Humanists UK tells Ofsted: grade schools on community cohesion

Humanists UK has sounded the alarm over Ofsted’s new inspection proposals as they will mean schools failing to promote community cohesion. In response to a public consultation on Ofsted’s plans, Humanists UK is calling for the reintroduction of Ofsted’s duty to inspect how schools in England contribute to community cohesion – a legal requirement until 2011. It said the removal of this duty undermines efforts to build mutual understanding in our increasingly diverse society.

The proposals introduce a new report card system for school inspections, supported by a set of toolkits for the different phases of education. These toolkits are organised around a range of different thematic areas designed to guide inspection judgments. Humanists UK welcomed the addition of a specific section on inclusion and the continued emphasis on curriculum quality, which it had also supported in a previous consultation in 2019. However, the toolkits omit key legal duties and may allow schools to receive a positive inspection outcome despite failing to meet required standards. 

One such standard is the duty to promote community cohesion. This was introduced in the wake of the 2001 race riots, as part of a broader government strategy to improve integration and mutual understanding between different groups. From 2007 to 2011, schools were inspected on how well they met this responsibility. However, the inspection requirement was removed in the early years of the coalition government, and no clear mechanism has replaced it. Humanists UK said this gap has led to a loss of focus on one of the core purposes of education – helping young people to live well together in a diverse society.

Humanists UK also responded to a separate submission to the Department for Education (DfE)’s consultation on school accountability reform, and expressed concern about the omission of key legal duties from the proposed inspection toolkits, particularly in relation to Religious Education (RE) in both responses. It said schools must be required to teach about non-religious worldviews like humanism if pupils are to gain an accurate understanding of the major beliefs in modern Britain. Ofsted’s 2024 subject report found that half of secondary schools visited made no reference to non-religious perspectives, and Humanists UK’s own work in this area has found that references to humanism in locally agreed syllabuses are often limited and superficial.  

In addition, Humanists UK called for greater emphasis on schools’ duties under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act, and warned that the proposals risk embedding lower expectations in schools with particular religious characteristics.

Commenting on the consultation responses, Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Kieran Aldred said:

‘Schools have a legal duty to promote community cohesion, yet Ofsted no longer inspects them on it. That has to change. Helping young people to live well together in a diverse society is one of the central aims of education. Religious Education has an important role to play in this, but only if it includes the full range of beliefs and values that shape pupils’ lives – including humanism. If the DfE and Ofsted are serious about cohesion and inclusion, they must inspect what matters – and that includes how schools fulfil their duty to promote community cohesion and provide inclusive RE.’