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
Mother has to send three children to separate schools due to religious discrimination
Posted: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:51
A mother must send her three children to three different schools due to discriminatory faith school admissions policies, a complaint to an ombudsman has revealed.
Government issues notice to Jewish school which taught creationism
Posted: Sat, 16 Jan 2021 07:00
The government has issued a statutory notice to a Jewish independent school which failed an inspection after being found teaching creationism as science and refusing to enter pupils for GCSEs.
Bnois Jerusalem Girls School in north London was found 'inadequate' in all areas in an Ofsted inspection in December 2019 and has failed to meet standards in multiple recent inspections.
The National Secular Society raised its case in a letter to the Department for Education in June, as it warned that several independent faith schools had been allowed to fail inspections repeatedly.
In a letter to the NSS, education minister Elizabeth Berridge has now said the department issued the school with a notice after inspections resumed last term.
Independent schools that are issued with statutory notices are required to submit an action plan for improvement, and are then monitored more tightly than other schools.
That process can ultimately lead to a school being removed from the register of independent schools, meaning it can no longer legally operate.
Ofsted findings
In its report on the December 2019 inspection, Ofsted said the school was teaching creationism in geography and science.
Legal standards allow independent schools to teach creationism as part of a belief system, but also say "it should not be presented as having a similar or superior evidence base to scientific theories".
Ofsted also said:
- The school did not enter pupils for exams at GCSE level because leaders were not allowed to censor exam papers.
- Leaders had limited the curriculum to fit within Orthodox Jewish teaching.
- Leaders did not allow inspectors to talk to pupils, apparently at the request of parents.
- Inspectors found redacted text and images in textbooks.
- The school only stocked library books in Yiddish, and pupils lacked confidence with English language.
The school was previously rated 'inadequate' in another full inspection in June 2018 and failed to meet some standards in a follow-up inspection in March 2019.
NSS response
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "Bnois Jerusalem Girls School has multiple serious failings and appears to be prioritising religious indoctrination at the expense of providing an education worth the name.
"The Department for Education should take whatever action is necessary to protect the fundamental rights of the children at this school.
"This should also remind the government and inspectors to ensure children's educational rights are protected regardless of the religious outlook of the school they attend."
Note: Vine Christian School update
The DfE's letter also said the government was considering what action to take over the Vine Christian School, an independent faith school in Berkshire.
The NSS raised the school's case with the department in November as it highlighted the fact that the school was claiming to teach creationism as science.
Read more: Jewish private school hit by government action for teaching creationism in science – iNews
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)
