Thousands of children are languishing in unregistered faith schools.
These schools prioritise fundamentalist religion over the education and welfare of children.
The scandal of unregistered schools must be addressed.
Some religious institutions operate schools which are not registered with the Department for Education, despite this being a legal requirement.
Schools are left unregistered to avoid regulations and inspections, so they can teach a very narrow, religion-based curriculum without oversight. This severely limits children's future options, as children leave these schools with very poor literacy, no formal qualifications and no skills or experience for life in modern Britain.
The lack of scrutiny also presents major safeguarding concerns. Children have been taught in unsafe conditions and subjected to physical punishment in these schools. The curriculum may also teach extremist, regressive and discriminatory dogma.
In 2019, Ofsted estimated as many as 6,000 children were being educated in unregistered settings. But the number could be even higher. Approximately 86,300 children and young people were electively home educated nationally during the year 2019/20. There is little regulation of home education, so many of these children could in fact be attending an unregistered school.
Some unregistered schools exploit loopholes in the law to avoid registration and operate at the margins of the law as an "out of school educational setting". Although many out of school settings, including tuition centres and supplementary schools, provide an excellence service, a minority put children's welfare at risk.
We are working to end the harms caused by unregistered schools by campaigning for greater powers for Ofsted tackle these settings, the elimination of loopholes to force more schools to register, and improved regulation of elective home education.
Take action!
1. Suspect an unregistered school? Report it!
Unregistered schools are illegal and pose a serious threat to children's wellbeing. If you think you know of a possible unregistered school, please report it to the schools inspectorate Ofsted.
If you are aware of children in imminent danger, please call 999 and inform the police.
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
Hackney launches consultation on unregistered schools
Posted: Thu, 23 Feb 2017 12:07
Hackney has launched a consultation into the safety of pupils and the quality of education in unregistered schools following scrutiny from the NSS and critical media reports.
The consultation came after pressure from the National Secular Society to clarify just how many unregistered, illegal faith schools were thought by the local authority to be operating in Hackney.
The authority now says it wants help to "gain a better understanding of whether the Council is doing all it can to ensure the quality of education, the safety and the safeguarding of children in unregistered settings in Hackney."
It cited "a number of articles in the national media, in the spring and summer of 2016, that questioned the safety, safeguarding and the quality of education provided in allegedly unregistered educational settings". These 'schools' have been a long-running concern of the National Secular Society.
In response to a freedom of information request from the NSS in October 2016, the London Borough of Hackney said that it had received five reports of unregistered schools operating in the borough in the last three years leading up to October.
Three investigations had been launched into possible unregistered schools, and the authority had made five referrals to Ofsted or the Department for Education over the three year period. One unregistered school had been closed down in that time.
However, in November media reports surfaced quoting Andrew Lee, the Assistant Director of Education Services of the Hackney Learning Trust saying that there were "possibly 35" unregistered ultra-Orthodox schools alone in Hackney – meaning that there were more illegal faith schools in operation than legal ones.
Lee described these suspected sites as "establishments where our officers have passed by on a number of occasions at various times during the day and have seen a significant number of young people entering and leaving."
He did add that "Perhaps 13 of those settings may be linked to some of the 33 registered settings, which would bring the number down somewhat."
However, that would still be significantly more than the schools Hackney identified in response to the National Secular Society's freedom of information request.
After the comments came to light, the Society asked the local authority to explain the "massive disparity" between the figures.
They said that Lee's figure of up to 35 unregistered schools referred to institutions which the Council had known about for longer than the three year period of the FOI request – and that "all were referred to Ofsted at the point they were believed to be operating."
The Society's FOI request also established that no unregistered school in the three years leading up to October 2016 had registered after being identified, casting doubt on the likelihood getting large numbers of illegal schools across the country to register and subject themselves to proper regulation.
Vast numbers of children are 'missing' from education registers in Hackney.
During the 2014-15 academic year 30,000 pupils across England and Wales went missing from schools for "substantial" periods of time, according to BBC research.
Stephen Evans, campaigns director of the National Secular Society, welcomed Hackney's consultation.
"For too long a blind eye has been turned to unregistered and illegal schools which has enabled insular religious communities to deprive children of their fundamental rights. This approach has also left countless children exposed to harm, exploitation, or the influence of extremist ideologies. Instead of pandering to religious communities, state agencies need to be clear that religious freedom does not give adults carte blanche to hinder the rights of others."
Hackney fails to act over vast number of illegal faith schools
Posted: Fri, 18 Nov 2016 12:03
A senior Hackney Council education official has admitted that there are more illegally operating schools in the borough than legal ones.
Andrew Lee, the Assistant Director of Education Services of the Hackney Learning Trust, said that the council had identified as many as 35 unregistered ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools which are operating illegally, the Independent reported.
This figure compares with 33 schools which are operating legally in the borough.
Mr Lee said the illegal schools "are establishments where our officers have passed by on a number of occasions at various times during the day and have seen a significant number of young people entering and leaving.
"Perhaps 13 of those settings may be linked to some of the 33 registered settings, which would bring the number down somewhat."
However in response to a recent freedom of information request from the National Secular Society, Hackney council said that it had launched a total of just three investigations into unregistered schools operating in the borough.
In the last three years, five referrals have been made to Ofsted or the Department for Education by the borough and despite the very high number of 'schools' believed to be operating illegally, just one has been shut down.
Councillor Abraham Jacobson claimed there were a "maximum" of 12 illegal schools which "tend to move from place to place."
NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans commented: "The right to education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights. All children and young people deserve an education that promotes their individual freedom and empowerment.
"Rather than equipping students for life in modern Britain, these schools are indoctrinating young minds and preparing youngsters only for life in insular religious communities. Local authorities, Ofsted and the Department for Education must act to protect the interests of the welfare of children, irrespective of the religion of their parents. That means ensuring that illegal faith schools are identified and closed down and that pupils currently being left to languish in them are instead provided with a proper education."
Lord Nash wrote to the National Secular Society earlier this month that the Government was "committed to safeguarding children and young people from the risk of harm in out-of-school education settings."
The schools minister said that "there is still more work to do" but added that the "current system is now more robust" and that there had been a "significant escalation in Ofsted investigations of settings and the closure of many of them."
He said that the DfE was "working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to support the prosecution of individuals, where appropriate."
A former pupil of one unregistered school told the Independent that he was subject to "physical and psychological abuse" and that the school "went to extreme length to stop us learning English" and sought to "isolate people from secular society."
Thousands of children are 'missing' from the education system in Hackney – something the National Secular Society has raised with the Government.
