The British Humanist Association (BHA) has criticised today’s announcement by the Church of England and the DfES that new Church of England schools will offer 25% of their places to non-Christians.
‘What has been announced today is not an end to selection by religion – it is the re inforcement of selection by religion. Young people will still be subject to a religious test to gain access to faith schools, only now it will be selection of two different kinds .’, said BHA education officer Andrew Copson .
Polls over the last six years have shown a clear and consistent majority opposed to faith schools, and it is difficult not to perceive today’s announcement as merely an attempt to stem such criticism. In any case, it has no impact at all on non-Church of England schools, and it does not address most of the concerns that are held about Church of England schools themselves.
Mr Copson commented, ‘Supporters of inclusive community schools do no find fault with faith schools simply because of their admissions policies. They are concerned about faith schools which can discriminate in their employment polices, which don’t have to follow the same broad and balanced Religious Education syllabuses as community schools – the threat of segregation is only one part of the case against faith schools and their expansion.’
In any case, the BHA points out that these new arrangements will only apply to new Church schools: ‘The vast majority of faith schools, even of Church of England schools, will not be affected.’, concluded Mr Copson.
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Further enquiries can be addressed by email to Andrew Copson or by telephone on 020 7079 3584 or 07855 380633
The British Humanist Association represents and supports the non-religious. It is the largest such organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief. In education, this means an end to the expansion of faith schools and for the assimilation of those that currently exist into a system of inclusive and accommodating community schools.
The British Humanist Association has been campaigning against faith schools and academies controlled by religious interest groups for many years, and published a widely-regarded policy paper, ‘A Better Way Forward’, in 2002 which has been revised and reissued this year. You can read it and about it here
In the years since the 2002 edition of ‘A Better Way Forward’ has been in print, it has proved valuable as a contribution to the various issues surrounding religion and schools – most obviously in the lead up to the 2004 National Framework for RE, which included ‘secular philosophies such as humanism’ for the first time, as part of a broader approach to beliefs and values education.
The supporting evidence for ‘A Better Way Forward’ has been continuously updated for the last five years with an online collection of statistics, reports, and quotes from stakeholders here