Faith Schools - state funding

[pearlym]

am I being unreasonable to think that it is unfair that faith schools get 85% plus funding frmo the state but that they are effectively closed to children not of their faith?

I once suggested a cure for those 'clusters'. We could make a rule that all teachers (including heads) rotated round their local schools - say every 3 years.
Keeping it local would mean no extra travelling for the teacher and would stop people getting into a rut. It might even be reasonably popular amongst teachers.

The police adopted something similar because they realised that certain stations had developed little cliques with their own agenda.

It ought to also make local schools consistent in their performance and quality of teaching so then you could make everyone go to the nearest school and be done with it.

I have a simpler proposal which would be that - like every other profession apart from actual clergy, I think - religious discrimination when hiring teachers should be illegal. No requirement to have a reference from a vicar (as a friend of DHs found was absolutely necessary to get hired in the CofE schools round here - not sure if he attempted RCs)

I think it is an uncivilised anachronistic disgrace that any child in 21st century Britain should be refused entry to any state-funded facility on the basis of the family's religious beliefs

our failure to separate church and state is an embarrassment.

yyyy Grimma and Green

The more I think about this, the more it makes me angry.

Is there anything we can do about it? I have signed the relevant e-petitions on the govt petition website, but not sure what else I can do.

I doubt it tbh. The CofE is currently considering turning all/most of its schools into academies, so they'll become even more of a law unto themselves.

Minipie - and anyone else - if you really want to do something more, you could consider becoming involved in one or more of the following:

The Accord Coalition - 'Accord is a wide coalition of organisations, including religious groups, humanists, trade unions and human rights campaigners. We share a common view on many issues to do with state-funded schools and believe that the current legislation on faith schools in particular is counter-productive. ....'

The National Secular Society - 'One of our major and long-term campaigns is for the conversion of faith schools to community schools open to all. At the moment, religious schools funded by the tax payer can discriminate about which children they accept and who they employ.' (Note - being a secularist isn't being anti-religion. Its being anti-religious privelige - very different!)

The British Humanist Association - does a lot of campaigning and education work.

Also, YellowSub raises an important point - its a good idea to keep an eye on what's happening at your DCs schools - take an interest in the meetings and who is elected to the board of governors. There is some concern that academies and 'Free Schools' could fall victim to coups from religious groups - get a majority on the board of governors and change the ethos of the school ... I hope this is alarmist but fear it could happen.

There will come a time kladdkaka when that will not matter as the creek and the stream will be dry and the state will get out and walk up the dry creek without a problem - falling birth rate, even with the birth rate rising in the last year, it is not enough to be able in the future to be able to keep all the schools full or even half full.

Perhaps the church should look at converting and making the schools in to old peoples homes