Accord is a wide coalition of organisations, including religious groups, humanists, trade unions and human rights campaigners. We share a common view on many issues to do with state-funded schools and believe that the current legislation on faith schools in particular is counter-productive.
We campaign to make admissions and recruitment policies in all state-funded schools free from discrimination on grounds of religion or belief.
We want schools to follow an objective, fair and balanced syllabus for education about religious and non-religious beliefs.
We want accountability under a single inspection regime for Religious Education, Personal, Social & Health (PSHE) education and Citizenship.
We believe all schools should provide their pupils with inclusive, inspiring and stimulating assemblies in place of compulsory acts of worship.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration has stressed the important contribution religious and ethnic mixing in schools makes towards boosting mutual understanding and trust in society.
Accord's Chair, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, has written in today's Times urging the Government to maintain and extend the current limit that prevents faith free schools from not selecting more than half of their pupils by faith.
New findings reveal 754 school pupils have been expelled or temporarily excluded from state funded schools in England in the last 4 years on the grounds of sexual misconduct.