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
Creationist appointed to South Lanarkshire education committee
Posted: Wed, 24 Jan 2018 11:04
The National Secular Society has called for urgent reform of council education committee structures in Scotland after one of "Europe's most active creationists" was reappointed to one.
Dr Nagy Iskander, who has called evolution "really illogical", is to sit on South Lanarkshire Council's education resources committee as an unelected religious representative.
Local authorities in Scotland are required to reserve at least three places on each council education committee for religious nominees. The NSS has said Dr Iskander's appointment casts "a sharp light" on the need to scrap this requirement.
Dr Iskander is a member of the Westwoodhill Evangelical Church in East Kilbride. The founder of the US-based religious ministry Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham, has described him as one of "Europe's most active creationists".
He was the only applicant for the role. A council advert for it read: "Any person, or any church or denominational body which has a duly constituted charge or other regular place of worship within South Lanarkshire, is invited to nominate a person who is interested in the promotion of religious and moral education."
The three individuals have full voting rights but are not accountable to voters. The requirement to appoint them results from legislation passed before devolution in 1929 and 1994. Dr Iskander has served in a similar role since 1999.
In 2015 he gave a series of lectures at a 'creation conference' and made several statements on the subject of creationism. At one point he said a distinction should be drawn between "operational science" and "historical science".
"We love the scientists and we respect them very much actually, but they were not there from the beginning so they don't know everything. They are limited, not always telling the truth… Sometimes they are guided by the funding of the project they are working on, or something like that."
He also said: "In evolution, they think that everything made itself. And that is really illogical. Evolution is against the laws of thermodynamics."
Dr Iskander has equated creationism and evolution. At the conference he said he had told a physicist he wanted him to believe in creation as an alternative to the Big Bang. And in 2013 he said: "Creation according to the Christian faith is a supernatural act of God, so it will not be repeated and we can't test creation in the lab. Evolution needs to take place over millions of years and we cannot test that either."
Last year the NSS called for an end to religious appointments to local education committees in response to a Scottish Government consultation. Its submission highlighted examples of pupils being taught creationism and speakers with fundamentalist views and no scientific qualifications visiting schools to discuss sexual health.
In July sources told The Times the Scottish Government was planning to limit religious groups' role in education by handing councils' powers to head teachers or new 'regional collaboratives', which would not include religious representatives. And in the last parliamentary term the Green MSP John Finnie unsuccessfully attempted to scrap the system.
Alistair McBay, the NSS's spokesperson in Scotland, said the appointment had "cast a sharp light on the need to remove the special place given to religious representatives in Scotland's education system".
"Dr Iskander is entitled to his views but he should not be entitled to a position of educational influence. Those overseeing our schools should be chosen because they are the right people for the job. By any reasonable calculation someone who promotes creationism would not meet that description.
"The Scottish Government must do more than dip its toe in the water. It must be willing to confront the churches. If religious representatives wish to have influence over Scottish children's education, let them earn it on equal terms."
The council told the Sunday Herald Dr Iskander would be one of 33 representatives on the committee and its decisions would "not influence the way that religious and moral education is taught in schools".
Research reveals systemic bias against secular schools
Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 06:00
The National Secular Society has said more must be done to safeguard non-faith schools' secular ethos after research revealed faith-based provision is treated preferentially during school reorganisations.
An NSS study examined official data on all schools in England that closed and re-opened between 2010 and 2017, noting whether a change in the designated religious character had taken place. The research revealed that most schools that change their character become faith schools.
Sixty-one schools were found to have closed and re-opened with a different religious character. Out of these, 70% of all schools that changed their status between 2010 and 2017 went from being religiously-neutral community or foundation schools to faith schools, usually under the control of the Church of England.
And whilst faith schools make up around a third of schools in England, they make up fewer than 16% of the 713 schools closed as a result of amalgamation since 2010.
Stephen Evans, the NSS's chief executive, said the problem was being exacerbated by official guidance on opening and closing maintained schools which means the system is loaded against secular schools in favour of religious ones.
Statutory guidance from the Department for Education on opening and closure proposals warns: "the decision-maker should not normally approve the closure of a school with a religious character where the proposal would result in a reduction in the proportion of relevant denominational places in the area."
Mr Evans said the research highlighted a "systemic bias" against preserving non-faith-based schools which has enabled the Church of England to "hoover up community schools".
"When a religious and non-religious school merge, the usual result is for the faith school to determine the religious character despite opposition from the families whose children will be directly affected. Current rules privilege religion by explicitly protecting faith school places and leaving community schools vulnerable to religious takeover. At a time when the population is becoming increasingly irreligious, there's a very good argument for reducing the number of faith school places. The presumption that the proportion of such places shouldn't be reduced is outdated and unfair and needs to change."
The NSS has now written to education ministers calling for the guidance to be revised and for a new positive duty to ensure every pupil has the right to an inclusive secular school within a reasonable distance.
Gaining a religion
Forty-three per cent of changes in religious character were a result of an amalgamation or merger between religious and non-religious schools. The research demonstrated that in these cases, the most likely outcome was for the faith schools to have their character and ethos retained and for the neutrality of the non-religious school to be lost.
Nearly 20% of the schools closed and reopened specifically because they became Church of England schools. Academisation also resulted in non-religious schools becoming religious. The NSS has previously warned of religious organisations (mostly Anglican) gaining control of and influence in the running of non-faith schools through mixed multi-academy trusts and other sponsorship agreements.
Schools that converted to voluntary aided Church of England schools were frequently those getting low grades or poor Ofsted results. Forge Lane Primary School in west London, which became St Richard's Church of England Primary School in 2014, converted because it felt the switch from community to voluntary aided status would help it to be recognised by Ofsted as a 'good' or 'outstanding' school. However, in its last inspection in October this year, St Richard's was given a rating of 'requires improvement'.
Other recent cases demonstrate that converting to a faith school is no guarantee of success. In 2010, Beechfield Infant School in Somerset merged with St John's Church of England Junior School to form a new faith school, Churchfield CofE VC Primary School. Following the merger, the new school was put in special measures by Ofsted. Churchfield became a Church of England academy in 2013, and in its last Ofsted inspection in 2015 it was rated as "requires improvement."
Converting schools with no religious character into faith schools has met with disapproval. When Ladymead Community School in Somerset was proposed to become a faith school through merging with The St Augustine of Canterbury School in 2009, a survey at a consultation meeting showed 100% opposition, while a petition calling for Ladymead to stay open received more than 120 signatures. Ladymead governors expressed their concern that the merger would not be in the best interests of the school or community, with the faith status being a primary concern. Chairman Nick Evelyn said in the Somerset County Gazette: "Many parents chose to send their children to Ladymead and now fear for their education. They don't want a faith secondary schooling for their children or they'd have sent them to St Augustine's, which is a church school."
Despite the opposition from parents, governors and school staff the merger went ahead in 2010, resulting in the establishment of a new Church of England academy, The Taunton Academy. In its last Ofsted inspection this January, The Taunton Academy was rated "inadequate".
Plans to merge non-faith schools into religious ones continue to spark protest. One recent example was the demonstration held by parents of Trafalgar College over plans to merge with the Christian Great Yarmouth Charter Academy, reported by the NSS in October.
Losing a religion
In 25% of religious character changes, religious schools lost their official religious character. But the NSS study noted that most of these schools still retained a distinctly faith-based ethos.
Nearly 60% of all Church of England schools that 'lost' their religious character were found to make reference to "Christian values," "Christian ethos" or ties with their "local church" on their website. This meant the number of faith schools that had genuinely 'lost' their faith school status was significantly smaller than the official change in religious character suggested.
The remaining 5% of schools that had changed their religious character were Church of England schools which had merged with Roman Catholic schools to gain dual 'Church of England/Roman Catholic' status.
'Stealth' Faith Schools
The figures in this study did not include schools in which the designated religious character did not change on paper, but the ethos changed in reality. An example of such schools are the Oasis Academies. These may not be recorded as having a religious character or religious ethos by the DfE, but previous NSS research has demonstrated that they all have a Christian ethos according to their websites. Over 80% of all Oasis Academies were established as a result of taking over an existing school, and in every single case the preceding school was non-religious.
The increase in schools that do not have an official religious character or religious ethos but do have one in reality means that the number of schools that have become religious since 2010 is likely to be even higher.
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)
