If Labour is serious about supporting teachers and improving quality in classrooms, it must have a change in policy to say that no state-funded school is allowed to place a religious requirement on any teaching or non-teaching job. That is the key message set out in an article published on LabourList, Labour’s biggest independent grassroots e-network.
All types of faith schools (around a third of state-funded schools), from those under Local Authority control to Academies and Free Schools, have the ability to place religious requirements on teaching positions. This means in practice that many state schools are able to hire, fire and promote (or refuse to promote) teachers simply on the basis of their personal beliefs and behaviour outside of school, no matter how well qualified they are. We think this is totally wrong.
Labour’s values should be firmly in favour of equality and inclusion. We are working within the Party and seeking to influence policy at this crucial time to ensure that under the next Labour Government, no teacher’s job prospects could be determined by whether she believes in god or not.
Join us today and help to get our position heard.