With the election campaign well under way it is a good time to review the position of the major parties to faith schools. The only manifesto which contains a substantial mention of the issue is the Liberal Democrats’, which says:
” [We will] allow parents to continue to choose faith-based schools within the state-funded sector and allow the establishment of new faith schools. We will ensure that all faith schools develop an inclusive admissions policy and end unfair discrimination on grounds of faith when recruiting staff, except for those principally responsible for optional religious instruction.”
Although there has not been space to explain all of the details of the policy, the party is also committed topreventing new schools from selecting children on the grounds of belief; to allowing children of sufficient maturity to withdraw themselves from collective worship; and to putting in place:
“Broad guidance on religious education at a national level and ensure that religious education in state funded schools educates young people about people’s beliefs and practise in terms of the main religious belief systems. It should not specify what pupils themselves should believe and practise.”
Labour
• Allowed the creation of academy schools, many of which have been governed by religious bodies. Generally academy schools have been more inclusive in their admissions than many existing voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools, but it is not clear how far (if at all) the is as a consequence of government action. Academy schools are allowed by law to discriminate in their admissions requirements by religion. While some religious academy schools follow the locally agreed syllabus, others have been criticised for excessive evangelism.
• There has been no major change to the statutory basis of Religious Education, which is compulsory in all schools but does not form part of the National Curriculum and need not be balanced or broad.
• The government fought to protect employment exemptions which mean that teachers can be discriminated against to a greater degree than employees in other organisations with a religious ethos. They also changed the law in 2006 to allow faith schools to discriminate against non-teaching staff by religion and against the head teachers of voluntary controlled schools with a religious character.
• The passing of the School Admissions Code in 2002 and its subsequent tightening has significantly improved the fairness of school admissions. In spring 2008 Ed Balls took the unusual step of incurring the ire of the faith schools lobby by criticising schools that broke the admissions code through practices such as interview and charges for applicants.
• Attempted to make Sex and Relationship Education part of the National Curriculum but late in the day gave a partial exemption to faith schools.
Conservative
• The Conservatives are planning radical reforms to the education system and the detail of how these changes will apply to faith schools is not fully known.
• They plan to facilitate the creation of free schools, which would be government funded but independently run. It is envisaged that faith groups would be among those interested in running free schools and the terms on which they would be allowed to do so could greatly affect the consequences of the policy.
• Accord is pleased to hear that free schools will not be allowed to select pupils according to religion. It is not yet known whether they will be able to discriminate against teachers.
• The party is in favour of reducing the level of central control over the curriculum, but it is not yet know how this would be applied to Religious Education which is complusory in all schools thought not part of the National Curriculum.
• It is not expected that the Conservatives would prioritise changing the admissions rules of existing faith schools.
• The party did not support moves to end the special exemption of teachers in faith schools from laws against discrimination in employment.
• Michael Gove blocked the passing of legislation to make Sex and Relationship Education part of the National Curriculum because of plans to allow 15 year olds to attend the lessons against their parents’ wishes.
Liberal Democrat
• The party is against the opening of new schools that discriminate on religious grounds. It would require existing schools to demonstrate within five years that their admissions are inclusive at risk of losing state funding, although more detail on how this would work would be helpful.
• The Liberal Democrats oppose religious employment conditions against all non teaching staff and against all teachers except those responsible for religious instruction in faith schools.
• The party supports allowing children of a sufficient maturity to withdraw themselves from collective worship.
• The party supports broad guidance at national level ensure “that religious education in state funded schools educates young people about people’s beliefs and practise in terms of the main religious belief systems. It should not specify what pupils themselves should believe and practise.”
• The Liberal Democrats argued for the strengthening of provisions on Sex and Relationship Education and against special treatment for faith schools.
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