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
Ofsted slams Islamic schools over safeguarding, curriculum failures
Posted: Thu, 27 Jan 2022 10:02
Two Islamic independent schools have failed to meet school standards, according to recent inspection reports.
An Ofsted report published on Tuesday revealed the Institute of Islamic Education in Dewsbury, rated 'inadequate', failed to recognise an "extremely serious safeguarding concern" that had to be referred to the police.
Another report published on the same day gave Hafs Academy in Stratford a rating of 'requires improvement' for failing to adequately plan what pupils learn outside Islamic studies.
Institute of Islamic Education
Inspectors said the Institute of Islamic Education, a boarding school on the grounds of a mosque for boys and young men aged 11-25, has a "lax attitude towards safeguarding". During the inspection, they identified "a serious and significant safeguarding concern" which school leaders had not identified because they had not linked "readily available" pieces of safeguarding intelligence together.
The inspectors asked the school's leaders to refer this "extremely serious safeguarding concern" to the local authority's children's services and to the police.
Pupils stated that they "did not feel safe in school." Ofsted also found some pupils "struggled to sleep" and that their mental health was "compromised".
Inspectors said some school leaders are "too concerned about the views of parents, rather than prioritising the child's needs".
Weak attendance systems at the school mean pupils can have unauthorised absences for a period of time without leaders taking action. Additionally, there are no records of when phone calls have been made to parents to check why pupils are not attending, the report said.
In July 2021 the school was found to have a book in its library that advocated death for gay people. Previously it has told parents their children faced expulsion if they socialised with non-Muslims and forbidden children from watching TV, listening to music or reading newspapers.
Hafs Academy
Inspectors at Hafs Academy, which is for boys aged seven to 16, found that while school leaders "aim for pupils to excel" in Islamic studies, pupils "feel they are missing out on learning in other subjects".
The report said leaders "do not ensure that what pupils learn outside Islamic studies is planned consistently well".
It found that in years 9 to 11, teachers do not usually extend pupils' knowledge beyond the confines of the examination syllabus. Additionally, pupils do not have the option to choose the GCSE subjects they wish to study.
The report also said leaders do not ensure pupils have enough resources to support their learning. This means pupils do not do any experiments in science, for example.
Additionally, inspectors found leaders "do not fulfil the statutory requirements to provide pupils with a programme of impartial careers education, information, advice and guidance".
NSS Comment
A spokesperson from the National Secular Society's education team said: "In both these schools, the demands of religious communities and the desire to inculcate Islamic teachings appear to have been prioritised over the educational and welfare needs of the pupils.
"It is particularly shocking that inspectors had to instruct the Institute of Islamic Education to refer a serious safeguarding issue to the police.
"This school has a very poor track record of safeguarding and putting children's needs first. All children, from all communities, should be protected in education from potential risk or abuse – this must be prioritised over religious concerns. And schools that consistently refuse to meet basic standards should be closed."
Image: Shutterstock
Jewish school pupils lack understanding of consent, Ofsted finds
Posted: Tue, 25 Jan 2022 13:34
Pupils at an independent faith school lack understanding of the law relating to sexual consent and abuse, inspectors have found.
Beis Hatalmud, a Charedi ('strictly orthodox') Jewish school in Salford for boys aged 11-16, was ranked 'inadequate' in its latest Ofsted inspection report, published last week.
During the inspection in November, inspectors found school leaders "had not fully considered some of the statutory elements" of relationships and sex education (RSE) requirements.
For example, pupils "do not understand the law relating to sexual consent, exploitation and abuse", the report said.
Instead, leaders have designed a "separate programme" that individuals can use on request.
The report also said leaders "requested that inspectors did not ask certain questions about relationships and sex education". But this had "no bearing on the outcome of the inspection".
Additionally, pupils are not taught about some of the protected characteristics of 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 independent Jewish schools fail to do so because they have religious objections to teaching about LGBT+ people.
Jewish counter-extremism group Nahamu has demonstrated how the lack of RSE in Charedi schools means engaged couples may not be ready for sexual relations and may lack knowledge of consent, abuse and rape.
Furthermore, Nahamu also found excluding any reference to LGBT+ people in Charedi schools means LGBT+ people in Charedi communities face hardship and "serious issues of consent" when expected to marry young into a heterosexual marriage.
Migdal Emunah, a charity which supports survivors of sexual abuse and violence in Jewish communities, has recently reported a surge in cases.
Other issues
Inspectors also found that pupils' achievement across all subjects is "limited by a narrow secular curriculum".
The report said English, mathematics and science curricula were "too narrow". Pupils are entered for GCSE examinations in mathematics and physics in year 9 "regardless of their abilities" and because not all the curriculum has been covered, pupils "do not achieve as well as they could".
After year 10 pupils can only study Jewish (Kodesh) studies and English.
Consequently, pupils "are not well prepared for the next stages of their education, employment or training", or for "life in modern Britain".
NSS Comment
A spokesperson from the National Secular Society's education team said: "We welcome Ofsted's decision to downgrade this school, particular in light of the lack of adequate relationships and sex education and poor secular curriculum.
"Too many state-funded and independent Jewish schools fail to offer decent RSE. This is especially alarming when intertwined with the serious issue of forced marriages and abuse in Orthodox Jewish communities. That's why age-appropriate, well-rounded RSE is crucial for the safety of all young people in Britain, across all communities."
Update: An Ofsted report publised on January 27th reveals another independent Jewish school, Wiznitz Cheder School, was rated inadequate for multiple failings inc "poor standard of secular education" and pupils' "extremely limited knowledge about other faiths and cultures". Witznitz Cheder has now failed inspections six times in a row.
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)
