‘Missing data’ on faith school admissions undermines parental choice

Children are missing out on local school places because they are of the ‘wrong’ or no religion, and the Government does not even collect the data needed to understand the scale of the problem, members of the House of Lords were told during a Report Stage debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill.

Amendment 201 – which would make sure faith-based admissions data was collected by the Department of Education – was proposed by All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) member Baroness Lorely Burt. Speaking to her amendment, Baroness Burt highlighted how the Department for Education currently does not collect data on how admissions policies are applied in schools, and ‘therefore does not know how many parents are missing out on a place at their preferred school because of their religion or because they do not have a religion.’ In 2021, the then Conservative Government admitted that it had no idea how many children in England are locked out of their local schools because of faith-based admissions policies.

Baroness Burt told peers that:

‘Collecting data would shed light on what the impact of faith-selective admissions is for parents and pupils, and on whether such selection is contributing to or undermining parental choice.’

Baroness Burt made the case that, regardless of their character, state-funded schools should serve their whole community, and that ‘selection by faith risks narrowing pupil diversity’. Summing up, she told peers that:

‘The aim here is straightforward: to ensure that publicly funded schools serve their whole community and that parental choice is not narrowed by criteria unrelated to a child’s needs or a family’s proximity to the school. Amendment 201 is a measured step that would support fairness in admissions and help ensure that our children are brought together rather than separated.’

Rejecting the amendment, Education Minister Baroness Smith of Malvern told peers that admission authorities must already publish their arrangements, including the proportion of places prioritised for pupils of the faith, and pointed to national figures on families receiving preferred-school offers.

Commenting on the debate, Humanists UK Policy and Campaigns Manager, Lewis Young, said:

‘Baroness Burt is right to point out that we don’t even have the basic national data showing how many families lose out under faith-based selection, and we are grateful to her for making the case for increased transparency when it comes to faith-based admissions.

‘No child should be blocked from their local, publicly funded school because they are of no or the ‘wrong’ religion. The Government should publish the evidence and move towards an admission system that serves whole communities fairly.’