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
Christian group threatens DfE with legal action over school equality standards
Posted: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 09:51
A Christian lobby group is threatening the Government with a judicial review over its plans to introduce new standards for independent schools aimed at reinforcing principles of equality and fundamental values.
The new standards will require independent schools not to undermine 'fundamental British values' of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
The Christian Institute say new standards that will have "serious and perverse consequences", such as requiring teachers to remove traditional and gender-specific terms like husband, wife, mother and father from the curriculum.
The group have also expressed concern that Christian schools will be forced to downgrade religious festivals such as Christmas so as not to offend those that don't share the faith of the school.
The National Secular Society has accused the institute of "characteristically over-reacting".
The Christian Institute has instructed lawyers to launch a judicial review on the grounds that the six-week consultation process was "flawed" and broke the Government's own guidance.
The new standards will require schools to ensure that teaching does not discriminate against students contrary to the Equality Act 2010. Although independent schools are subject to the Equality Act 2010, complainants' only current remedy has been through the courts, but the new standards would also allow the Department for Education to take regulatory action against the school for failing to meet them.
The proposals came in the wake of the of the Trojan Horse affair which saw a co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos into some schools in Birmingham.
The Christian Institute is a registered charity, its main objectives being "the furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom" and "the advancement of education".
Colin Hart, chief executive of the Christian Institute, told the Press Association that the proposals were "shocking in their breadth and range" and would "destroy the independent sector".
He said: "They mistakenly advance the principle that political correctness equals British values. Accordingly they could be used to punish any school in the independent sector which has a religious ethos, a set of traditional beliefs, or who don't over promote every minority group's world view."
A Department for Education spokeswoman told the Press Association: "The Independent School Standards are designed to ensure every school prepares children for life in modern Britain.
"We make no apology for demanding high standards and the promotion of tolerance and respect of all faiths and cultures.
"It is simply untrue to say that the proposed changes - which received 1,400 responses in the last six weeks - would prevent teachers using gender-specific terms or require schools to downgrade Christian festivals."
The new standards have been broadly welcomed by the National Secular Society which submitted its own response to the DfE consultation.
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "The new standards go some way to ensuring that all schools serve the best interests of both society and children. It should come as no surprise that they will be resisted by groups seeking to use children's education for their own evangelical ends."
Education secretary to cut public funding to nurseries promoting 'extremist views' – including creationism
Posted: Fri, 8 Aug 2014 07:49
The Government has announced plans to cut public funding to nurseries that teach creationism as scientific fact or fail to promote 'British values', Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has announced.
Toddlers will be expected to be taught "fundamental British values in an age-appropriate way" and nurseries that do not "support this aim" will not receive public money, Ms Morgan announced.
The promotion of 'British values' will be added to the early years curriculum in England, which sets out the statutory standards that all early years providers must meet.
Nurseries that teach creationism "as scientific fact" will also be ineligible for taxpayer funding under the new rules – but a government source has said: "We are absolutely not saying, 'You can't teach Bible stories'."
The move will bring nurseries in line with publicly funded schools which are not permitted to teach creationism and intelligent design as science.
Ofsted, the education watchdog, will use the new guidelines in its inspections of nurseries. A consultation will take place in September and the education secretary hopes the rules will come into force in the New Year.
In a speech outlining the proposals, Nicky Morgan said: "There can be no place for extremist views anywhere in the education system. The changes we are making today will ensure that all early years providers and schools are aligned with the need to protect children from views that are considered extreme."
Writing on the National Secular Society website earlier this year, Jenna Scaramanga, a campaigner against fundamentalism in schools, urged the Government to cut funding to 'creationist nurseries' after the British Humanist Association (BHA) identified 67 'nurseries of concern' that were either creationist or had associations with extremist religious groups.
A report commissioned by former education secretary Michael Gove in April to investigate claims of a plot to takeover state schools in Birmingham uncovered evidence of "co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos into some schools.
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "The Government has a duty to protect children and young people from harm, including exposure to intolerant or extremist views. A child's rights to receive a sound education is paramount so it is right to ensure that public money is not used to support early years providers that in any way undermines children's education or increases the potential for radicalisation of young people.
"However, it's not at all clear how a clear distinction can be drawn in nurseries between creationism being taught as a religious story and it being taught as "scientific fact", particularly as there no formal science classes."
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)
