Cohesion starts in inclusive schools

A new report calling for a national approach to social cohesion should prompt councils and the UK Government to put inclusive schools at the heart of efforts to bridge divides, Humanists UK has said.

The report, Stronger Together: What we know and must do about social cohesion, by Belong – The Cohesion and Integration Network, says every council should have a locally developed social cohesion plan. The report also highlights the importance of strengthening social contact between people from different backgrounds, and recommends strengthening citizenship education in schools, including critical thinking, media literacy, and respectful engagement. While citizenship education is statutory at secondary school level, the Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended that it should be statutory at primary level too.

Schools are one of the few places where children from different religious, non-religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds can learn together, build mutual understanding, and develop the skills needed to live well in a diverse society. Belong’s findings reinforce Humanists UK’s recent call for Ofsted to inspect how schools in England contribute to community cohesion. In May 2025, it told Ofsted that schools have a legal duty to promote community cohesion, but are no longer inspected on how well they fulfil it. Humanists UK warned that 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.

While the report does not specifically examine faith schools, its findings are highly relevant to how councils and the UK Government think about education. Research by Humanists UK found that religious selection in state faith school admissions drives racial segregation in their pupil intake. With the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act allowing new schools that are not academies to open in England, there is a very real threat that 100% religiously selective schools could now be established. Humanists UK has repeatedly warned about the loophole during the passage of the Act, and said the UK Government should put in place measures – the 50% cap on faith admissions – to make sure schools serve whole communities, rather than entrench religious privilege.

Decisions about school organisation, admissions, mergers, and the religious character of local schools can shape communities for generations. Councils should consider whether such decisions help bridge divides between families or risk deepening them.

Commenting on the report, Humanists UK’s Policy and Campaigns Manager Lewis Young said:

‘Belong’s report is right to say that every local area should have a social cohesion plan – and one that complements a national strategy – and schools must be central to that. They are one of the few institutions where children from different backgrounds can learn together, develop mutual understanding, and build the skills needed to live well in a diverse society. That is why Humanists UK has called for Ofsted to inspect how schools fulfil their duty to promote community cohesion.

‘The report does not set out to analyse faith schools, but its message is highly relevant to education policy. If we want to bridge divides between communities, we should be wary of school systems that separate children by religion or belief. New schools should serve the whole community, not be allowed to select all their pupils on religious grounds. A serious cohesion strategy must include children and families of all religions and none.’