The BHA has called for a full parliamentary inquiry into ‘faith’ schools following revelations in a new television documentary screened last night.
‘Faith School Menace?’, presented by BHA Vice President Professor Richard Dawkins, featured interviews with religious lobbyists, parents, pupils and experts including BHA chief executive Andrew Copson.
In the film Professor Dawkins discovered that RE lessons in some ‘faith’ schools present creationism as scientific fact, directly contradicting the evolution components of the national curriculum. In a particularly shocking scene, he found that all 60 Year 10 science students at a Muslim secondary school rejected the theory of evolution in favour of the Qur’an’s story of Creation. The episode led Professor Dawkins to call for RE to fall under the National Curriculum and for RE teaching in ‘faith’ schools to be inspected by Ofsted, a policy the BHA has advocated for many years.
The programme also presented the findings of an exclusive ICM poll, in which 59 per cent of the public said they were opposed to any form of state funding for ‘faith’ schools.
The screening of the documentary comes as the BHA launches a major new fundraising campaign to support its work against state-funded ‘faith’ schools.
BHA chief executive Andrew Copson said:
‘The programme confirms what the BHA has known for many years – that ‘faith’ schools can cause religious and socio-economic segregation and lead to thousands of pupils being denied a broad, balanced and inclusive education. What’s more, as this new poll demonstrates, they are opposed by a clear majority of the public.’
Speaking on the teaching of creationism in English ‘faith’ schools, Mr Copson commented:
‘The programme highlights why we urgently need a tightening up of the legal requirements to prevent creation stories being taught as anything other than religious beliefs. If, as this film seems to suggest, creationism is already being taught as fact in conventional ‘faith’ schools then how does the government propose to keep it out of religious ‘free’ schools, which will not have to follow the National Curriculum and are outside local authority control?’
Explaining the BHA’s call for a parliamentary inquiry, Mr Copson continued:
‘We are calling on the newly-formed education select committee to conduct a full inquiry into ‘faith’ schools, looking particularly at their impact on community cohesion, their effect on pupils’ rights, their effect on a balanced curriculum of objective teaching about religious and non-religious beliefs, and the extent to which science teaching may be undermined. Now is the time for politicians to take a critical look at the role of ‘faith’ schools and ask if they really are serving the best interests of children and the wider community.’
Notes
Watch ‘Faith School Menace?’ on 4oD.
For further comment or information, contact James Gray on 020 7462 4993 or james@humanists.uk.
Voluntary-aided ‘faith schools’, unlike other schools, can teach their own syllabus of RE which is not inspected by Ofsted.
The BHA has been at the forefront of bringing to public attention the growing threat to education from creationism. Find out more.
Read more about the BHA’s ‘faith’ schools fundraising campaign.
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing and supporting the non-religious and campaigning for an end to religious privilege and discrimination based on religion or belief.