"Faith schools"

Around a third of all state-funded schools are schools 'with a religious character' or ‘faith' schools, and this number is growing, with some minority religions and Christian denominations running new schools, or taking control of increasing numbers of schools in the state sector, or of academies. 

Faith schools are exclusive, divisive and counterintuitive to social cohesion. Despite claims of inclusiveness, many have control of their own admissions, creating school populations that are far from representative of their local populations in religious or socio-economic terms.

Many also discriminate in their recruitment and employment on religious grounds. Applicants can be rejected and teachers barred from promotion because they are not of the ‘right’ religion, or of no religion, or because of their sexual orientation. Teachers can also have their contracts terminated while in post if their conduct is deemed incompatible with the tenets of the school’s religion.

In addition, many faith schools teach - instead of the RE taught in community schools - their own syllabus of 'RE' which the law permits to be confessional and which does not have to include learning about other religions or about Humanism.

In September 2009 the Accord Coalition released a dossier, which brings together high quality research and summarises a wide variety of evidence. This major new resource has been put together to help researchers, journalists, campaigners and members of the public to find out about the consequences of current policy on faith schools.

 

What do we want?

An end to the proliferation of maintained faith schools; discrimination in admissions and employment in faith schools outlawed; a comprehensive curriculum across all subjects, including beliefs and values education, sex and relationships education, and citizenship education to be taught objectively in all schools.

Ultimately, all faith schools should be absorbed back into the secular schools sector, becoming inclusive community schools. We campaign against ‘faith schools’, and for an inclusive, secular schools system, where children and young people of all different backgrounds and beliefs can learn from and with each other. 

 

What are we doing?

The BHA has consistently campaigned against faith schools on the grounds that they are unnecessary, discriminatory and divisive. See Faith schools – why not? for a summary of the main arguments against these schools and some challenges to the usual assumptions about them. We want all schools to include and educate pupils of all beliefs together, so that they can learn about and from each other. Because we doubt that some faith schools can contribute to social cohesion or fully recognise the rights of all their pupils, we strongly oppose Government plans to expand their number and variety. Instead, we propose that faith schools be absorbed into a reformed community school system in which faith groups are offered facilities for voluntary worship and other ‘accommodations’ in line with developing anti-discrimination law. We recognise the right of others to practise their own beliefs, but not to have their own schools at public expense. For these reasons, we do not currently campaign for humanist schools – see Why aren’t there any humanist schools? 

In 2006, we revised our policy paper A Better Way Forward and in 2008 we hired a campaigner to work specifically on our faith schools campaign – we are now fundraising to continue that post for another year.

Over the years, we have made many contributions to the debates around faith schools, and have responded to many Government consultations on and around the subject. These include: a BHA analysis of the Church Schools Review Group Consultation Report in December 2000; our policy paper A Better Way Forward argued that faith-based schools are unnecessary and proposed the inclusive accommodating community school as a viable alternative; the Humanist Philosophers’ Group’s Religious schools: the case against, a pamphlet giving the philosophical arguments, particularly on the autonomy of the child.

The BHA has focused on school (re-)organisation and local consultations in its responses to various Government and national consultations on schools. In our responses we usually focus on concerns about: proposals that appear intended to facilitate new faith schools and academies and to weaken local democracy and accountability; the problems associated with autonomous schools having their own admissions policies; and the risks involved in giving away publicly owned assets. You can see many of these in our articles and submissions on "Religion and Schools".

We continue to participate very actively in the national debate on faith schools, and are frequently invited to comment on the issue by the media and our briefings and policy papers have been widely disseminated – to policy-makers, to ministers, MPs, peers and civil servants, to education journals and the media, and at education conferences and seminars.

In late 2005, there was a renewed flurry of media interest and debate of faith schools. Education Officer Marilyn Mason participated in several public discussions on the topic, including Radio 4's Today programme.  Early in 2006, as well as updating A Better Way Forward, we briefed MPs several times in the run-up to the Education Bill.

Much of the campaigning activity is now, of necessity, local, and the BHA has supported and initiated a number of successful local campaigns against new faith schools.

In September 2008 we became a founding member of Accord  – a new campaigning coalition for reform of faith schools,  bringing together religious and non-religious supporters of change as well as teachers unions and high profile supporters.

 

What can you do?

You can email your MP raising your concerns and asking them to pass on your comments to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

With BHA support, campaigning against new faith schools also continues locally, where decisions are made. Refer to Add your voice to our campaigns, as well as many of the documents above and our articles and submissions, to back up your campaigning.

You can find local statistics that might help local campaigns at: http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination.

If you hear of any possible school changes proposed in your area, email us.

You can support the BHA by becoming a member.  That helps in itself, and you can help even more by supporting our campaigns  in the ways suggested above.  But campaigns also cost money – quite a lot of money – and we also need financial support.  You can make a donation to the BHA.