BHA warns of risks with new religious academy schools

Coalition Government plans will imperil teachers and children’s rights without additional protections in law, especially if new Academies are sponsored by religious groups, the British Humanist Association has warned today.

Responding to the announcement that 2,000 Academies will be created, Andrew Copson, BHA Chief Executive, said, ‘The lesson of the Labour government’s Academy programme was that they can allow sectional interests control of the curriculum and seriously threaten children’s and teachers’ rights. If the Coalition Government is committed to their increase, then it must ensure that their admissions and employment policies will not discriminate on religious grounds. It must also ensure that the curriculum is protected and that new Academies will not be able to teach creationism, unbalanced religious education, and flawed sex and relationships education. Unfortunately, at the present time it seems the government have no plans to do this.’

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For further comment or information, contact Andrew Copson on 07534 248596.

More on the BHA’s work on faith schools www.humanism.org.uk

Labour’s policy increased the number and diversity of state-funded religious schools. The current situation is that approximately a third of all state-funded schools are schools ‘with a religious character.’

In a YouGov/Accord poll of June 2009

57% believed that state funded schools that selected students according to their religion harm community cohesion.
72% agreed or strongly agreed that all schools should implement recruitment and employment policies that do not discriminate on grounds of religion or belief.
74% held the view that all state schools should teach an objective and balanced syllabus for education about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs.

An ICM faith schools poll (2005) found 64% of people agree that “the government should not be funding faith schools of any kind”.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing the interests of the large and growing population of ethically concerned, non-religious people living in the UK.