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MPs are being urged to stop faith schools in England selecting students and staff on the basis of religion.

From 1 September 2008 it has been legal for voluntary controlled schools to reserve the headship for religious teachers and for voluntary aided schools to discriminate against non-teaching staff on the basis of their beliefs.

A new coalition of secular and religious figures, called Accord, is calling on the Government to stop funding schools which discriminate according to religion.

Writing for The Guardian’s Comment is Free, Accord spokesperson Rabbi Jonathan Romain said: “Faith schools may have positive aims but can also have the negative effect of segregating children. Isolating them from each other leads to ignorance, which can breed suspicion, spiral into fear and deteriorate into prejudice.”

“It is far better that Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh children mix freely together, feel at ease with each other, learn about their similarities and respect their differences.”

“There should also be a distinction between religious knowledge and religious beliefs – with the former being taught to everyone, while the latter learnt from the home, after-school classes or weekend studies.”

According to research by Stonewall, 97% of gay pupils regularly hear homophobic insults at school, and two thirds have had a personal experience of homophobic bullying. Three in ten of the 1100 young people surveyed said that it was adults in their school who carry out the bullying.

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics |