A new Church of England secondary school has been given the green light to open in Kingston upon Thames. But it only happened after councillors were told it was their ‘only option’ to meet an urgent need for school places.
Humanists UK campaigns for inclusive schools that are suitable for all children regardless of religion or belief. It said it was outrageous the Council had been forced to approve the faith school due to a lack of Government funding for other types of school. Kingston Church of England Secondary School will be the second faith school to open via the Government’s new funding scheme for voluntary aided (VA) schools. The first – a Catholic primary school – is set to open in Peterborough next year. This is despite strong local opposition. For the past decade, before the scheme was launched, all new schools were expected to be free schools. When they have a religious character, free schools may only select up to 50% of their pupils by religion. By contrast, VA schools are able to select up to 100% of pupils by faith.
The school was approved at a meeting of the Council’s People Committee. At the start of the meeting, Portfolio Holder for Education Councillor Diane White told members their decision was ‘this school or no school’. The motion was later passed unanimously. But many councillors expressed disquiet because they weren’t able to reject the proposal in favour of a community ethos school. Councillor Ollie Wehring said he would be supporting the bid ‘but holding [his] nose while [he] did it’. Another Councillor, Dave Ryder-Mills commented, ‘the only type of school the Government is funding is – like it or not (and I don’t) – faith schools’. A report provided to the Committee ahead of the decision put the cost of opening a new free school at £25 million compared to £2.5 million for the VA school. The school will receive 90% of its funding from the Government and the Council will provide the remaining 10%. The Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (SDBE), which is behind the bid, will pay nothing.
Some councillors raised concerns about faith-based admissions at the school. Despite receiving all its funding from the state the proposal states that 30% of places will be reserved for ‘children of families who can demonstrate Anglican or other Christian commitment.’ And in the future, the new VA school will be able to increase this up to 100%. Councillor Christine Stuart said she had previously worked in a CofE school with open admissions. She asked if there was ‘any room for manoeuvre’ on the figure of 30% faith admissions. Associate Director for School Place Planning, Matthew Paul, said there was scope for the school to change the policy once open. The Church of England has long maintained that it makes little use of religious selection and that its schools are for the whole community. But SDBE representative Colin Powell said it was ‘prudent’ to have faith-based places to ‘establish [the] foundation’ of the school. He went on to say that these places would help with ‘diversity of choice for parents’. However, there is robust evidence to suggest that religious admissions narrow the options for families who do not share the faith. They also lead to segregation by ethnicity and parental wealth as well as by religion. Councillor Stuart responded that she would like ‘broader admissions criteria’ than those proposed.
Kingston upon Thames is a Liberal Democrat-run council. In 2017 the party voted to end religious selection in state schools and this remains party policy today. A recent Ofsted survey found that 94% of parents say faith is not an important factor in school choice.
Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Dr Ruth Wareham commented:
‘Time and time again, faith schools have been shown to limit parental choice. They also discriminate against those from other and non-religious backgrounds. This is not only because of their religiously selective admissions. It is also because subjects such as religious education and sex and relationships education are taught from a particular faith perspective. To add insult to injury, these schools are often entirely funded by the public purse.
‘Kingston upon Thames Council has been forced to approve this divisive proposal because of a lack of funding for an inclusive alternative. This is outrageous, especially when the vast majority of people want community ethos schools. New school places should be open and suitable for children from all backgrounds. The Government should urgently review the way school funding is allocated to make this a reality for every family.’
The decision to approve Kingston Church of England Secondary School was originally supposed to take place in March. It was delayed after Humanists UK raised objections about the way a public consultation had been carried out. An initial consultation took place in February. However, rather than going to the Council, responses were solicited by and sent directly to SDBE. SDBE then analysed the results themselves in a report they prepared for the Council to make the decision. Humanists UK wrote to the Council to point out that this procedure was contrary to Government guidance. It meant the Diocese was being allowed to mark its own homework. The Council then acknowledged that Humanists UK was correct. As a result, the decision was postponed and a new consultation, the results of which were sent directly to the Council, was then launched.
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For further comment or information, please contact Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Dr Ruth Wareham at ruth@humanists.uk or phone 020 7324 3000 or 07725 110 860.
Watch the Kingston upon Thames Council meeting.
Read our most recent article on the Ofsted survey finding that 94% of parents think faith is not an important factor in school choice.
Read our article on Kingston upon Thames Council relaunching faith school consultation after claims it is ‘the only option’ to meet need for places.
Read our article on delay to Council decision on new faith school after Humanists UK objection to consultation.
Read our recent article on anger as council rejects challenge to Catholic school unfairly imposed on newbuild community.
Read our news items on the four CofE schools given the green light by the Government.
Read our article on data showing the number of pupils attending Church of England schools is more than the entire ‘worshipping community’.
Read more about our work on faith schools and religious selection.
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