Letter to MP re faith schools

15 April 2006
Mr Ben Bradshaw, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Dear Mr Bradshaw,

re: Education and Inspections Bill

I am concerned about the Education and Inspections Bill, in that it will allow the expansion of faith schools and religious academies by the back door. It seems to me that separating children according to their family's religious belief is socially divisive. Faith schools run counter to the building of an inclusive British identity. Professor Amartya Sen, lately Master of Trinity College, addressing the Commonwealth Education Conference in Edinburgh (October 2003) said "I personally believe that even the UK government makes a mistake in expanding, rather than reducing faith-based state schools. … The importance of non-sectarian and non-parochial curricula that expand, rather than reduce, the reach of reason can be hard to exaggerate". David Bell, Chief Inspector of Schools expressed his concern (Hansard Society lecture, January 2005) "I worry that many young people are being educated in faith-based schools with little appreciation of their wider responsibilities and obligations to British society". Steve Sinnott, the NUT general secretary, reported the worry of many teachers that this bill would lead to greater ethnic segregation. "There is a view that the promotion of greater influence of faith groups in running our schools could be detrimental to community cohesion and social cohesion" (reported in The Guardian, 7 April 2006).

The sponsor of an academy provides only 10% of the capital cost of the school and none of the running costs (e.g. staff salaries and educational materials). For this the sponsor can impose his or her 'ethos' on the school including influence on the curriculum. A faith school can select pupils by their family's religious practise and can discriminate on religious grounds in the employment of staff. The purchase of such influence on what is essentially a publicly funded service is unfair and undemocratic.

I hope that you, as my representative in parliament, will vote against those parts of the Bill which will allow the expansion of faith schools and religious academies by the back door, and that you will support any amendments which will oblige faith schools and academies to teach the same balanced religious education as other state-funded schools, to teach a useful syllabus of sex and relationship education and to not discriminate in their admissions or employment policies on religious grounds. The science syllabus should reflect widely held scientific opinion, emphasise scientific method, and not be biased by religious belief.

Yours sincerely
Gordon …