There has been much in the news about the Tory-led Government’s Free School programme recently – with a particular focus on the failings of the Al-Madinah Islamic school in Derbyshire. There have been reports particularly of gender discrimination and unequal treatment of women and girls in the school, including from teachers who said they were forced to wear the hijab.
The report from an emergency Ofsted inspection found that the school was ‘dysfunctional’ and that it is ‘a school which has been set up and run by representatives of the community with limited knowledge and experience.’
Relating to the widespread failings of Al-Madinah school, Labour’s recently appointed Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt described the Government’s Free School programme as ‘a dangerous ideological experiment’. He also wrote to Education Secretary Michael Gove with concerns including those about religious discrimination and unequal treatment of women and girls.
We welcome Dr Hunt’s efforts to expose and tackle problems at Al-Madinah and other Free Schools. We would like Labour to go further to acknowledge and seek to tackle the specific concerns with religious Free Schools.
The Government’s Free Schools are largely unregulated and the Coalition Education Ministers have also dropped a number of checks which had been part of the vetting procedure for new school applications. The door is open to groups even with extreme religious views to apply and to get state-funding to run schools.
Unlike other Free Schools, those with a religious character do not have to have inclusive admissions and are permitted to select up to 50% of spaces based on religion – excluding and discriminating against children and families with no religion or the ‘wrong’ religion.
We also have serious concerns about the curriculum taught in faith Free Schools, which could be heavily religiously biased. They can opt out of the National Curriculum and can focus teaching on religious instruction. There are risks that religious ideology and dogma – including that which is gender discriminatory or homophobic – could be prioritised by the schools over education.
It is our firm position that state-funded schools should be inclusive and not be allowed to discriminate in admissions or employment on religious grounds. The rights of children and young people to a broad and balanced education whichever school they attend should be paramount.