Religious Education has a unique status in England and Wales. It is a compulsory subject in all state maintained schools, but is not part of the National Curriculum in either country.

Instead most schools follow a RE syllabus that has been produced by a committee of its local authority responsible for education, called an Agreed Syllabus Conference, which comprises of members of different religious groups, teachers and also local councillors. Each local authority responsible for education also appoints a Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education that also comprise of members of different religious groups, teachers and local councillors, which monitors how the local syllabus RE is taught and advises the authority on RE matters.

Chair of the Accord Coalition, Dr Rabbi Jonathan Romain, said ‘not only are the arrangements for local syllabus RE incredibly bureaucratic and costly, but they often lead to a provision of RE that is unbalanced and of poor quality.

‘Ofsted’s recently published report, Transforming religious education, found that there was very significant variability in the quantity and quality of support for RE provided to schools by local authorities and called on the Department for Education to review the current local arrangements for Religious Education in England.

‘The Government want to review the curriculum so that it is less prescriptive and gives schools greater freedom over what they teach. However, they are also under enormous budgetary pressure to find savings. Ending the current local arrangements for RE and making the subject part of the National Curriculum could still give schools a lot of flexibility in their approach, while also reducing costs and instances of poor quality RE provision.’

Notes

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, ‘by giving all new Academy faith schools the same legal status as independent schools with a religious character, the Bill will allow many of these schools to operate in far more narrow and exclusive ways than they are currently doing.

‘For example, voluntary controlled and foundation faith schools teach Religious Education that is generally not instructional and which covers a broad range of different religions and beliefs. They are also only permitted to select one fifth of their teachers based on religious grounds. Furthermore, religious considerations do not form part of the admission arrangements at most voluntary controlled faith schools.

‘By contrast independent schools with a religious character can teach RE that is instructional and which only covers the school’s religion, and they can also select all of their pupils on the grounds of their or their families’ religious beliefs. In addition, these schools are able to discriminate in the appointment and employment of all their teachers on religious grounds, without having to show that such discrimination is in any way proportionate or necessary to the working of the school. They can also then discipline and dismiss their teachers because of conduct in their professional or private life which the school deems incompatible with the tenets of its faith.

‘Allowing schools to operate in these ways helps them to create religious ghettos, where children grow up with little understanding of those from different backgrounds. This creates an environment where mistrust between different communities can grow, potentially damaging community cohesion for many years to come.

‘We know from polling evidence that the public does not support faith schools operating in these narrow and exclusive ways, but their views, along with Liberal Democrat Party policy is not being taken into consideration. The Liberal Democrat’s policy commits the Party to end discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief for all teacher posts not involved in teaching RE, while it also requires that the core provision of Religious Education in state schools is not instructional.

‘What makes these changes even worse is that they are being rushed through, without proper debate or scrutiny. The Government has met with the Church of England and the Catholic Education Service about the Bill, but has ignored our requests to meet. Meanwhile, they have so far failed to answers queries about the Bill from parliamentarians concerned about faith schools on the Government benches. Those of us who are concerned about faith schools operating in restrictive and discriminatory ways are being frozen out’.

Notes

The Accord Coalition was launched in 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.

The Government announced that it had already met with the Church of England and the Catholic Education Service about the Academies Bill in a Written Answer to a Parliamentary Question.

A 2009 You Gov poll commissioned by the Accord Coalition found that 72% of people agreed that “all state funded schools should operate recruitment and employment policies that do not discriminate on grounds of religion or belief”, while 75% 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’.

The Liberal Democrat Humanist and Secularist have produced a short briefing setting out their Party’s policy regarding faith schools.

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.

Speaking for the amendments, Baroness Turner of Camden said:

“Why should such requirements be imposed on, for example, physical education or maths teachers when the same rules do not apply to charities or businesses with a religious ethos? I believe that this is also not in line with EU Council Directive 2000/78/EC. The directive seems to require that permitted discrimination can take place only when there is a genuine occupational requirement. The Bill, if unamended, allows discrimination against a large category of employees; namely, all teachers in most faith schools. I hope that the Government will agree that this is not acceptable and that steps should be taken to ensure that the Bill is fully in line with the EU directive.”

“We had some discussion about the EU directive earlier in this Committee, and I understand that the Government have already been told that they are in breach. I have a copy of the reasoned opinion from the EU Commission, and it is quite clear that the ruling is that this country is in breach. It is an important document, and I hope it can be left in the Library for noble Lords to read. It is important for the legislation we are introducing to be in line with the directive. If it is not, it means that people who feel that their rights have not been applied to them may seek to have them enforced by the courts. It would be better if, from the beginning, we have legislation that is fully compliant with the EU directive.”

She later said:

“During discussion on the Bill, the Government have made a large number of concessions to religious groups, which I do not think are always justified. People with no belief also have some rights. The EU directive simply says that respect should be shown to the religious ethos of religious employers by the employees. I agree, although in my view that does not include the necessity to become a member of the religion involved. I still believe that that is not a requirement-it is certainly not a requirement of the EU directive. Nor is it true that people who send their children to these schools always want to see that requirement, but I have been given evidence that parents are very concerned that teachers have these requirements imposed on them.”

The minister responding, Baroness Thornton said that she understands “that there are concerns about the SSFA and what it may potentially allow faith schools-in particular, voluntary-aided faith schools-to do with regard to their teachers”, although the government disputes the need for a change in the law.

Accord will continue to make the case for changes to the law to improve teachers’ rights.

The case was brought by the father of a child who was denied admission to the school in 2007. The admissions policies at the time prioritised all those with a Jewish mother – whether or not they were practising Jews – over those who did practise Judaism but were not Jewish according to the Office of the Chief Rabbi. The majority verdict of the Supreme Court found that this constituted direct discrimination on grounds of ethnicity.

Accord believes that the ruling marks a small but timely step in ensuring that faith schools are more diverse and tolerant, although they are still far from being as open or inclusive as they should be.

Accord Chair, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain has written a Comment is Free article on the verdict in which he said:

“The fact is that British Jewry has several different denominations – Orthodox, Reform, Liberal, Masorti – as does the church; and just as most people regard Anglicans, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists and others as all Christian, so most Jews regard each other as fellow Jews.

This is why the case was so significant nationally and has ramifications far beyond the Jewish community. First, it highlighted the ability faith schools to discriminate against pupils that they consider to be of the wrong faith or even the wrong denomination within the same faith.

This applies to other religious schools – whether Christian, Muslim or Hindu – which are controlled by one strand of the faith and can deny access to children of other groups within it.

Second, not only was discrimination being practiced by a school which should be welcoming as supposedly befits a religious “love-your-neighbour” ethos, but in addition, the school is taxpayer funded yet seems to be just as selective as a private one.

Whether one is religious or not, many will agree that state-funded faith schools should serve not just themselves but also the community around them. JFS was adopting an approach that breached that sense of inclusivity and fair play.”

“It is certainly true that faith schools are permitted by act of parliament to discriminate in their admissions policy on religious grounds – a privilege many view as objectionable – but given this child’s obvious religious identity as a Jew, the supreme court ruled that in rejecting the child JFS was doing so not on religious grounds but because his mother was not ethnically Jewish, and therefore JFS was breaking the Race Relations Act.

It is a victory for common sense over discrimination. It was always indefensible that a Jewish school should refuse Jewish education to a Jewish child. The ruling is a slap in the face for the Jewish authorities that sought to rebuff the child. It will also serve as a wake-up call to all state-funded faith schools to honour their responsiblities to wider society.”

The report’s main call is for more research to be done into the impact that Church schools have. It is hard to disagree that further study is always helpful. However, one can’t help thinking that it is simply wrong for the government to allow widespread discrimination against teachers and students, compulsory collective worship and the teaching of a biased RE curriculum without any real evidence that it is needed.

While evidence of the positive impact of Christian schools overall has been hard to come by, there have been many who have raised concerns about issues such as community cohesion and social segregation.

The next time that a faith school provider blithely asserts that religious schools are unambiguously a force for good it is worth recalling the words of Trevor Cooling, the Research Supervisor of the report:

“Given the high level of investment in Christian-ethos schools on the part of government, churches, religious organisations, and parents, the lack of available evidence is a cause of concern”.

The ‘thought’ started with a discussion of the case currently in the Supreme Court on the legality of school admissions based on Jewish descent. But it went on to consider how tests based on practice also have very serious problems, with parents attending church simply to get a school place for their child.

Rhidian Brook is the latest in a long line of religious figures who have questioned whether the current rules for faith schools can be justified either socially or religiously. The religion and society thinktank Ekklesia, which is one of Accord’s founder members, made a detailed Christian case for Accord when the coalition launched a year ago . Earlier this year, Rev Jeremy Chadd eloquently expressed why as the “vicar of a very ordinary Anglican church” he has seen first-hand how Church schools can be less than Christian. Likewise, Accord Chair Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain has also explained how his vision of an inclusive education system springs in part from religious motives and Accord also has support from Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus.

As well as religious supporters, Accord is proud to have the support of non-religious people and organisations such as British Humanist Association, whose motivation is deeply rooted in humanist ethics, and from teachers’ union ATL who bring their great experience of what works in education to the campaign.

Accord is a growing coalition that welcomes support from all of those who agree with our aims. We always need more supporters, so if you know someone who might be interested in signing up then please let them know about the campaign.

Speaking in response to the report, Accord Chair Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain said:

“The positive tone of this report is astonishing given the problems that it has uncovered in independent faith schools. These schools were judged to a bare minimum standard that required no mention of other faiths at all, let alone non-religious beliefs. We are dismayed that the fifty one schools inspected, twelve “raised concerns about any requirement to teach details of other faiths”. Some schools even wanted to “protect children from the perceived negative influences of secular society, such as electronic media”.”

“The comments on the way that “secular” schools operated are based on the perceptions of teachers and parents at independent faith schools, not on visits to community schools. They are little more than hearsay. In contrast the fact that some independent faith schools are using inaccurate or biased materials about other religions and about conflict the Middle East was discovered by school inspectors.”

“The worst thing is that many state-funded faith schools are also free to teach whatever they like in RE. It is crazy that schools almost totally funded by the taxpayer, can teach a biased and incomplete curriculum in RE.”

Accord Coordinator Alex Kennedy was at the Labour conference for several days and used the opportunity to build links with individuals and groups who share our aims. A week later, he was joined by Accord Chair Jonathan Romain in Manchester for the Conservative Party Conference. There, Accord held a very successful breakfast fringe meeting chaired by Ryan Shorthouse from influential thinktank the Bow group, with Lord (Robin) Glentoran—an Accord supporter and Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland—and Rabbi Romain as speakers.

As we had hoped, the event drew people from all sides of the debate and there were a large number of contributions and questions from the floor. Issues covered included the impact of faith schools on community cohesion, the role of other forms of selection in the education system and the lessons that can be taken from Northern Ireland.

The conferences were also an opportunity to publicise the Accord Awards to those councillors and school governors who want to see best practice rewarded. If you know a governor or teacher at a state funded school then please tell them about the awards. The forms that they will need to fill in can be found on the Accord site and the closing date is 2 November.

In other news, we were heartened to see recently that the headmaster of leading independent school St Pauls (which itself has a Christian foundation) has criticised faith schools for being divisive. Dr Martin Stephen’s comments have been condemned as “dangerous” by the Bishop of London, but in reality he is one of a growing number of people, religious and non-religious, who have come to believe that the current system is in serious need of reform.

“If Labour has been at its best when at its boldest, then that certainly hasn’t been when dealing with the issues around faith schools—a point that was not lost on James Purnell who recently branded the government ‘allergic’ to discussing the topic.

Even since Alan Johnson’s ‘fastest u-turn in political history’ over plans to introduce admissions quotas for faith schools, ministers have done a good job of pretending that there isn’t even a debate to be had.

Part of the reason for that reluctance has been the (sometimes correct) perception that the faith schools debate can too quickly become polarised. If the debate is faith v secularism, or choice v equality then it is little wonder that some think it is best to steer well clear.

If that perception was ever right, it is no longer. For the last year the Accord Coalition has brought together religious and non-religious voices who share serious concerns about the way that faith schools operate. Accord takes no position on the principle of whether faith schools should exist. The reason is not only that our members have different views on that question: it is that we don’t think it is the most crucial issue. What we instead focus on are the basic standards of non-discrimination that all state-funded schools should follow.”

“It’s difficult to do a comparison between Church in Wales schools and other schools because it’s very difficult to compare like with like. There are all sorts of issues that come into play – inner city schools compared with rural schools, for example.”

And, as the Secretary of Cardiff Humanists Julian Bennet pointed out in the same article, any difference in results is unlikely to be due to collective worship and the belief in a supernatural power.

That point is backed up by government statistics, which show that while religious voluntary aided schools get better average results than community schools, so do voluntary aided schools with no religious character. The important thing to remember with all of these large scale comparisons is that there are far larger differences within categories of school than between them. By far the biggest determinant of the results that a school achieves is its intake. The remaining differences can be explained by a wide range of factors—teaching quality, school leadership, governance and discipline, for example—that are common to all schools.

Because school intake has such an impact on schools results and behaviour, schools which have complex admissions arrangements can end up selecting better off families, even if unintentionally. The impact of this selection can then snowball, as differences in intake affect results and behaviour. The truth is that there are very many good schools that are inclusive and that inclusive schools can achieve great results while being engaged with the whole community.

We hope that one such school will be Oakhurst Primary School in Swindon, which has just opened. The community school had the help of 170 people from the community to help decorate the school as it opened, many of whom had been concerned about alternative plans for an Islamic faith school on the site. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/4630229.Oakfield_School_opens_its_doors_to_community/