Speaking at a hearing of the House of Commons Education Select Committee on Wednesday (July 28th) the Secretary of State for Education told MPs that ‘I and officials have been working to ensure that the regulations that govern faith-based education are such that we don’t have groups with an extremist, a fundamentalist or a narrow agenda taking schools over’.

Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain said ’we naturally welcome the assurance from the Sectary of State, but it still remains to be seen if and how these words will be translated into proper action. We will wait with interest to see what the Government propose.

‘However, if they are genuinely committed to preventing schools pursuing a narrow agenda, then there is much they need to look at in existing state funded schools, such as ensure that all schools teach a broad and balanced RE syllabus, provide assemblies that focus on shared values and admit pupils regardless of their or their families religion or beliefs.

‘Currently many schools do not teach about the broad range of beliefs and values in society, but can teach that only a particular life stance is the true one, without exposing their pupils to different perspectives. This denies children the broad and balanced education that they should be entitled to, and helps to create an insulated environment where extreme perspectives can grow’.

In a further development Julian Huppert MP also yesterday tabled an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to repeal the laws that require collective worship in schools and to encourage them to instead provide inclusive assemblies.

Currently the law requires that the worship in faith schools in England and Wales be provided in accordance with the school’s trust deed or the tenets and practices of the religion or religious denomination of the school, while in all other maintained schools the worship is supposed to be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character.

The Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said ‘the laws requiring collective worship should be one of the first laws repealed by the Government. A school can do many things collectively, but by lacking a shared religious faith it cannot worship collectively. The current laws around collective worship are inflexible and fail to respect the beliefs of a great many children and their families in society. School assemblies should consider spiritual and moral issues and reinforce positive attitudes. However, this can be far better achieved through providing inclusive assemblies that focus on shared vales’.

‘Such a change would make it possible for more teachers to take assembly, while it would also ensure that a great many more schools acted within the law. OFSTED’s 2002-03 annual report stated that four fifths of schools do not hold a daily act of collective worship for all pupils. It is very unhealthy in a democracy for the law to be widely flouted and the law around compulsory worship in schools requires urgent attention.’

Notes

To support the proposal to end compulsory collective worship in schools on the ‘Your Freedom’ website click here.

The Accord Coalition was launched in September 2008 to bring together religious and non religious organisations campaigning for an end to religious discrimination in school staffing and admissions. The coalition also campaigns for a fair and balanced RE curriculum, for pupils to receive Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, the removal of the requirement for compulsory collective worship, but does not take a position for or against faith schools in principle. Its growing list of members and supporters include the British Humanist Association, the Christian think tank Ekklesia, the British Muslims for Secular Democracy, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and members from all three of the largest parties in parliament.

For further comment, contact Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain on 07770 722 893.

For further information, contact Paul Pettinger on 020 7462 4990.

The report found that there was ‘very significant variability in the quantity and quality of support for RE provided to schools by local authorities’, and that since 2007 the standards of RE provision in secondary schools had fallen. It calls on the Department for Education to review the current local arrangements for Religious Education in England.

The Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said ‘now that Britain is a multi-faith society, Religious Education is a vital part of getting to know your neighbour and essential preparation for good citizenship’.

‘The problem exposed by Ofsted is that at present we have the ludicrous situation whereby Religious Education is a statutory subject – and therefore must be taught in all maintained schools in England – but it is not part of the National Curriculum, so there is no obligatory syllabus. Instead most schools have to follow a syllabus produced by their local authority, while voluntary-aided faith schools can follow their own RE syllabus and ignore every faith but their own.

‘Ofsted’s report shows the important role that good quality Religious Education can play in pupil’s own personal development and in improving community cohesion by enabling pupils to understand the beliefs of people from different backgrounds.’

‘Religious Education should be treated like a National Curriculum subject to help ensure that it is broad, balanced and accurate and that there is a uniformity it the quality of provision. Ofsted’s report shows how unsatisfactory the current local authority arrangements are.’

‘It is also noticeably how RE has grown in popularity since the publication of the 2004 National Framework has taken effect. The framework recommended that RE should have a more educational and inclusive approach and it is apparent that Religious Education has everything to gain as a subject from becoming more relevant and comprehensive’.

Notes

The National Framework for Religious Education, published in 2004, offered non-statutory guidance on the provision of RE in England. It was produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development for the then Department for Education and Skills, with support of most RE professional organisations and most of the country’s main religion and belief groups, including the Church of England, Catholic Education Service and Muslim Council of Britain.

To view information about the implications and unpopularity of discriminatory and exclusive practices employed in state education system, including in faith schools, please see our databank of independent evidence.

For further comment, contact Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain on 07770 722 893.

For further information, contact Paul Pettinger on 020 7462 4990.

The Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said ‘it is vital that whatever changes are enacted by upcoming legalisation that new and existing state schools are required to operate in inclusive ways.’

‘It is equally important that greater freedoms must be accompanied by greater monitoring, so that those freedoms are used responsibly and not hijacked by those with extreme views.’

‘All new schools must be compelled to admit children regardless of their religious or non-religious backgrounds. All new and existing schools must also provide children with a broad and balanced education, which allows them to make informed choices and sets them up for adult life in our increasingly diverse society. Schools should not be allowed to provide Religious Education that only focuses on a narrow range of beliefs or to fail to provide thorough Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.’

‘We are discovering to our cost the errors of allowing schools to segregate and discriminate on the basis of religion and belief and to provide children with a narrow programme of learning. We must learn from these mistakes to ensure we do not repeat them in future.’

‘The two Bills will enable the creation of more Academy Schools, to make it easier for parents and other groups to set up their own state funded schools and for schools to have greater freedom over the curriculum they teach.’

Notes

The Accord Coalition was launched in early September 2008 to bring together religious and non religious organisations campaigning for an end to religious discrimination in school staffing and admissions. The coalition also campaigns for a fair and balanced RE curriculum and the removal of the requirement for compulsory collective worship but does not take a position for or against faith schools in principle. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the British Humanist Association and Ekklesia are members of the Accord Coalition.

To view information about the implications and unpopularity of discriminatory and exclusive practices employed in state education system, including in faith schools, please see our databank of independent evidence.

For further comment, contact Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain on 07770 722 893.

For further information, contact Paul Pettinger on 020 7462 4990.

Both contributed towards the discussions that led the Lib Dems to call for significant reform of the way that faith schools operate in their election manifesto this year. Whatever the outcome of the current negotiations between the parties on forming a government, Accord will continue to argue for schools that welcome children from all backgrounds and of all beliefs.
We look forward to continuing to work with the many parliamentarians who remain committed to the goal of more inclusive schools and also to getting in touch with all of those new MPs who share our aims.

Loreto College decided to suspend Jack Easton because it believed that the Green Party policy of seeking to stop religious organisations from running state schools could be incompatible with his role at the school.
Mr Easton explained that while he is not religious, his wife is a Catholic and his children have been brought up as believers. Defending the policy on which he is running for parliament Mr Easton said:

“The Green Party’s underlying vision is that every child and young person should be entitled to attend their local community school and for their needs to be met on an inclusive basis.”

“The Greens believe that education should include a celebration and recognition of religious and cultural diversity and spirituality and Green Party policies include requiring schools to provide prayer space for those who wish to practice their religion.”

“Schools could choose to hold acts of worship but would be expected to provide alternative activity for pupils that do not wish to take part.”

The Accord Coalition also campaigns for major reform to laws governing school admissions, religious discrimination against teachers and the current requirement for a daily act of worship, although unlike the Greens the campaign does not take a position on the principle of faith schools. Polls suggest that the Green Party may win its first MP in the election next week.

Speaking yesterday, Nick Clegg said that faith schools should be ‘engines of integration not silos of segregation’ welcoming pupils from all faiths. The Daily Mail also reports that although faith schools would not be expected to set a quota of pupils from different faiths, they would be expected to be ‘as open as possible’.

The statements reflect the party policy, which supports the principle of faith schools, but will require them to be more inclusive in their admissions, less discriminatory in their employment rules and more balanced in their Religious Education lessons.

In an article for the Jewish Chronicle, also published yesterday, Gordon Brown gave an endorsement of faith schools but did make clear that the government will not seek to reverse the judgement of the Supreme Court which affects Jewish school admissions.

The ruling found that the admissions rules of some Jewish schools were contrary to race relations legislation, and some had called for this decision to be overturned by the government.

Instead, the Mr Brown gave the commitment that Labour would “uphold the decision of the Supreme Court based on their interpretation of existing legislation”, while making clear that there was scope to discuss with the Jewish community how it might be implemented.

” [We will] allow parents to continue to choose faith-based schools within the state-funded sector and allow the establishment of new faith schools. We will ensure that all faith schools develop an inclusive admissions policy and end unfair discrimination on grounds of faith when recruiting staff, except for those principally responsible for optional religious instruction.”

Although there has not been space to explain all of the details of the policy, the party is also committed topreventing new schools from selecting children on the grounds of belief; to allowing children of sufficient maturity to withdraw themselves from collective worship; and to putting in place:

“Broad guidance on religious education at a national level and ensure that religious education in state funded schools educates young people about people’s beliefs and practise in terms of the main religious belief systems. It should not specify what pupils themselves should believe and practise.”

Labour

• Allowed the creation of academy schools, many of which have been governed by religious bodies. Generally academy schools have been more inclusive in their admissions than many existing voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools, but it is not clear how far (if at all) the is as a consequence of government action. Academy schools are allowed by law to discriminate in their admissions requirements by religion. While some religious academy schools follow the locally agreed syllabus, others have been criticised for excessive evangelism.

• There has been no major change to the statutory basis of Religious Education, which is compulsory in all schools but does not form part of the National Curriculum and need not be balanced or broad.

• The government fought to protect employment exemptions which mean that teachers can be discriminated against to a greater degree than employees in other organisations with a religious ethos. They also changed the law in 2006 to allow faith schools to discriminate against non-teaching staff by religion and against the head teachers of voluntary controlled schools with a religious character.

• The passing of the School Admissions Code in 2002 and its subsequent tightening has significantly improved the fairness of school admissions. In spring 2008 Ed Balls took the unusual step of incurring the ire of the faith schools lobby by criticising schools that broke the admissions code through practices such as interview and charges for applicants.

• Attempted to make Sex and Relationship Education part of the National Curriculum but late in the day gave a partial exemption to faith schools.

Conservative

• The Conservatives are planning radical reforms to the education system and the detail of how these changes will apply to faith schools is not fully known.

• They plan to facilitate the creation of free schools, which would be government funded but independently run. It is envisaged that faith groups would be among those interested in running free schools and the terms on which they would be allowed to do so could greatly affect the consequences of the policy.

• Accord is pleased to hear that free schools will not be allowed to select pupils according to religion. It is not yet known whether they will be able to discriminate against teachers.

• The party is in favour of reducing the level of central control over the curriculum, but it is not yet know how this would be applied to Religious Education which is complusory in all schools thought not part of the National Curriculum.

• It is not expected that the Conservatives would prioritise changing the admissions rules of existing faith schools.

• The party did not support moves to end the special exemption of teachers in faith schools from laws against discrimination in employment.

• Michael Gove blocked the passing of legislation to make Sex and Relationship Education part of the National Curriculum because of plans to allow 15 year olds to attend the lessons against their parents’ wishes.

Liberal Democrat

• The party is against the opening of new schools that discriminate on religious grounds. It would require existing schools to demonstrate within five years that their admissions are inclusive at risk of losing state funding, although more detail on how this would work would be helpful.

• The Liberal Democrats oppose religious employment conditions against all non teaching staff and against all teachers except those responsible for religious instruction in faith schools.

• The party supports allowing children of a sufficient maturity to withdraw themselves from collective worship.

• The party supports broad guidance at national level ensure “that religious education in state funded schools educates young people about people’s beliefs and practise in terms of the main religious belief systems. It should not specify what pupils themselves should believe and practise.”

• The Liberal Democrats argued for the strengthening of provisions on Sex and Relationship Education and against special treatment for faith schools.

Now that this change in the law has been blocked, schools will only have to teach the basic elements of human biology as they appear on the science curriculum. It will be up to individual schools and governing bodies whether to cover the social, emotional and moral questions that SRE poses, and they will be under no obligation to take a balanced or accurate approach.

The changes that had been proposed were supported by a great range of people, including the UK Youth Parliament, teaching unions and health professionals. It is hugely disappointing that they have been scrapped during the undemocratic “wash-up” period, which follows the election being called. Unfortunately it will be children and young people who feel the impact of this decision.

Education Secretary Ed Balls has written to his shadow Michael Gove attacking as “very disappointing” the Conservative decision to block the bill. In response a Conservative spokesperson said that the party’s objection was to the plan to stop the parents of 15 year olds from withdrawing their children from SRE lessons.

The Accord Coalition has welcomed the ruling, arguing that the ability of faith schools to cause divisions even within religious communities is a strong reason for opening up all state schools to those of all beliefs and backgrounds.

Although campaigning groups such as Accord are not able to refer cases to the Schools Adjudicator, it is not the first time that the admissions requirements of faith schools have come to our attention. It will be interesting to see if the approach taken in this case will lead to changes in the policies of other schools that have sought to bend the meaning of the School Admissions Code.