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Faith schools: discriminatory admissions policies under the spotlight

This summer the spotlight has been on religious discrimination in admissions to state-funded faith schools. We have argued that selection by faith schools is often, in practice, discrimination against children and families along class and ethnicity lines, as well as particularly against the non-religious. See, comment on and vote for our submission to Labour’s policy review.

The Fair Admissions Campaign published high level data which paints a concerning picture of the extent to which state-funded faith schools are engaging in socio-economic selection through their discriminatory admissions policies. It has revealed the 50 segregated schools most unrepresentative of their local areas: the list is overwhelmingly dominated by religiously selective schools, exposing sharply the segregating effects of faith-based admissions criteria.

Following a complaint by the British Humanist Association (BHA), the state-funded, Catholic, London Oratory School has been forced to overhaul its admissions policy after being found to be in breach of the school admissions code in a number of ways including on socio-economic grounds. Read the BHA’s statement.

The Accord Coalition for inclusive schools has been updating its report of testimonies and media reports of discriminatory and exclusive practices by faith schools. Read how religious selection can divide families as well as communities.

Our position

We are affiliated to the BHA and we support the Fair Admissions Campaign and the Accord Coalition. We seek to influence Labour Party policy on key secular and humanist issues.

We believe that discrimination in admissions by state-funded faith schools is unnecessary, unjust, disastrous for social cohesion, and completely against Labour values. We have therefore asked for a commitment to inclusivity and opposing discrimination in admissions by faith schools to be included in Labour’s manifesto for the 2015 general election.

Labour should guarantee that children will not be turned away from their local school on the basis of their parents’ beliefs. We firmly believe this would be a popular policy and likely vote winner.

Policy options

We would like Labour to consider the following policy options which we believe would be broadly supported and, if adopted, would be a significant step forward:

A. No new faith school allowed to discriminate in its admissions

B. No existing faith school allowed to discriminate in admissions in the future

We think it is vital that a commitment to inclusive admissions with no religious discrimination by faith schools permitted is in Labour’s 2015 manifesto.

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‘Unnecessary, unjust, disastrous for social cohesion’ – faith school admissions

London Assembly Member Tom Copley and Labour Humanists have made a joint submission to Labour’s policy review on admissions to state-funded faith schools.

We want Labour’s policy commissions urgently to consider and address the growing problem of selection and discrimination by state-funded faith schools, and make fair, inclusive admissions a manifesto commitment. Read our full submission here Labour Humanists Policy Review Admissions With Table FINAL or on Labour’s Your Britain policy site.

We said: ‘It is our firm belief that state-funded faith schools (about a third of all schools) should be inclusive: we believe that is a Labour value too. We believe that discrimination in admissions by state-funded faith schools is unnecessary, unjust, disastrous for social cohesion, and completely against Labour values.’

‘The available evidence demonstrates that religious selection criteria tend to be heavily weighted in favour of middle-class families. Schools selecting pupils on the basis of the professed faith of the parents are segregating children and young people along religious, socio-economic, cultural, and even ethnic lines.’

All types of state-funded schools with a religious character are permitted to select in their admissions by discriminating on religious grounds. This even includes those whose admissions are controlled by the local authority if that authority allows it, faith Academies and Free Schools.

Table: Admissions policies by type of school

Type of school Admissions
Community schools(cannot have a religious character) Determined by local authority; cannot discriminate on religious grounds.
Voluntary Controlled faith schools(legally registered with a religious character) Determined by local authority; a quarter of authorities let Voluntary Controlled faith schools discriminate on religious grounds.
Voluntary Aided faith schools(legally registered with a religious character) Determined by governors ‘in consultation’ with local authority; can discriminate against all pupils on religious grounds if oversubscribed.
Foundation faith schools(legally registered with a religious character) Determined by governors in consultation with local authority; can discriminate on religious grounds if oversubscribed.
Faith Academies and Free Schools(legally registered with a religious character) Determined by governors; can discriminate against all pupils on religious grounds, and Free Schools can do so for up to 50% of intake.
Academies and Free Schools with no registered religious character (but may have a ‘faith ethos’) Determined by governors; cannot discriminate on religious grounds.

Support for fair, inclusive admissions to state schools should not be a controversial issue for Labour. It is widely supported across the party as well as by the public, and Labour should have a clear policy against discrimination in admissions by faith schools.

Labour’s Your Britain policy site allows you to make comments on submissions and also vote in favour of them – please do take the opportunity to do so.

Please also see our page on the policy review, which has details of how you can get involved.

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News

Secular Public Services & Bishops in the Lords – Policy Submissions

We have made two submissions to Labour’s policy review on behalf of our members, which will be considered by Labour’s policy commissions. The first is on secular public services and the second on Lords reform (Bishops in the Lords). Labour’s Your Britain policy site allows you to make comments on submissions and also vote in favour of them – please do take the opportunity to do so.

Please also see our page on the policy review, which has details of how you can get involved.

1) Secular public services – summary

As Labour people who are passionate about equality, human rights and freedom of speech and belief, we strongly support and welcome Labour’s continuing commitment to high-quality public services to which we all have access.

However, our particular concern is where public services are contracted to religious organisations. This is because those groups have significant exemptions from the Equality Act which allow them to discriminate: in employment; in the way they provide services; and in who they provide them to. They are also not bound by the HRA, and there is little to stop them from providing services in ways that are simply not inclusive.

Labour should take action and have a clear policy to ensure public services are equal, inclusive, and protect and promote human rights. All organisations, including religious groups working under public contract to provide public services, must operate in an inclusive, secular way. In practice that would mean:

A. No discrimination on religious or other grounds in employment
B. No discrimination on religious or other grounds against service users
C. No religious element part of the service, including prayers or proselytising

It is vital that a commitment to inclusive public services with no religious discrimination is in Labour’s 2015 manifesto.

Please read, comment on, and vote for our full submission.

2) Bishops in the Lords – summary

The UK is the only democratic country to give seats in its legislature to religious representatives as of right. It does this through the Lords Spiritual where 26 Church of England Bishops sit as of right in the House of Lords. In addition to the same speaking and voting rights as other peers, the Bishops in the Lords enjoy other privileges which unduly increase their influence over proceedings.

No other Western country has reserved seats for clerics in its legislature and we strongly believe that has no place in modern, liberal, democratic and diverse Britain. It is also clearly at odds with the aspiration of a more legitimate and representative second chamber.

In fact, Labour’s existing policy to have a 100% elected Lords would, in practice, mean abolishing the Lords Spiritual. However, Labour has not made explicit the need to end the practice of reserving seats in Parliament for 26 Church of England Bishops, in any reformed chamber.

A. Labour should have a clear and principled policy against religious privilege in our Parliament:
B. End the undemocratic ‘right’ for the Church of England to sit in our parliament
C. No reserved seats for any religious representatives
D. Allow Church of England bishops, and any other clergy or religious representatives, to stand for election or be eligible for appointment to a reformed Lords but let that be on the same basis as everyone else
E. Promote equality and campaign against privilege in our democratic arrangements

It is vital that a commitment to a reformed House of Lords with no reserved seats or other privileges for clergy is in Labour’s 2015 manifesto.

Please read, comment on, and vote for our full submission.

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News

House of Lords debates contribution of atheists and humanists to UK society

My Lords, today we speak up on behalf of the silent majority, for those of us who do not attend any place of worship, whether church, mosque or synagogue. It is a silent majority, whose full contribution to British society has perhaps been unsung for too long. In contrast, we find that religious voices are ever more present, and sometimes shrill, in the public square. However, because atheism is a philosophical viewpoint, arrived at individually and personally, we are not given to marching in the street chanting, “What do we want? Atheism! When do we want it? Now!”

– and so Labour’s Lord Harrison opened his debate on the contribution of atheists and humanists to United Kingdom society.

Peers from across the House of Lords joined the timely debate and Labour Peers in particular made strong contributions. The focus of the debate was the need for recognition of humanists in the public square, and on equality and human rights, on the importance of balanced education, on the dangers of religious sectarianism, on the rising numbers f non-religious in the UK population, and on the wide-ranging and valuable work of the British Humanist Association (BHA), to which Labour Humanists is affiliated. Here are some of the things that Labour Peers said:

Humanism is perhaps the default philosophical position for millions of people in the UK today, and millions of humanists in one way or another in their daily lives improve society by strengthening our democratic freedoms, involving themselves assiduously in charity work, increasing our body of scientific knowledge and enhancing the cultural and creative life of the United Kingdom – Lord Harrison

What I hope for is an understanding of the importance of ethics and morality that allows non-religious systems equal respect… I ask for an equal place in our counsels and advisory bodies, and, most of all, in the education of our children. It should be the primacy of an ethical framework in our public policy, not the primacy of religion, that matters – Baroness Whitaker

Secular morality is not anti-religious, it is areligious. Of course, the areligious increasingly are the majority of adults in our country – Lord Layard

We have just had riots on the streets of Belfast about—what?—religion. I come from the city of Glasgow, which is divided between two different Christian churches. If you look at the great movement for democracy throughout the Islamic world, what is stopping it from developing properly? It is religion and divisions within the Islamic faith – Lord Maxton

I shall not dwell on the growth of humanism or its many contributions to democracy and civil society—blasphemy laws, humanist weddings and other secular celebrations, educational equality and so on—nor shall I list prominent humanists and their wise or witty sayings. There are too many of them – Baroness Massey

One advantage of humanists is that not only do they not fight and kill each other in large numbers, they do not have problems about the roles of women and men, sexual identity, disability or any other similar thing. Trying to solve human problems by reason is the strength of humanism – Lord Soley

It is characteristic of humanism to believe in equality and goodwill between people, and therefore to be active in campaigns for human rights. It is gratifying to reflect on the improvements in women’s rights that have been made in this country during the past century. Many of the major religions—although by no means all—have opposed the campaigns that achieved these advances. Certain religions are still extraordinarily bad about women’s rights. In this country, we have an equality law. I would oppose any attempts to introduce Sharia law or practice, which is sometimes suggested. Our law is paramount. It is intended to protect women. I do not agree that culture or religion should prevent us from attempting to intervene – Baroness Turner

What is taking place in our society is generational replacement. Older, more religious generations are dying out and being replaced by generations without any religious beliefs. I hope that I can stick around long enough to see further progress. The data suggest that Governments and parliamentarians should be more cautious about listening to religious interests when changes in public policy are under consideration. We all know what these policy issues are because they are debated often enough in this House—abortion, assisted dying, embryo research, faith schools, employment law, and discrimination – Lord Warner, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group

More than 600 couples in England and Wales already choose to celebrate their marriage with a humanist ceremony, so I am delighted that, thanks to the amendment tabled by noble Lords and passed in this house, couples of the same and opposite sex will, in the not-too-distant future, be able to choose a humanist marriage – Baroness Royall

Read the British Humanist Association’s comment on the debate.

Read the full transcript of the debate.

 

 

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Blog News

One Nation Labour needs to break its silence on faith schools

Labour Humanists’ Chair Naomi Phillips writes for political website politics.co.uk on the need for Labour to break its silence and speak out against discriminatory faith schools.

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Blog News

Some ideas for Labour’s policy review

Labour’s policy review provides a unique chance to influence Party policy. We are working on our formal responses to the review, all of which are aimed to help to create a more equal, ethical and secular Labour.

In brief, we would like Labour to consider the following policy options:

Faith schools
Labour’s policy towards schools should be inclusive and oppose discrimination:

  • No new faith school allowed to discriminate in its admissions
  • No existing faith school allowed to discriminate in admissions in the future
  • No faith school allowed to discriminate against teachers (including hiring, firing, and refusing promotion) on religious grounds

And

  • An end to compulsory collective worship in ALL schools.

Public services
Labour should take action to ensure public services are equal, inclusive, and protect and promote human rights.
All organisations,including religious groups working under public contract to provide public services must operate in an inclusive secular way. In practice that would mean:

  • No discrimination on religious or other grounds in employment
  • No discrimination on religious or other grounds against service users
  • No religious element part of the service, including prayers or proselytising

House of Lords Reform

Labour’s policy to have a 100% elected Lords would have meant in practice abolishing the Lords Spiritual. However Labour should have a clear and principled policy against religious privilege in our Parliament:

  • End the undemocratic ‘right’ for the Church of England to sit in our parliament
  • No reserved seats for an religious representatives
  • Allow Church of England bishops, and any other clergy or religious representatives, stand for election or be eligible for appointment to a reformed Lords but let that be on the same basis as everyone else
  • Promoting equality and campaigning against privilege in our democratic arrangements

We welcome your comments, thoughts, and submissions, about what you think should be Labour’s secularist and humanist policy priorities. Contact us with your suggestions.

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News

Fantastic news on humanist marriage

On Monday 8 July the Government agreed to set in motion moves which would see humanist marriages be made lawful in England and Wales, as they have been in Scotland since 2005. This is a hugely significant change and one which we are delighted about. We have been working closely with the British Humanist Association (BHA) on this issue and campaigning particularly hard over the past year, briefing Labour MPs and Peers on humanist amendments to the equal Marriage Bill and raising awareness of the issue within the Party (see our article on LabourList for example).

There has been passionate support for this move for equality in law between religious and non-religious people particularly from the Labour benches, who spearheaded this change, but also from across Parties.

We and the BHA thank all those Parliamentarians who have led the way for this change: In the House of Lords: Lord Harrison, Baroness Massey, Baroness Thornton, Lord Alli ,Baroness Meacher, Lord Garel-Jones, Baroness Brinton, Lord Lester, and Lord Pannick QC; in the House of Commons: Chris Bryant MP, Kate Green MP, Kelvin Hopkins MP, Stephen Gilbert MP, Julian Huppert MP, Mike Weatherley MP, and Stephen Williams MP.

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News

Tories collude to hand over secular schools to the Church

Tory education chief Michael Gove has colluded to hand over control of thousands of nominally secular state schools to the Church of England. In an unprecedented and totally unnecessary move, Church of England academy chains will have a new ability to incorporate community schools. The Government has given assurances that the Church would not be able to give the community schools a religious character once they take over control of them, yet that seems extremely weak given that Bishops will have a new ability to appoint governors to the schools.

The Tory-led Government’s religious academies and Free Schools have wide permission to discriminate on religious grounds in admissions, employment, and they do not have to follow the National Curriculum. We are deeply concerned that there will be few protections in place to stop the Church forcing all schools under its control to discriminate or teach religiously-biased curricula.

Faith schools by their very nature cannot be inclusive. We think it is vital for Stephen Twigg and Labour’s education team to speak out against this move which can only cause more division in our state school system.

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Events News

Labour Humanists at BHA Conference, Leeds

We were busy speaking to people and signing up new members at the British Humanist Association‘s annual conference, held in Leeds 7-9. The conference had an absolutely fantastic programme, with speakers moving from philosophy and chemistry, to astronomy, literature and media sexism. You can have a look at what happened on Twitter and searching for #BHALeeds.

Our leaflets were popular, and it was great to see so many people declaring their affiliation by wearing our new ‘Labour Humanist’ badges!

It’s important for us to attend events such as this so we can raise awareness of our group, and for us to sign up new members. Without people, our voice cannot be heard within the Labour Party.

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We support the Fair Admissions Campaign

A new campaign has launched which wants all state-funded schools in England and Wales to be open equally to all children, without regard to religion or belief. The Fair Admissions Campaign has support from a wide coalition of individuals and national and local organisations, including theBritish Humanist Association (BHA). We are affiliated to the BHA and fully support the aims of the Fair Admissions Campaign.

Our position

Labour Humanists advocates an inclusive and accommodating education system, and we oppose religious discrimination in admissions and employment by state-funded faith schools.

Schools selecting pupils on the basis of the professed faith of the parents are segregating children and young people along religious, socio-economic, cultural, and even ethnic lines. As such, discriminatory faith schools pose a big threat to social cohesion in this country. They also play their part in increasing social inequality, often taking the highest achieving students from their local areas, becoming what are in effect grammar schools by a different name. Their admissions policies also tend to favour those from more affluent backgrounds over children from poorer backgrounds.

Labour Humanists would like to see:

  • No new faith school being allowed to select in its admissions
  • Faith schools’ existing discriminatory admissions policies to be abolished and they cannot apply in future

 

Find out more about the Fair Admissions Campaign and how you can get involved.

Follow us on Twitter @LabourHumanists

Join us!