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
Sex education: schools’ religious ethos may ‘limit’ pupils’ knowledge of LGBT facts and contraception
Posted: Wed, 12 Jul 2017 14:15
More than 50 faith leaders have warned that schools' ability to teach relationships and sex education (RSE) through a faith ethos could undermine its accuracy and inclusivity.
In a letter in the Guardian, figures from churches and synagogues across the UK argued that schools must "actively promote" the acceptance of LGBT people and factual information about birth control within sex education.
Several educational experts – such as Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, who chairs the Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education – were among the signatories. Others included Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, the chair of British Muslims for Secular Democracy.
They congratulated the government for ensuring that relationships and sex education will soon be taught in all schools in England. The Children and Social Work Act, which requires all secondary schools in England to teach RSE, became law in April. The Act also requires the education secretary to publish regulations and statutory guidance on RSE provision.
But the letter added that the requirement was "open-ended and undefined". RSE could therefore be "hijacked by those who wish to overlook topics such as accessing confidential sexual and reproductive healthcare services and contraception, as well as those who wish to limit pupils to what they consider to be religiously acceptable notions of gender and sexual orientation".
The National Secular Society is part of the Sex Education Forum and has long advocated religiously neutral age appropriate education about sex and relationships.
Stephen Evans, NSS campaigns director, said: "This is an important reminder that sex education should be based solely on a rational assessment of the interests of pupils and wider society. We have seen the harm, particularly for LGBT pupils, where a religious agenda is imposed on RSE.
"It's good to see civil society leaders – religious or otherwise – standing up for children's rights, and against those who seek to impose their theology in the classroom."
The letter urged the government to ensure its guidance requires schools "to actively promote the acceptance of LGBT people and provide, for pupils of sufficient maturity, factual information about contraception and abortion". It said the "paramount" concerns should be to ensure RSE is inclusive and pupils are well-informed.
Photo credit: © Shairyah Khan, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence.
Vetting in Scottish Catholic schools 'putting off non-Catholic teachers'
Posted: Tue, 11 Jul 2017 11:30
The leader of Scotland's biggest teachers' union has said fewer non-Catholics are teaching in the country's Catholic schools because teachers can be vetted according to their religious views.
This weekend Larry Flanagan, the general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, criticised the Catholic church's right to approve teachers' appointments. "We are not in favour of the current operation of approval by the Catholic church," he said.
And speaking to the Sunday Herald, Flanagan said a ruling which reaffirmed the Church's position had "absolutely" made the situation "worse". "There were probably more non-Catholics working in the Catholic sector before that (case) than after it," he said.
In 2006 David McNab, a teacher in Glasgow, was told he required the Catholic church's approval to apply for a promotion. He took the city council to a tribunal, won the case and received £2,000 in compensation.
But the tribunal ruled that the church could approve all teachers' appointments in denominational schools under the 1980 Education (Scotland) Act. The National Secular Society has argued that the provision, which allows church officials to consider appointees' "religious belief and character", is discriminatory.
In 2014 the European Commission dismissed an NSS complaint against the rule. The commission also decided to take no further action against the UK government over NSS claims that legislation relating to faith schools breached European employment law.
Last year Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association, called for the Scottish policy to be reviewed. "We are concerned that teachers don't always know what is expected of them in a Catholic school," he said.
And in 2014 Anthony Finn, the former head of teaching watchdog the General Teaching Council for Scotland, said Catholic headteachers believed the approval policy was being implemented inconsistently.
He cited anecdotal evidence from teachers. One said she had been asked if she was "still living with her boyfriend". Another claimed a same-sex relationship counted against him. But other staff said they had not faced questions about their lifestyle.
Critics also say the rules and uncertainties put teachers off from applying to Catholic schools. Last year the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, called on Catholic teachers to "seek an appointment in a Catholic school" amid claims of a recruitment crisis.
Alistair McBay, NSS vice-president and spokesperson in Scotland, said: "Our schools should choose teachers who are best placed to educate our children, not those who jump through hoops to pass muster with the religious authorities.
"Larry Flanagan is correct to say the Catholic church's effective veto on appointments should be rescinded. And ultimately there should be no place for discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in state education."
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)
