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
NSS welcomes Lib Dem pledge to tackle unregistered schools
Posted: Wed, 7 Mar 2018 18:01
The National Secular Society has welcomed the Liberal Democrats' pledge to tackle unregistered schools.
The policy paper "Every Child Empowered: Education for a changing world", published for the Lib Dems' 2018 spring conference, outlines the party's vision for education in the United Kingdom.
The paper pledges to "strengthen the hand of LAs [local authorities] to deal with unregistered schools, including by reviewing the legislation".
"Unregistered schools fall entirely outside the inspection and regulatory regimes for ensuring that children are in a physically safe and healthy environment, that they are safe from physical or sexual abuse, and that they receive an education that is fit for purpose and prepares them for adult life," the paper states.
"In the most extreme cases, English is not even spoken, so some children will not learn even basic English language skills."
The policy follows recent reports of illegal unregistered faith schools teaching hate-filled material, physically abusing students, and neglecting the students' basic safety and welfare needs.
Ofsted has since announced that it will receive a further £1m for its "illegal schools taskforce" to tackle unregistered schools.
The Lib Dems also promised to improve monitoring of children educated outside registered schools. The party would "require that children who are being educated outside a registered school be visited biannually by a representative of the LA", to ensure they were receiving appropriate education in line with their national curriculum entitlement.
"There have been cases of children who have come to serious harm while invisible to the system because they were being home schooled," it said.
"The number of such cases is small, and we would not want to see the vast majority of parents who home school their children extremely well put to great inconvenience, but we believe there is a duty to ensure the safety of such children."
Additionally, the policy paper said its "broad and balanced" national curriculum, which would be compulsory in all state schools including academies, would feature a 'curriculum for life'. This would include Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) and Citizenship. RSE would cover teaching about sexual consent, as well as LGBT+ issues.
"The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for RSE being delivered earlier, and more robustly," the paper states.
The NSS campaigns for RSE to be taught in all state-funded schools, including faith schools, without being distorted or diminished through religious influence.
An NSS spokesperson said the Lib Dem policies on unregistered schools, home schooling and RSE "make some welcome moves".
The Lib Dems' paper made no mention of religion or reference to the government's proposal to extend religious selection in schools by scrapping the 50% cap on faith-based admissions. However the party passed a motion at last year's spring conference tackling "the role of faith in schools".
This included recommendations to ensure "selection in admissions on the basis of religion or belief to state-funded schools is phased out over up to six years" and religious education in all state-funded schools "is kept separate from any religious instruction". The NSS has welcomed these policies.
Note: this story was updated, to reflect the fact that the Lib Dems passed a motion on the role of faith in schools last year, on 9 March 2018.
Faith schools minister warns independent Charedi schools in Hackney
Posted: Tue, 6 Mar 2018 16:27
Independent Charedi-run schools in Hackney will face enforcement action if they fail to prepare children for "life in modern British society", the minister for faith schools has warned.
In a letter to Charedi leaders, Lord Agnew said the Department for Education (DfE) would "not delay indefinitely action on specific schools which are not meeting the [independent school] standards".
According to the Jewish Chronicle, he highlighted the teaching of English and the amount of time reserved for secular subjects as examples of areas which were "not satisfactory".
He also referred to requirements to teach respect and tolerance under equality law. Charedi leaders have been among those resisting this. Those in Stamford Hill have said referring to same-sex orientation in schools is a "red line". In January a delegation of orthodox leaders told Lord Agnew they would make "no compromise" with requirements to teach children about gender and sexuality.
And last month Charedi rabbis from across the country met in Nottingham in an attempt to agree a common front against the education authorities' pressure.
Last week the DfE confirmed that 15 independent Jewish schools received notices warning of ultimate closure in 2017. It is currently deregistering one independent Chasidic school in Hackney, though the school is reportedly appealing. Two more have been barred from taking new pupils.
Lord Agnew said one of them, Beis Aharon, had failed to make necessary improvements. "It clearly cannot be right for us to leave it to 'wither on the vine' year by year as pupils leave and no new pupils join, so if this state of affairs continues, there must come a point when we shall have to move to deregistration."
He cited examples of strictly orthodox independent schools in Salford, Gateshead and Greater Manchester which, he said, were "moving to a position where they are able to meet the standards through changes in their curriculum, teaching practices and policies".
He also offered to meet representatives of schools and organisations to discuss possible solutions.
National Secular Society CEO Stephen Evans said Lord Agnew's remarks were "broadly encouraging for those who care about putting children's interests above the unreasonable demands of particularly intransigent religious 'leaders'".
In November Ofsted announced that almost half of independent faith schools had been rated as 'inadequate' or 'requires improvement' since it introduced new standards for inspections in 2014. That included 53% of independent Jewish schools.
When the standards were proposed the NSS said independent schools should be required to promote 'fundamental British values', just as maintained schools would be.
"Efforts to promote cohesion through education have society-wide relevance," the NSS wrote. "It is therefore essential that all pupils educated in the UK, regardless of the type of school they attend, learn about those values considered key to contributing to mutual understanding and a cohesive society."
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)
