Almost half of Welsh Catholic schools discriminate against children in care

Catholic schools are failing disadvantaged and vulnerable children across Wales. This is the damning conclusion from a new report which scrutinised school admissions arrangements in every school in Wales.

The new report from Wales Humanists – Careless or Uncaring? How Faith Schools in Wales Turn Away Care Experienced Children – has found that almost half of Catholic schools actively discriminate against children who have been in care in school admissions. This compares to just 8% of Church in Wales schools and 0% of schools of no religious character. The report’s findings showed startling similarities with an earlier report into faith school admissions at secondary schools in England, which found that 76% of Catholic secondaries and 100% of Jewish secondaries discriminated against vulnerable children in the same ways. Unlike in England, all religious schools in Wales are either Catholic or Church in Wales (Anglican).

Just as in England, the Welsh School Admissions Code requires all schools in Wales to prioritise ‘looked after’ and ‘previously looked after’ children, otherwise known as ‘care-experienced’ children. These are some of the most vulnerable children in society and they often have complex and poorly met needs, including educational needs. However, wide loopholes in the Code mean that faith schools are exempted from these same duties of care. They can prioritise all children deemed to be ‘of the faith’ over care experienced children who are not ‘of the faith’. 

This means that vulnerable children are often sent to the back of the queue for places simply for being of the ‘wrong’ or of no religion. In areas where faith schools dominate over other schools, they may not gain admission to any local school.

Findings

Researchers for Wales Humanists conducted a comprehensive survey of the admissions policies of every faith school in Wales. Headline findings were that:

• 43% of Catholic schools and 1% of Church in Wales schools put all children from backgrounds that match the faith of the school before other care experienced children.
  
  A further 31% of Catholic schools and 7% of Church in Wales schools put care experienced children from backgrounds that match the faith of the school before other care experienced children, but they do prioritise all care experienced children over other admissions. This won’t stop any care experienced children from gaining admission, but it does symbolically communicate that care-experienced children from the same faith background as the school should be seen as priorities over others.

• 74% of Catholic schools and 8% of Church in Wales schools discriminate in either the practical or the symbolic way.

Humanists UK has long campaigned against religious selection as it divides communities along religious, ethnic, and socio-economic lines. Given the clear need to help address the disadvantages faced by care experienced children through enhanced access to school places, it said that these latest findings are particularly shocking. 

Wales Humanists Coordinator Kathy Riddick commented:

‘An alarming proportion of Catholic schools in Wales are failing to consider the needs of some of the most vulnerable children in society. We hear regular claims from the Catholic Education Service that the Church places a duty on Catholic schools to care for the most disadvantaged. But in fact their schools are by far the most discriminatory when it comes to admissions practices.

‘This disconnect between the Church’s stated principles and the actions of its schools is unacceptable. However, it shouldn’t be able to create this kind of religious hierarchy in admissions in the first place. Faith schools shouldn’t be able to pick and choose amongst the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. We urge both the Welsh Government to amend its school admissions code at the earliest possible opportunity. It should make sure that all schools, regardless of their religious affiliation, prioritise these children.’