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
Secular subjects at faith school limited to English and maths
Posted: Fri, 22 Jul 2022 12:28
A faith school has failed an inspection for devoting most of its curriculum to religion, with "little time" for secular subjects.
Talmud Torah Tiferes Shlomo, an independent Jewish school in London, was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted, who said pupils "spend most of the school day on their Jewish studies".
Ofsted said the quality of education at the school, which is for boys aged three to 15, is "poor" in a report published yesterday.
The inspection, which took place in May, was brought forward at the request of the Department for Education due to "concerns raised about the quality of education and pupils' welfare".
The report said pupils have lessons in English and mathematics but "do not learn any other subjects in depth". Pupils in Years 7 to 10 are not taught physical education, and do not receive high quality careers guidance. Some pupils "have stereotypical views about the jobs that women can do".
Pupils in Year 10 take GCSE exams in mathematics and English, but if they want to study other subjects at GCSE they must do this outside school, Ofsted found.
There are no regular extra-curricular activities and pupils only have "limited opportunities" to explore their interests and talents.
Ofsted said pupils do not have enough opportunities to learn about other cultures and religions, and the programme for personal, social, health and economic education does not include all the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.
Schools are required to promote equality and pupils' understanding of the protected characteristics which are outlined in equality law. But many Jewish schools fail to do so because they have religious objections to teaching about LGBT+ people.
The inspection found relationships and sex education (RSE) at the school is "not in line with statutory guidance", as leaders "have decided not to cover aspects of relationships education in Years 7 to 10". Leaders have not informed parents that they do not have the right to withdraw their children from relationships education in the secondary phase.
Inspectors were requested not to ask pupils about aspects of RSE, "specifically anything related to sexual relationships, sexual orientation and gender identity". Ofsted said there is "no evidence" pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships.
Jewish counter-extremism group Nahamu has demonstrated how the lack of RSE in strictly orthodox Jewish schools means engaged couples may not be ready for sexual relations and may lack knowledge of consent, abuse and rape.
Some Jewish faith schools illegally refuse to register with the Department for Education in order to avoid inspection so they can teach children an unsuitable faith-based education without oversight. A schools bill has been introduced in parliament that would introduce new powers to the government to close loopholes that enable unregistered schools to continue running.
NSS: Case underlines need for proper regulation
National Secular Society head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "This case underlines the need for all schools, including independent faith schools, to be properly regulated.
"Even when they are registered with the Department for Education, some faith schools like this one attempt to break the law by offering an extremely narrow, religion-based curriculum which severely limits pupils' opportunities.
"Ofsted can tackle this by penalising schools that fail education and welfare standards.
"However, we know there are many faith schools kept deliberately and illegally unregistered because leaders do not want pupils to receive a secular education.
"That's why provisions to crack down on unregistered schools in the Schools Bill must become law, without being watered down."
Islamic school also fails
Yesterday Ofsted also published an inspection report on The Fountain School, an Islamic independent school in Bradford.
Ofsted rated the school 'inadequate' after finding that although pupils "gain greater knowledge" in Urdu and Arabic, pupils read "very few whole texts and study very little drama and poetry" in English.
Additionally, pupils are taught "hardly any British and local history".
Some teachers do not have any formal qualifications in the subjects they teach, including at GCSE, Ofsted found.
The report said a "minority" of pupils said they do not feel they can raise safeguarding concerns because they worry about how they will be treated. Ofsted said concerns raised by pupils during the inspection have been referred to "the appropriate agencies".
Women’s health strategy aims to end taboos
Posted: Wed, 20 Jul 2022 16:43
The government aims to end taboos on women's health issues including menstruation and contraception in its new strategy.
The government today published its woman's health strategy following a consultation last year.
The National Secular Society responded to the consultation urging the government to ensure women's health is prioritised over religious concerns. It raised reproductive rights, violence against women, and relationships and sex education as examples where the imposition of religion may have a negative impact.
The strategy document indicates the government has responded to some of these concerns:
- They aim for "high-quality, evidence-based education on women's health from an early age" and for women's health issues such as menstrual health and contraception to no longer be taboo subjects "anywhere in society". The NSS highlighted how some faith schools teach stigmatising ideas around contraception and menstruation in its consultation response.
- They will set out plans for sexual and reproductive health later this year. This will include increasing access and choice for all women who want contraception and ensuring women can continue to access robust and high-quality abortion services. The NSS emphasised the importance of protecting access to safe abortions and emergency contraception.
- They aim for greater awareness among the general population of specialist services for victims of sexual violence, including female genital mutilation (FGM). The NSS urged the government to tackle religiously-motivated misogyny, including FGM.
- Together with the recent NSS-supported ban on 'virginity testing' and 'virginity repair' hymenoplasty, the government is developing an awareness raising programme to "tackle the harmful misbeliefs that surround a woman's virginity". An impact assessment document on the hymenoplasty ban published on Tuesday said hymenoplasty is a form of 'honour'-based violence performed on women and girls "predominantly in highly conservative communities", particularly some Muslim and Jewish communities.
NSS: 'Welcome ambitions to tackle imposition of religious beliefs on women's health'
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "We welcome the government's ambitions to tackle several of the women's health issues we raised, including improved relationships and sex education, access to contraception and abortion, and strategies to end violence against women.
"These are all areas where the imposition of religious beliefs has proved detrimental to women's rights, health and wellbeing.
"The government must now ensure it lives up to its ambitions without giving way to any demands from religious groups that want to reinforce conservative gender roles."
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)
