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
Complaints about sexist dress code at faith school dismissed
Posted: Thu, 13 Jan 2022 11:46
The National Secular Society has questioned a school adjudicator's dismissal of complaints that a faith school's dress code is sexist.
A member of the public complained to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA), which handles objections to school admissions arrangements, that rules on attire in Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School's admissions arrangements discriminate against women and girls.
Yesodey Hatorah, a state-funded school in Hackney, London, says it "exists to meet the needs of Charedi [strictly Orthodox] Jewish families". Where oversubscribed, its admissions arrangements prioritise pupils who follow "Charedi principles and ethics", which it says requires "mothers and girls" to "dress at all times in accordance with the strictest standards of Tznius (modesty)".
These standards include:
- Dresses and skirts "may not be shorter than 10cm / 4 inches below the knees". "Very straight or figure hugging skirts" are banned, as is a "a slit in a skirt or dress" even if it is "below the knee".
- Blouses, jumpers or dresses "must fit closely to the neck".
- Sleeves "must cover the elbows at all times".
- Make up "should be used in a limited way which does not draw attention to its use and is
- consistent with a modest and natural appearance".
OSA adjudicator Dr Bryan Slater also found that "most of the elements" of the dress requirements "are likely to be relevant only to women".
But he did not uphold the complaint that these rules discriminated on the basis of sex, stating: "It is not uncommon for religions to impose different requirements and women, not only in relation to dress but to roles that may be held as leaders in faith matters or in requirements to take part in public prayer for example".
Dr Slater also rejected complaints that the school's ban on "casual clothing such as denim, leather or lycra" was in breach of School Admissions Code because avoiding wearing these items could be considered "a religious activity which the school may take into account in its admission arrangements".
But he did uphold the complainant's objection that a prohibition on "very brightly coloured clothing" in the admissions arrangements breached the code, which requires the arrangements to be clear and easy to understand. He said it is "not possible to know where the dividing line between 'bright' and 'not bright' would be drawn by all people".
Other issues
The objector complained that requiring a rabbi's signature on Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs) submitted by applicants meant that some applicants were disadvantaged because rabbis were asked to verify statements "they would not have sufficient information on" such as whether or not the family has a television.
Dr Slater required changes to the admissions rules to make clear that rabbis should only consider "what might be termed 'public' practices that can be objectively assessed".
He also objected to the information sought on SIFs that should not have a direct bearing on decisions about the school's oversubscription criteria, such as the name of the family's rabbi and synagogue.
The OSA objected to the school's plan to lower their Published Admission Number (PAN, the number of set as a school's official capacity) from 80 to 65. Artificially low PANs can be used to maintain 100% faith selection, and ensure more applicants are judged according to strict religious oversubscription criteria.
NSS comment
NSS head of education Alastair Lichten said: "Allowing faith based selection of pupils opens the door to wider forms of discrimination, as this case demonstrates.
"Restrictive dress codes that place disproportionate specific burdens on women may constitute unlawful direct discrimination on the grounds of sex. Case law is clear that schools in this context are service providers in relation to parents, as well as carrying out a public function.
"The implication of this determination is that sexist intrusions into the private lives of parents by a state school may be acceptable if they are sufficiently 'precise'.
"Arguments over whether onerous religious demands and expectations of conformity are 'clear' or not are a distraction. The whims of religious gatekeepers who wish to uphold outdated gender roles simply shouldn't have any role in state school admissions."
Notes
- In 2018, the OSA ruled that the same school was not breaching the School Admissions Code by requiring families not to wear leather or lycra, access the internet or use online entertainment.
- Similar rules at another all-girls Jewish faith school were also not found to breach the School Admissions Code in February last year.
- Yesodey Hatorah has been at the centre of several scandals in recent years. In 2013 it censored questions on science exam papers. In 2018 it was revealed it had removed references to homosexuals from a section of a textbook about Nazi policies. And in 2020 it was found to have encouraged parents to exercise their right to opt children out of relationships and sex education.
Schools block vaccine on religious grounds
Posted: Wed, 22 Dec 2021 08:38
A Hindu academy chain has blocked delivery of flu vaccinations in its schools, including those with no faith ethos, on religious grounds.
Explaining their decision in a letter to parents this November, the headteacher of Avanti Gardens School, said: "The use of pork gelatine in several of the vaccines used by the NHS is an issue for the MAT Board given the faith designation of many of AST's (Avanti Schools Trust) schools."
Porcine gelatine is an essential stabiliser in the Fluenz and Tetra nasal sprays used for children's flu vaccines.
The School Age Immunisation Services (SAIS) are responsible for delivering vaccinations, including for the flu and Covid-19, to children in this age range.
In 151 out of 152 local authorities in England, SAIS is delivered primarily through schools. Pupils in unregistered schools and schools that refuse to engage with the programme are particularly vulnerable to missing out. This disproportionately affects pupils from minority, particularly Jewish and Muslim, backgrounds.
The National Secular Society has urged the Department for Education to ensure that all pupils have equal access to in-school vaccination. In recent correspondence with DfE the NSS asked what steps are being taken to ensure delivery of vaccination and immunisation programmes in schools are not hampered by religious objections.
In response, schools minister Baroness Barran said "Where the department is alerted to schools continuing to refuse to participate with SAIS teams for an in-school offer, we will make enquiries as to the rationale behind this, and discuss ways to overcome any hesitancy."
The minister also advised parents concerned about faith schools objecting to the vaccine to talk to their local SAIS provider.
NSS comment
The National Secular Society's head of education, Alastair Lichten, said:
"It's concerning to see religious organisations undermining public health decisions in school. This impedes vaccination take up, contributes to vaccine misinformation and hesitancy, and disadvantages families attending schools under religious control, irrespective of their own beliefs.
"Cases like this also demonstrate how faith-based decisions are being imposed in non-faith schools through academisation."
Notes
- The NSS raised first concerns with the DfE in 2019 after receiving anecdotal evidence that some faith schools were refusing to engage with SIAS.
- According to the parent who originally shared their concerns, the policy was still in place at the end of term.
- The government do not hold data on individual schools' engagement with vaccination programs. There may be practical reasons why specific schools are not suitable locations for SIAS teams.
- At least one Avanti school in Hertfordshire is being used as a Covid walk in centre, although it is not clear whether the trust's decision not to support the SIAS extends to their Covid-19 programme for which pupils in four of their schools are currently eligible.
- Earlier this year the National Secular Society raised concerns with the Education and Skills Funding Agency that Avanti Schools Trust was failing to protect the ethos of non-faith schools.
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)
