Criticism of government's faith schools policy

DfE gives green light to open six new faith schools in ‘missed opportunity’ to back inclusive education, says Humanists UK

• A quarter of new schools that will open are faith schools, under latest DfE schools round announced today

• Both free schools and voluntary-aided schools included in this round

• But vast majority of 100% religiously selective voluntary-aided schools rejected in ‘slightly promising’ result for Humanists UK’s campaign.

More faith schools, which discriminate on religious grounds and divide pupils based on their religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, have been given the green light to open in England as part of the Department for Education’s latest schools round announced today.

Overall, six new state-funded faith schools have been approved in this round which is almost a quarter of those that will open. Three of these, out of 14 which placed bids, are voluntary-aided schools which can legally select 100% of pupils on religious grounds.

Humanists UK, which campaigns for an inclusive education system with no religious discrimination, has described the move by the Government as a ‘missed opportunity’ to end religious discrimination and open more inclusive schools, and says it will only lead to more pupils being divided on religious, ethnic and socio-economic lines.

The DfE announced that the Hampton Waters Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided School in Peterborough had been successful along with two undisclosed bids that the DfE is assisting to locate sites for and which are expected to open in due course.

The successful faith schools under the free schools wave were: Blue Coat II, a Christian secondary school in Oldham; New House Farm C of E Primary in Derbyshire; and Trinity Academy Barnsley, a Christian secondary school.

In April, Humanists UK and the Accord Coalition led a campaign, with the backing of 180 high-profile campaigners, urging the Government to reject 100% religiously selective schools. The open letter, which appeared in The Sunday Times and was sent to the Department for Education, warned that opening more faith schools would be a ‘disaster for social cohesion.’ The letter was signed by names including Humanists UK president Alice Roberts, Stephen Fry, Lord Kenneth Baker, Becky Francis, Revd Richard Harries, and Alf Dubs.

Responding to the announcement, Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson said: ‘Overall, six new faith schools have been approved in this round which is a quarter of those that will open. This is a disappointing result for the communities affected meaning many parents will be forced to send their child to a faith school when they’d prefer an inclusive school with no faith ethos that welcomes all pupils into the classroom no matter their background.

‘The opening of any new state-funded faith school is bad news for social cohesion and leads to increased discrimination on religious grounds, but it is slightly promising that the Government has rejected the vast majority of bids for 100% religiously selective faith schools and only three of these are expected to open.

‘We have repeatedly called on the Government in England to prioritise inclusive schools that do not select by religion. At a time when there is so much division around the country, giving more faith schools the green light to discriminate on religious grounds will lead to greater levels of segregation between pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.’

Humanists UK has been running a campaign urging people to write to their MP to oppose 100% religiously selective voluntary-aided schools.

Accord Coalition criticising government for offering approval for fully selective faith schools for the first time in nearly a decade

The Accord Coalition has criticised news that the Government has approved in principle funding for the first three voluntary aided faith schools as part of its plan to support new faith schools that can be fully religiously selective. In May 2018 the Government announced it was scrapping a proposal to allow faith free schools to be fully selective, but instead that it would financially support the opening of local authority maintained voluntary aided faith schools that can operate in this way.

Chair of the Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education, the Revd Stephen Terry, said 'In England since 2010 faith schools that have opened with the support of central government have been limited in selecting no more than half of their pupils on faith grounds. Though a relatively small measure, it signalled that schools should seek to bring people together from different backgrounds and that integration was being taken more seriously than before.'

'Opening new schools that can be fully religiously selective is a backward and socially irresponsible move. Today's news is a victory for those who seek to isolate children of their faith from wider society. It can only lead to further ghettoisation, which is completely at odds with the needs of our increasingly diverse society.'

The information has been released by the Department for Education today (Friday June 14th) at the same time as it announcing news of its latest wave of 22 new free schools, three of which are faith free schools. The proposed voluntary aided faith schools are the Hampton Waters Roman Catholic School in Peterborough, along with two other so far undisclosed bids, all of which the Education Secretary has in principle approved funding bids for.