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
Faith school fails to teach human reproduction in science
Posted: Wed, 23 Nov 2022 16:38
An independent faith school is failing to teach pupils about human reproduction in science, inspectors have found.
Shiras Devorah High School, a Jewish faith school in London for girls aged 11-18, was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted after inspectors found pupils' learning in science is "restricted", limiting their future options and personal development.
According to an Ofsted report published on Monday, pupils "do not learn some aspects of the science curriculum relating to human reproduction".
This "reduces pupils' opportunity to gain a qualification in science and/or biology", the report said.
The secondary school curriculum specifies pupils should learn about human reproduction in biology.
Refusal to teach aspects of biology is a common issue in orthodox Jewish faith schools. Last year, Beis Medrash Elyon was penalised for not teaching biology beyond Year 8. In 2013, Charedi Jewish school leaders and advisors criticised plans to include evolution in the GCSE biology curriculum, with one Jewish school found to be have censored GCSE science questions.
The inspection, which took place in June, also found parents had withdrawn their children from sex education following a school consultation.
Mass withdrawal from sex education also occurred last year at a Jewish independent school in Gateshead.
Shiras Devorah's relationships education "does not include teaching about all the different types of relationships that people may have in wider society".
Schools are required to teach about protected characteristics in equality law, including sexual orientation, to secondary-age pupils in an age-appropriate manner. But orthodox Jewish faith schools frequently refuse to teach about same-sex relationships.
The report noted that in advance of meetings with pupils, inspectors agreed with leaders the themes of questions to be asked. Inspectors "were not able to speak with pupils about the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment, and about opportunities for pupils to meet people from cultures and faiths other than their own".
Shiras Devorah has had two standard inspections since it opened in 2018, both of which found the school "inadequate".
An inspection report from another independent Jewish secondary school, Beis Hatalmud, was also published on Monday.
The inspection found pupils at the Salford-based school for boys do not learn about LGBT+ relationships, "in keeping with the school's faith and beliefs". This means that pupils "are not fully prepared for life in modern Britain", the report said.
Last year a report from Jewish counter-extremism group Nahamu highlighted how a lack of sex education contributes to forced marriage in strictly-Orthodox Jewish communities.
It also said the exclusion of any reference to LGBT people in orthodox Jewish schools means LGBT+ people in these communities face "very serious issues of consent" when presented with a universal expectation of early, heterosexual marriage.
NSS: Failure to provide sex education "wholly unacceptable"
National Secular Society head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "Time and time again, we see fundamentalist faith schools ignoring the law and refusing to teach aspects of the school curriculum which go against its religious ethos.
"Very often, this means failing to teach anything about sex, even in biology.
"This is wholly unacceptable. A lack of proper sex education can have dire consequences, leaving pupils vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, forced marriage and mental health issues.
"It is imperative that the government ensures all young people, whatever their religious or cultural background, are given genuine and unconditional access to objective, inclusive and age-appropriate education about relationships and sex."
Image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Faith schools fail inspections for eight years running
Posted: Wed, 16 Nov 2022 13:21
The National Secular Society has called for government action after recent reports revealed two faith schools have failed inspections for eight years.
Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School and Beis Trana Girls' School, both Jewish independent schools in Hackney, London, were given an 'inadequate' rating by Ofsted in their latest inspections according to reports published yesterday.
Neither school has been judged to be of an acceptable standard since 2014.
In 2020 the NSS wrote to the education minister calling for the Department for Education to act on independent faith schools which consistently fail Ofsted inspections due to the imposition of religious ideology on the curriculum and management.
Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School
Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School, which teaches boys aged 5-13, has not been rated higher than 'inadequate' since 2014, when an emergency inspection was held due to "concerns about the provision made for pupils' welfare, the quality of the curriculum and teaching and pupils' progress".
In its most recent inspection in June, Ofsted found the majority of the school day is allocated to Jewish religious studies and is not taught in English.
The inspection report said school leaders "have not prioritised the secular curriculum sufficiently" and staff "do not have time to teach secular subjects in sufficient depth". As a result, pupils' knowledge in these subjects is "poor".
Some subjects in the secular curriculum are taught during religious education, but this has "very little structure or coherence".
Personal, social and health education (PSHE) is taught through religious education, and "tolerance of, and mutual respect for others are not encouraged" because pupils are taught "extremely limited" details about beliefs and cultures other than their own. School leaders "do not ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain", inspectors said.
In relationships education, pupils are not taught that "others' families may look different from their own families". According to the report, leaders requested that inspectors "did not ask certain questions about relationships education", and a member of school staff was present whenever inspectors spoke with pupils.
Schools are required to promote equality and pupils' understanding of the protected characteristics which are outlined in law. But many Jewish schools fail to do so because they have religious objections to teaching about same-sex relationships.
Inspectors also found staff "do not develop pupils' English language skills well enough" and pupils "struggle to understand when lessons are taught in English".
Beis Trana Girls' School
Inspectors found pupils at Beis Trana Girls' School, who are aged 3 to 16, achieve "very few formal or recognised qualifications by the time they leave the school".
This "limits their readiness for the next stage of their education, employment or training".
The inspection, which took place in July, also found older pupils did not have access to a "wide enough range of information to make informed decisions" about their future careers.
Although school leaders had produced an "appropriate" policy and curriculum for relationships and sex education, this has not been fully implemented in the secondary phase of the school. Secondary-age pupils are not taught about "the different types of relationships that people may have and the legal rights of those with protected characteristics". Inspectors were asked not to speak with secondary-age pupils about this aspect of the curriculum, the report said.
Inspectors also found leaders "have not fulfilled their statutory safeguarding responsibilities relating to pupils leaving the school roll". This puts pupils at risk of going missing from education, including being illegally educated in an unregistered school.
NSS: Pupils' options outside religious communities "extremely limited"
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "It is of serious concern that failing independent faith schools are permitted to continue operating despite inspection after inspection finding little to no progress.
"Both schools have failed to meet standards for eight years because they prioritise religious ideology and inculcation ahead of children's education and wellbeing.
"As a result, pupils at these schools will find their options beyond the narrow confines of their religious communities extremely limited.
"All children, regardless of their religious or cultural background, should be entitled to an education that maximises their future opportunities and their individual potential. The Department for Education must ensure any school that is not prepared to do this cannot continue to operate."
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)
