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
Jewish school stocked sexist texts and limits curriculum, Ofsted says
Posted: Mon, 20 Jan 2020 14:15
An Orthodox Jewish school stocked texts which said women are "guards" to their families' wellbeing rather than "workers" and is failing to provide an adequate secular curriculum, inspectors have said.
An Ofsted report on Lubavitch Senior Boys' School, an independent school in north London, found that children couldn't cite texts they had read other than through religious studies.
In the report, which was published on Wednesday, the school was told it was failing to meet the independent school standards for at least the third time since 2018.
The report said texts found in the school's main room, among religious textbooks, talked about how to "manage" women and did not teach "respect for women".
It also said the school was devoting "insufficient time" to its secular curriculum and cited failings in its safeguarding procedures.
Key findings in report
The Ofsted report, which came after inspectors visited the school in December, also found:
- The school devoted "limited time" to English and reading.
- Pupils were unable to provide any written evidence of their English work that term or to cite any texts that they had read "other than through their Kodesh [Jewish religious] studies".
- Teachers effectively censored age-appropriate textbooks by selecting "subject matter that they feel reflects their Jewish beliefs", meaning pupils did not have access to many of the school's new textbooks.
- The school provided no evidence of "a wider curriculum, including trips or activities to support pupils' social and cultural development".
- There were failings relating to the school's safeguarding procedures and records, and leaders could not explain how to refer concerns to the authorities.
In response, National Secular Society spokesperson Megan Manson said: "This is a clear example of a school prioritising religious inculcation over the education and welfare of its pupils.
"By failing to ensure appropriate textbooks are used, and stocking texts promoting sexist messages, the school is depriving children of their right to an education that adequately prepares them for life in 21st century UK.
"The Department for Education must make clear that religion is never an excuse to ignore children's fundamental right to a broad and balanced education. And when schools are repeatedly failing to address concerns, ministers must be prepared to take all steps necessary to protect children's interests."
Lubavitch's history
- Lubavitch Senior Boys' School opened in London E5 (in the borough of Hackney) in January 2017. It is now registered to admit up to 40 boys between the ages of 11 and 13. All its pupils are from Orthodox Jewish backgrounds.
- Ofsted found the school 'inadequate' during its first inspection in June 2018, leading the Department for Education to issue it with a warning notice in November 2018. Inspectors cited concerns about safeguarding, pupil welfare and the school's curriculum.
- Ofsted found the school had not addressed all the concerns highlighted during a further visit in April 2019. Inspectors also visited in August 2019, when they said the school was "likely to meet" a limited set of standards if it moved premises and brought in a new head.
- At the latest inspection the school had moved to London NW11 (the Golders Green area). Inspectors criticised the school for failing to update its address on important documents.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.
Council set to approve discriminatory faith school in Peterborough
Posted: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 10:34
A new discriminatory Catholic primary school is expected to open in Peterborough after education officials on the local council recommended its approval.
In a decision notice Peterborough City Council's cabinet member for education was advised to proceed with a plan to open a voluntary aided (VA) faith school.
The plan to open the school says it will have an exclusively Catholic ethos which will "permeate all areas of the curriculum and underpin the school's work and objectives".
VA faith schools are allowed to select up to 100% of their pupils on a religious basis, although the local Catholic diocese has said religious selection would be capped at 80% in the first year in Peterborough.
The proposal already has support from the Department for Education (DfE) and is now expected to go ahead.
In response the National Secular Society said it would explore the possibility of a legal challenge to the decision.
The proposal to open the Catholic school is in direct conflict with an alternative bid to open a school with a community ethos at the same site, in the Hampton Water area of the city.
In response to the council's decision, NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "It's deeply disappointing that Peterborough City Council is set to approve a new discriminatory Catholic school, particularly as that seems likely to mean an inclusive, secular alternative will now not be able to open.
"Many local residents will wonder why their taxes are going to fund a school which explicitly promotes religious beliefs and discriminates against their children on a religious basis in its admissions policy. The school's all-encompassing religious ethos will be alienating for many families and infringe on children's independent right to make their own minds up about religion.
"Politicians both locally and nationally must be willing to stand up to religious groups when they make unreasonable demands which infringe on children's rights and undermine social cohesion."
The NSS recently urged the council not to open the Catholic school, describing the proposal behind it as "discriminatory, poorly reasoned and unsuitable".
The society also coordinates the No More Faith Schools campaign, which rallied opposition to the proposal to open the school.
Objections to the plan
The council's decision notice cited "four main themes" in objections to the proposal from local residents, in order of commonality:
- Opposition to a Catholic faith school in principle;
- Concerns relating to the school's discriminatory admissions criteria;
- Concerns about potential increase in traffic as a result of children travelling to attend schools away from their local communities;
- Concerns that opening the school would have a negative impact on the local community.
Government backing for new VA faith schools
The government announced plans for a new wave of VA faith schools, which act as their own admissions authority and can select up to 100% of their pupils on a religious basis, in 2018.
The decision came amid opposition to any limit on religious selection from the Catholic Education Service, which runs Catholic schools in England and Wales.
The DfE assigned funds for 14 VA faith schools in March 2019.
The NSS has strongly lobbied against efforts to open these schools and in favour of inclusive, secular alternatives. The proposal to open a school in Peterborough is the only one to have reached this stage to date.
Further notes on VA faith schools
- In VA faith schools 100% of running costs and 90%+ of the capital costs are paid by the state. In this case the local Catholic diocese's capital contribution comes from public funds, as the city council has an agreement with a major housing developer to provide the school building. The costs for this are being passed to initial house purchasers.
- VA faith schools are permitted to teach denominational religious education (inspected by the religious body that runs them, rather than Ofsted).
- VA faith schools can apply a religious test when hiring, promoting or retaining any teacher (though in practice such discrimination is usually restricted to senior roles and RE teachers).
See also: New Catholic school in Peterborough set to be approved, in the Peterborough Telegraph, with the NSS quoted.
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)
