The British Humanist Association (BHA) has today responded to reports of a leaked letter from Education Secretary Alan Johnson stating that he wants to see the Education and Inspections Bill amended in the Lords to make faith schools more ‘inclusive’ by obliging them to take a proportion of children not of the religious background of the school.
Much concern has been raised about faith schools in earlier stages of the Bill in the Lords and it appears that the Government is attempting to head off further criticism of their stated wish to encourage the growth of state-funded religious schools by making this concession.
Humanists in the Lords had tabled an amendment to the Bill in its previous reading that would see the end of all state-funded religious schools, and at the same time an alternative amendment was moved by former Education Secretary Lord Baker which would instead have required future faith schools to allocate a proportion of their places to children not of the religious background of the school. Since that time, the Church of England has announced that their new schools will allocate 25% of places to non-Anglicans, a move that was branded almost meaningless by campaigners against faith schools (click here )
BHA Education Officer Andrew Copsonsaid, ‘Being ‘inclusive’ means more than just having children of different religions and beliefs in your school