LONDON - 1 September 2008 - 1,500 words
Mainstream
religious leaders unite to defend faith schools
Jo Siedlecka
Mainstream religious groups and leaders in education have rejected calls by a new group which is demanding an end to the selection of pupils and staff in faith schools on the grounds of their religion.
The group, named 'Accord' which is being officially launched today, is chaired by Rabbi Jonathan Romain, the minister of Maidenhead Synagogue. He said: "Our aim is for every single school to welcome children from all backgrounds. It is a simple goal, strongly supported by the public, educationalists and students."
Founding member Jonathan Bartley, editor of Ekklesia, said: "There are faith schools that are 90% or even 100% funded by the tax payer and yet they only cater, or prioritise 5% of the population. Often faith schools take pupils only from their own faith or even from their own denomination within a faith."
He added that there were concerns around the new rules regarding recruitment of staff. For schools to advertise for a someone of a particular faith means that "90% of the population have been ruled out straight away. "If they can actually recruit from 100% rather than 10% of those available they will get a better calibre of teacher."
Accord has the support of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Ekklesia, Hindu Academy, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, Woman Against Fundamentalism, the Socialist Educational Association and at least 18 academics, clergy and writers - among them Professor Steve Jones, University College, London, Rabbi David Gldber OBE, author Philip Pullman, Polly Toynbee, founder of the British Humanist Association. For a full list see notes at the end of this article).
A coalition of religious figures representing more than 6,000 Church of England, Catholic, Methodist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu state-funded schools have issued the following statement in response to Accord's comments
They pointed out that a greater number of families than ever are choosing to send their children to faith schools in the maintained sector this September, and stated:
"Faith communities entirely refute
the allegation that faith schools are discriminatory, or that
they represent a divisive force within British society.
"We stand as representatives of schools who work tirelessly
to not only provide high quality education in some of the most
challenging contexts in the country, but to nurture religious
values of respect and care for others in young people. This latest
attack, based on unspecified 'research', does a disservice to
the huge value that faith schools add to our state education sector
and the extent of appreciation that parents and students have
for these schools.
"European Human Rights legislation guarantees the rights
of parents to schooling compatible with their religious and philosophical
beliefs. We believe that parents and students should have the
right to choose the type of environment in which they will flourish
academically, socially and spiritually. We believe in faith schools
for a number of reasons:
"Faith schools are open to applications from students
of other faiths and none. While oversubscribed faith schools
can give priority to students from relevant religious groups,
many will also include children from non-religious backgrounds
and other faith groups too. Whatever the admissions policy, national
and local religious authorities exercise constant vigilance to
ensure that the process is conducted in a transparent,
open and accountable way.
"Faith schools consistently deliver excellent academic results,
within a caring atmosphere that nurtures the whole student as
an individual. We are not aware of any robust large-scale research
that supports allegations that these results are due to 'cherry
picking' certain types of students on non-faith grounds. Indeed,
the intake of state-funded faith schools often reflects a broader
ethnic range than comprehensive schools in the same area. Faith
schools like all schools work to realise the potential
of each and every student, whatever their background.
"All state-funded faith schools teach about and inculcate
a sense of social responsibility, usually within an ethnically
diverse context. They nurture an understanding and appreciation
of other cultures, promote good citizenship and give young people
the chance to practice this in varied ways through the curriculum.
They are frequently commended by Ofsted for achieving these
goals in addition to their high academic standards.
"Faith schools develop best practice that supports community
cohesion in terms of sharing their resources, serving as hubs
for other community groups, and generating social capital.
"Faith communities will go out of their way to support those
suffering from hardship and assist those who request financial
help. Methodologies which purport to assess the socio-economic
make-up of pupils at state-funded faith schools are highly questionable.
For example, the cost of school meals for those attending faith
schools from poorer backgrounds may be subsidised by members of
the faith community. Accordingly, statistics on free school meals
do not provide a reliable or accurate picture of the financial
circumstances of faith school pupils.
"The staff teams of faith schools are diverse, with members
drawn from all faiths and backgrounds. This diversity is what
helps make faith schools as vibrant and stimulating as any other
school environment. The new regulations relating to certain categories
of employment are not discriminatory they are there to enable
faith schools to maintain parental choice by developing their
distinctive ethos.
"In September 2007, all the main faith school providers
in England signed up to a shared vision for promoting community
cohesion through schools with a religious character. In 'Faith
in the System,' the Government and religious groups confirmed
their commitment to continue to work together - and with schools
with and without a religious character - to improve the life chances
of children, to build bridges to greater mutual trust and understanding
and to contribute to a just and cohesive society.
"It is to this vision to which, between us, we have been dedicated for up to 200 years. It is a vision shared by growing numbers of parents and students across the country. As thousands of students are starting a new school year, it is disappointing that some commentators see fit to attempt an inaccurate character assassination of some of the brightest success stories of our education system."
The statement is signed by:
Revd Janina Ainsworth, Chief Education Officer, Church of England Board
of Education
Henry Grunwald, QC, President, Board of Deputies of British
Jews and Chair, Jewish Leadership Council
Oona Stannard, Chief Executive and Director, Catholic Education
Service For England And Wales
Graham Russell, Education Secretary in the Connexional
team, Methodist Church
Dr Mohamed Mukadam, Chair, Association of Muslim Schools
UK & Eire
Muslim Council of Britain
Dr Indarjit Singh, Director, Network of Sikh Organisations
Nitesh Gor, I-Foundation
Hindu Forum of Britain
Hindu Council UK
29 August 2008
NOTES
1. staff employment regulations in
faith school
Schools with a designated faith character are able to ask for
faith commitment as one of the criteria used in making staff appointments,
so that the faith character of the school may be effectively maintained.
In Voluntary Controlled and Foundation schools, governors may
want to ask how potential headteachers will maintain
and develop the religious character and ethos of the school. This
does not necessarily mean that only members of that faith can
be appointed to these leadership roles for instance, there
are VC Christian schools where the head is a Muslim, or of no
faith and many VA Jewish schools where the head is of another
faith or of no faith.
When appointing members of the teaching staff, governors
of Voluntary Aided schools can include faith commitment as part
of the criteria for the role. In practice, this is usually only
the case for the leadership team, where the responsibility for
enhancing the faith ethos of the school is a major aspect of their
role.
For the appointment of teaching assistants and other non-teaching
staff, if Voluntary Aided schools and Academies can establish
a Genuine Occupational Requirement, they may be able to
reserve the post for those with a faith commitment. This is particularly
important in the case of higher level teaching assistants, who
may be teaching large groups or whole classes of students.
2. Membership of Accord
Members of Accord to date are: Baroness
Tessa Blackstone, Minister for Education (1997-2001) and Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Greenwich; Professor Colin Blakemore, FRS;
Reverend Jeremy Chadd, Vicar of St Chad's Church, Sunderland'
Professor Bernard Crick; Rabbi David Goldberg OBE; Lord Graham
of Edmonton, politician. Professor AC Grayling, philosopher and
author; Savitri Hensman, Writer on Christian social ethics and
theology; Sarah Hill, Global relief and development worker. Founder
member of Accepting Evangelicals; Theo Hobson, theologian, author
and commentator; Reverend Chris Howson, Anglican priest, Bradford;
Sunny Hundal, journalist and blogger; Professor Steve Jones, University
College, London; Miriam Karlin, actress; Rev Richard Kirker, Hari
Kunzru, author; Rev Iain McDonald, Minister of Southernhay United
Reformed Church, Exeter; Fiona Millar, journalist; Phillip Pullman,
author; Claire Rayner, journalist; Reverend Professor Christopher
Rowland, Dean Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture,
Oxford; Polly Toynbee, President of the British Humanist Association
and journalist.
See also 1 September 2008 Catholic Education Service rejects 'spurious' claims of group opposing faith schools
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