A growing number of people from different religious communities are speaking out for the reform of faith schools in Britain, countering accusations that the call for change is just a secular fad.

If we are to have publicly funded faith schools, then they must serve the whole community, says Anglican vicar Jeremy Chadd. They mustn’t exist to prop up one community, nor to offer escape routes from a more diverse real world to those who already have all the advantages in life.

The Liberal Democrats have become the first mainstream political party in Britain to admit that many faith schools currently pursue unnecessary discriminatory practices in admissions and employment, and to pledge to challenge them.

While the Catholic Church across Ireland is promoting its own schools this week, integrated education campaigners in the North are working to build community schooling that crosses religious and other divides.

The Accord Coalition, which campaigns for fully inclusive public schooling in the UK, is receiving the backing of MPs through a parliamentary Early Day Motion tabled by Ashok Kumar MP.

Campaigners for the reform of church schools have warned that the anticipated boost that the Church of England will get to church attendance this Christmas will come at a cost to children.

Runnymede Trust, a respected multi-ethnic research body, has said that schools backed by religious bodies can play a valuable part in the education mix, but only if they are prepared for radical reform.