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
‘No Outsiders’ teacher delivers message of equality in NSS lecture
Posted: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 10:40
The creator of an LGBT-inclusive school programme that sparked religiously-motivated protests emphasised the importance of teaching children about equality at a major National Secular Society lecture.
Delivering the NSS's third annual Bradlaugh Lecture at Manchester Art Gallery on Saturday, Andrew Moffat highlighted successes of the 'No Outsiders' programme, which aims to prepare children for life in 21st century British society.
Moffat, who is assistant headteacher of Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, said he created 'No Outsiders' as a means of teaching the values of equality and tolerance in order to counter social problems such as hate crimes, homophobia and extremism.
He also said that No Outsiders helps builds children's self-esteem and resilience, while preparing them for life in modern Britain and reducing the potential for radicalisation.
Moffat and the No Outsiders programme became the targets of protests and threats at the beginning of 2019. The protesters, most of whom were Muslim, objected to children being taught about LGBT people because they said it went against their religious beliefs.
Moffat dispelled the many myths and misinformation that protestors have circulated about No Outsiders. He brought examples of the story books used in the programme to demonstrate that they are age-appropriate and do not feature any content relating to sex education or any 'hidden agendas'.
He praised Ofsted for its support of No Outsiders, but said unclear guidance from the Department for Education made it extremely difficult to resist pressure from religious lobbyists to stop teaching about families with same-sex parents.
Moffat gave examples of work from pupils demonstrating how effective the programme was in teaching pupils to be kind and respectful to one another, regardless of difference.
Members of the audience expressed their support for Moffat and No Outsiders during the questions and answers session. At the end of the talk, a Muslim family presented him with flowers and a card showing their support and appreciation for the Birmingham schools facing protests for teaching about equality.
Adjudicator can’t stop Jewish school’s impositions on families
Posted: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 13:49
A Jewish state school may continue enforcing strict religious observance criteria on children and their families after an adjudicator proved powerless to address substantial elements of a complaint.
The admissions requirements at Pardes House Primary School, in north London, include:
- Adult males attending communal prayer daily, when possible in a recognised synagogue
- Adult males studying the Torah daily
- Observing dietary laws within and without the home
- Observing the Jewish sabbath
- Adhering to Jewish laws on "family purity" for married couples
- Avoiding coarse speech
- Avoiding dress which "emphasises or unduly exposes the body"
- Respecting the Torah and teachers of the Torah.
The policy also appears to suggest that families must install a filter on their internet devices – and "preferably" one approved by an internet filtering consultancy which focuses on the Jewish Orthodox community. It is unclear whether this would permit the school to monitor families' internet use.
The National Secular Society recently wrote to the government to raise the case of Beis Chinuch Lebonos Girls School, an independent Jewish school which allows governors to monitor parents' smartphone usage. In response the Department for Education (DfE) said it would not prevent Beis Chinuch Lebonos from enforcing its arrangements.
The Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA), which oversees admissions policy in England, criticised Pardes House on the grounds that its policy lacked clarity in places. But it did not require the school to change the substance of its policies.
The school removed references to "good character" and "general conduct" in response and was required to address some minor technical details. For example the adjudicator ruled that a claim that parents could self-certify their religious status was unclear because it was inconsistently enforced.
The OSA has previously ruled that Jewish state schools may place restrictions on families' private lives if they are clearly explained. In a ruling last year which partly concerned Pardes House, it said it was "reasonable" to expect faith schools to require religious observance from families of applicants.
NSS education campaigner Alastair Lichten said: "An admissions system which allows minute control of family life, which colludes to ostracise the children of non-conforming parents, or where standards can be avoided simply by claiming to follow the rules while running an entirely separate shadow process, is a farce.
"When you combine these burdensome and intrusive regulations of family life with huge community pressure not to attend secular schools you have schools, often state funded, acting as instruments of social control and policing.
"The government must act to reduce the harm caused by these policies. Removing religiously selective admissions would make schools more inclusive and allow greater freedom of practice within orthodox religious communities. And rolling back faith based schooling would remove religious groups' ability to use the education system to enforce their draconian worldview on children and their families."
In its recent letter to the DfE the NSS raised cases of other Jewish schools which have enforced draconian restrictions on families' private lives and asked ministers to review the OSA's remit.
The individual who brought the complaint against Pardes House was kept anonymous for their own protection.
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)
