing."
Issues such as "child sexual exploitation, faith abuse, forced marriage and preventing radicalisation are not considered" in the safeguarding policy.
Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School attracted significant controversy in 2015 after Belz rabbis said that women driving went against "the traditional rules of modesty" for their sect, and that children would be prevented from attending schools if they were driven there by their mothers.
In June 2015 the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the two schools involved had issued a "satisfactory response" and that the EHRC would not take any legal action over the matter.
Ofsted inspected the school in July 2015, at the request of the DfE.
Church of England seeks special protection for failing faith schools
Posted: Mon, 30 Nov 2015 13:28
One of the Church of England's bishops in the House of Lords has put down an amendment to the Education and Adoption Bill to protect the religious ethos of failing Anglican schools if they are forced to convert into academies.
The Bill will allow the Education Secretary to force "coasting" schools into converting to academy status. The Church fears that Anglican schools that are deemed to be failing could be taken over by a non-Christian academy sponsor and lose their religious character.
Because of this concern the Bishop of Ely has tabled an amendment on the "protection for schools which have a religious character".
The amendment states that "Where a school which has a religious character is eligible for intervention" the local authority or Secretary of State "must ensure the protection of that religious character".
Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns manager, commented: "There's no good reason to offer privileged protection to preserve religious schools. In fact, given England's current religion and belief landscape, there's a very good case for reducing the Church's control of schools.
"The Church of England is the biggest sponsor of academies in England, and it is reasonable to expect that forced academisation could result in a significant number of community schools joining Church or other faith-based academy chains resulting in a loss of secular, community school provision."
In a consultation submission on the Bill the National Secular Society argued for the inclusion of a provision to ensure that upon conversion, and for a reasonable period of time subsequently, no non-religiously designated school would be permitted to acquire a religious designation or faith ethos – to prevent the takeover of non-religious schools by faith groups.
In September it was reported that the last local authority controlled school in Blackpool will be forced to convert to an academy and is to be taken over by an Islamic education group, the Tauheedul Education Trust.
The Trust says it is inspired by "progressive Islamic and British values" and has "roots in the Muslim faith" but the school, Highfield Humanities College, will not become an Islamic faith school upon conversion.
Assurances have been given by the DfE that when the Tauheedul Education Trust (TET) assumes control of Highfield Humanities College, the non-faith community status of the school will be protected under the academy's funding agreement with the Government.
Stephen Evans added: "Any protection the Government offers to preserve the character of schools should ensure that secular provision isn't eroded – particular at a time when the Government should be doing all it can to promote inclusiveness and social cohesion."
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)
