Schools in England

Community schools are generally secular and inclusive, they may be referred to as non-religious or even secular schools. In theory religious groups have no special role in running them and they should be entirely free from religious discrimination.

However, the lack of clarity over RE in schools, and the requirement for collective worship, mean that some community schools can still sometimes be problematic. It's not unusual to find community schools with multiple acts of collective worship a day and a teacher with an evangelising agenda.

Just because a school has 'community' in its name, it does not mean it is officially a community school. The CofE for example likes to refer to their faith schools as 'Church schools for the community'.

Academies (including 'free schools' and converter academies) are run by a trust based on an agreement with the Department for Education (DfE). If the academy doesn't have a religious ethos it should be broadly secular and inclusive – much like a community school.

An academy might not have a religious ethos or designation, but be part of a multi-academy trust (MAT) which has a religious ethos which may influence aspects of the school such as the focus on collective worship.

The rise of MATs has blurred the lines between faith and non-faith schools. We have discovered examples of schools without an official religious character or ethos that are part of a religious ethos MAT having religious ideology imposed upon them.

An academy with a registered religious ethos is less formal than one with a registered religious designation. Such an academy may promote its religious ethos in a variety of ways but direct religious discrimination is more likely to be restricted.

Depending on the academy, the faith ethos may be more or less prominent – for example it may not be reflected in the name, and may be inherited from a parent organisation such as a MAT. Its ethos may be more generic – e.g. 'Christian' rather than 'Catholic' or 'Church of England'.

There are a range of different types of academies with formal religious designations. The level of religious influence or discrimination is affected by a number of factors, including its funding agreement; which are in turn influenced by whether it is a new faith academy, or converted from a VC/VA school. Converted faith academies have the 'as is' assumption.

Traditionally VC schools have been seen as more 'light touch' faith schools. The Church (almost all VC schools are Church of England) has a less direct role in running the school, which is somewhat balanced by local authority oversight. Direct religious discrimination is more limited in VC faith schools.

However, the Church can now require that head teachers at VC schools are of the faith, and is putting increasing pressure on VC schools to promote their ethos.

Prior to academies, VA schools were those that religious groups had the biggest direct role in managing. All teaching and pupil positions are potentially subject to religious discrimination and the RE is often confessional. Religious influences may be countered by the minority of non-religiously appointed governors and local influences, but are likely to be far more prominent than in other schools.

Independent schools, sometimes called "private" or (confusingly) "public" schools, are those which are not funded by the state.

While the National Secular Society does not oppose independent faith schools, we believe that all independent schools, whatever their ethos, should be fully compliant with the law and prioritise children's education and welfare above any religious considerations.

All independent schools must register with the Department for Education. Schools which fail to do this (unregistered schools) are breaking the law.