The BHA is frustrated that the Committee scrutinising the Government’s Education Bill has skipped over critical parts of the document. Clauses that reduce scrutiny over schools’ admissions practices and the need for schools to promote community cohesion were debated only briefly.
The Education Bill removes the duty of local authorities to report on the admissions criteria of schools in an area and to establish an admissions forum. It also curtails the powers of the schools adjudicator which can no longer make a modification to a school’s admissions arrangements, even in response to a complaint. These measures were introduced by the last Government in direct response to evidence that many ‘faith’ schools were flouting the admissions code. The ongoing need for admissions scrutiny is shown in the latest report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator from 2010 that found many examples of ‘faith’ schools using admissions criteria that was ‘not objective’ and that favoured middle class families.
The Bill also removes the duty for Ofsted to inspect schools on their work to promote community cohesion – a measure introduced by the previous Government to address widespread public concern that ‘faith’ schools were leading to segregated communities and an increase in local tensions.
However, despite high profile support for amendments to this part of the Bill from children’s charities, educationalists and the BHA, the House of Commons Public Bill Committee has largely skipped over the clauses in a rushed attempt to reach the end of the Bill.
Education Campaigns Officer Jenny Pennington commented: ‘We are really concerned that these important parts of the Bill are not receiving the scrutiny they need. We urge parliamentarians to take action to ensure that these negative clauses are fully scrutinised and amended at later stages in the Bill.
‘Crucially, the committee must now take the opportunities they still have to ensure that other parts of the Bill are scrutinised and amended – especially provisions that allow ‘faith’ schools that transfer to ‘faith’ academies to be able to extend their capacity to discriminate against teaching staff on the grounds of belief to many new posts.
‘We will continue to work closely with our supporters in parliament to ensure that the education system is fair for all children, regardless of their parents’ beliefs, that schools are places that strengthen communities rather than lead to disharmony and that schools are unable to reject qualified teaching staff on the grounds of their personal beliefs.’
Notes
The British Humanist Association is the national charity representing and supporting the interests of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state
The BHA has produced a briefing for MPs on our major concerns with the current Education Bill. It is available to read here.
For further information please contact Jenny Pennington on 020 7462 4993