A new poll released by Accord today (Monday 8 June) has revealed the depth of public concern about faith school practices. The survey, released to coincide with the committee stage of the Equality Bill, found that 57% of people ‘agreed or strongly agreed’ that “state funded schools that select students by their religion undermine community cohesion”, while only 19% ‘disagreed or strongly disagreed’.
The poll also found that:

• 72% ‘agreed or strongly agreed’ that “all state funded schools should operate recruitment and employment policies that do not discriminate on grounds of religion or belief”, with only 9 % disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

• 75% ‘agreed or strongly agreed’ that “all state funded schools should teach an objective and balanced syllabus for education about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs”, with 8% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing

The poll comes just one day before members of the Equality Bill Committee will meet to hear evidence from ‘religion and belief’ organisations such as the General Synod, The Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the British Humanist Association, which is an Accord Coalition member. It is expected that much of the discussion in that meeting will focus on government plans to leave unchanged the wide exemptions that faith schools have been granted from equalities legislation. The Accord Coalition and its supporters argue that to live up to its aims the bill should address loopholes that currently allow faith schools to discriminate in their admissions and employment rules.

Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary of The Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said:

“ATL is pleased with the results of the Accord Coalition survey, which show that 72% of individuals polled agreed that state-funded schools should not discriminate in their recruitment and employment on the grounds of religion and belief.”

“As the education union, ATL campaigns for equality of employment opportunities across all state-funded schools, including faith schools. We have strongly opposed recent legislation that extends religious discrimination to support staff in voluntary-aided faith schools and to headship applicants in Local authority-funded voluntary-controlled faith schools. We now call on those considering the Equality Bill to take note of public opinion and reform the law.”

“We know that it is not only our members and teacher colleagues who lose out as a result of these selection practices but also schools and pupils. Research has shown that there is a recruitment problem in faith schools, particularly in relation to headship positions, and this problem will only worsen as the faith school sector expands and increasingly, schools, staff, pupils and their parents will lose out.”

Accord Coalition Chair Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE said:

“The poll results are a stunning indictment of both the insularity and exclusivity of faith schools. It is time for faith schools to open their doors to the fresh air of inter-communal understanding. They must not only serve themselves but be part of the wider community too.

The poll also highlights the massive support for schools to teach an objective and balanced syllabus about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs. It gives added weight to the call of the Accord Coalition for religious education to be part of the national curriculum so as to ensure that all children have knowledge of the different traditions that make up British society today. This is a key element in nurturing good citizenship.”

Andrew Copson, Director of Education and Public Affairs at the British Humanist Association said:

“In 2006 the government dropped the proposal to require faith schools to open up their admissions to those of other beliefs, and opted instead for a duty on all schools to promote community cohesion. The fact that 57% of those polled this week agreed that religious admissions undermine community cohesion suggests that the government made the wrong decision in 2006—we can only hope that MPs considering the Equality Bill do not make the same mistake.”

Simon Barrow, co-director of the religion and society think-tank Ekklesia, said:

“Together with recent independent research, these poll results make a decisive case for moving away from discrimination and segregation on the grounds of religion in Britain’s taxpayer-funded schooling. The government and faith school providers need to recognise that the case for change is clear, positive and backed by the public.”

Editors’ notes

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2083 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 3rd – 5th June 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).