Government consultation - faith schools and more

[Blossomdeary]

consult.education.gov.uk/school-frameworks/schools-that-work-for-everyone/consultation/intro/

Mumsnetters with an interest in this subject might like to think about making their views known on this link to a government consultation which ends on 12th December.

One of the issues that concerns me is the fact that, in their attempt to create more "Free Schools" they are encouraging faith schools and propose to change the rules so that faith schools do not have to take 50% of those from other religions or none, but can now have a 100% one faith intake.

Some of the questions in the consultation ask how the government can encourage and monitor a multi-faith education in these new one faith schools! Crazy or what? - why not simply have multi-faith schools?

The government PREVENT policy is compulsory in schools in an attempt to reduce radicalisation - and then they come up with this barmy idea! Sigh.

Sorry it did not come up as a link - but copying and pasting it should do the trick.

consult.education.gov.uk/school-frameworks/schools-that-work-for-everyone/consultation/intro/

shared onto FB

With ref to another thread in the In the News section, people might consider suggesting the best way to make the monofaith free schools inclusive is to restrict faith-based admissions criteria to self-declaration.

Faith is, after all, a personal matter and nothing to do with how often people go to church.

Should have said the above suggestion would be second preference. First preference would be that they make them 100% open.

Thanks for FBing it - the more people who get the chance to express their views the better.

Can I be a bit annoying a make a correction to your OP. The existing faith free schools aren't obliged to take 50% from other faiths or none at all. This is a fallacy put about by the Catholic Church. They are obliged to have 50% of places that have no faith component to their admissions - ie they go LAC, special needs, distance etc as per any community school.

If everyone who applies is Catholic then the school will be 100% Catholic. They won't be turning anyone down for being Catholic. However, if it's over-subscribed and a Catholic doesn't qualify for one of the 50% of faith places and a non-Catholic lives nearer, then the latter will get the place.

Really gets my goat that the Catholic Church is trying to make out that children of their faith will be discriminated against, when in reality it's those of no-faith who, as per usual, are.

There's something in today's Guardian about it:
However, the British Humanist Association says that, where a school makes 50% of its places available to any child, regardless of their faith, it would not then be discriminating against any of these children on religious grounds but treating all prospective pupils, including Catholics, on a level admissions playing field.

In fact here's the Guardian bit in full:

Little faith in Catholic admissions criteria
Meanwhile, has the Catholic Education Service been misleading the public in its support of controversial government plans to allow more faith-based selection in free schools?

The government is planning to lift the stipulation that no free school can select more than half its pupils by religious faith, a rule designed to promote diversity. The Catholic church has not so far set up any free schools as it wants the freedom to select all pupils by faith, as is possible in existing Catholic state-funded schools, arguing that the 50% cap would mean “discriminating” against some pupils on the basis of their Catholicism and “could cause schools to turn Catholic families away on the grounds that they are Catholics”.

However, the British Humanist Association says that, where a school makes 50% of its places available to any child, regardless of their faith, it would not then be discriminating against any of these children on religious grounds but treating all prospective pupils, including Catholics, on a level admissions playing field.

A spokesman for the CES commented: “We want diverse schools with pupils of all religions and none, but to do this we need the places. The cap [on selection] was holding us back. Existing Catholic schools, which can select all places on the grounds of faith, contain a third of pupils who are not Catholic. They are also the most ethnically diverse.”

But if the CES is so positive about non-Catholics in its intake, we remain puzzled why it needs the ability to select all pupils by faith.