BHA: New religious Academies discriminate against children on religious grounds

Yesterday MPs had their final opportunity to scrutinise the Academies Bill, which represents the most fundamental shift in educational policy in over sixty years and looks set to significantly increase the influence of religious groups in our schools.

Michael Gove claims that the Academies Bill will improve education for all children, regardless of their background, giving greater freedom to schools and extending parental choice. Yet the reality is that new religious Academies will be able to discriminate against children on religious grounds, excluding those of the ‘wrong’ or no religion. It will prevent many existing ‘faith schools’ from ever becoming inclusive and could lead to some discriminating in admissions when they didn’t before.

By freeing these new ‘faith Academies’ from the national curriculum the Bill could also expose children to extreme religious views. During its passage through the Lords, the government admitted that it will take no proactive measures to ensure Academy pupils are not taught creationism, for example.

As the government isn’t prepared to protect children from such anti-scientific dogma, it is hardly surprising that it has no plans to guarantee objective, non-judgmental teaching on sex and relationships.

The BHA commissioned an ICM poll, to coincide with the Bill’s passage through Parliament, which found that 72% of the public were concerned that new ‘faith Academies’ may use public money to promote religious beliefs. The message was very clear – the state-funded education system should not be used as a vehicle for religious organisations to transmit their beliefs to young minds. But the Bill contains no provisions to stop that happening.

Throughout the passage of the Bill the BHA worked closely with parliamentarians, particularly members of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, to raise our concerns. The Group’s secretary Lady Massey tabled a number of probing amendments in the Lords, as did its vice chair Dr Julian Huppert MP in the Commons. Many other MPs, including David Ward, Caroline Lucas and committed Catholic Tom Blenkinsop, also spoke out against ‘faith schools’.

Like these politicians, the majority of the public are deeply concerned about the influence of religious groups in our schools – but the government has simply refused to take them seriously. It has rushed through this legislation without proper scrutiny and in doing so risks permanently entrenching religious discrimination and privilege in our schools system. It will be parents, teachers and children themselves who will be left to pick up the pieces.

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive