The BHA has accused the Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb MP, of ‘falling for easily-dispelled myths’ after comments he made to the Roman Catholic Diocesan Schools’ Commissioners yesterday.
Mr Gibb cited the examination results of Roman Catholic schools and said if their success could be replicated ‘there’d be no need to have a Schools Minister or a Department for Education’. He also praised ‘faith’ schools for their diversity, saying ‘Ofsted recognises that faith schools are more successful than non-faith schools at promoting community cohesion’.
But BHA faith schools and education campaigns officer James Gray said these achievements could be easily explained by factors other than ‘religious ethos’:
‘It is unfortunate that Nick Gibb has fallen for these easily-dispelled myths about ‘faith’ schools. Study after study has shown that where ‘faith’ schools do outperform community schools, it can often be explained by their discriminatory admissions policies which in practice prioritise more able children. The reality is that ‘faith’ schools take disproportionately fewer pupils entitled to free school meals and that complex questions related to religious observance put off many parents who lack confidence in writing.’
Responding to Mr Gibb’s claims about ‘faith’ schools’ contribution to community cohesion, James Gray continued:
‘The very principle of ‘faith’ schools – whereby children are segregated along religious lines – is antithetical to community cohesion. The BHA has long held that the criteria Ofsted uses to judge ‘faith’ schools’ contribution to community cohesion are insufficient because they don’t consider the impact of discriminatory admissions and biased RE lessons. When these are taken into account ‘faith’ schools have been consistently shown to increase division.’
NOTES
For further information or comment contact James Gray on 020 7462 4993 or james@humanists.uk.
Read the full text of Nick Gibb’s speech.
Studies which have linked ‘faith’ school admissions policies with unrepresentative pupil populations include:
- Faith primary schools: better schools or better pupils?, Centre for the Economics of Education, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2006
- Right to Divide?: Faith schools and community cohesion, Runnymede Trust, 2008
- Unlocking the gates: giving disadvantaged children a fairer deal in school admissions, Barnardo’s Policy and Research Unit, 2010