Category - faith schools

Evangelicals find common ground with Humanists over faith school ads

staff writers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:26:11 +0000

Evangelicals in the UK have welcomed a message of the new advertising campaign launched yesterday by the British Humanist Association (BHA).

Educational impact of church schools unclear, says Christian report

staff writers — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:34:07 +0000

A new report published by organisations supportive of church schools has admitted that there is presently little evidence that the ethos they create has much educational benefit.

Discriminatory school admissions policies are cheating, says Accord

staff writers — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:43 +0000

The Accord Coalition says that the problem with schools admissions is not just people cheating, but policies which themselves discriminate, especially on grounds of religion or belief.

Pressure mounts on faith schools to end discriminatory practices

staff writers — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:11:28 +0000

A Rabbi and a Christian writer have added their voices to those from both religious and secular quarters calling for a change in admissions policies for faith schools, as the Supreme Court continues to deliberate on the JFS case.

Landmark JFS case could affect other schools and faiths

staff writers — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:35:40 +0000

The Accord Coalition, which campaigns for inclusive schools, has said that the JFS case currently being heard in the Supreme Court could have far wider implications than just for Jewish schools.

Campaigners condemn public money to Islamist-linked schools

staff writers — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:14:45 +0000

Campaigners for inclusive schools, including Accord, have strongly criticised the granting of public money to schools with links to the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Refurbishing faith schools

Press Office — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:33:14 +0100

Commenting on the Times Educational Supplement (TES) report that religious organisations are offloading part of their requirement to fund refurbishments of faith schools onto the taxpayer, Simon Ba

Faith school refurbishment costs passed on to taxpayer

staff writers — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:53:59 +0100

Taxpayers in Britain are picking up costs for the refurbishment of faith schools that should be met by religious groups, according to a report in the TES. Campaigners cite this as another example of unfairness.

New schools award for religious inclusion and equality

Press Office — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:17:08 +0100

A prestigious new prize is being offered that recognises the achievements of primary and secondary schools which celebrate diversity of religious and non-religious beliefs.

Dossier of independent evidence on faith schools

staff writers — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:45:07 +0100

This document has been produced by the Accord Coalition, of which Ekklesia is a founder member, to help researchers, journalists, campaigners and members of the public to find information about some of the policy implications of state funded faith schools and their practices. The aim is to bring together and summarise high quality research from reliable sources, pointing in particular to the shortcomings of faith schools and where changes need to made, particularly in the area of admissions and employment. With the exception of the 2009 poll commissioned by Accord from YouGov—itself a respected member of the British Polling Council—all evidence in the report is from sources independent of Accord and its members. Some sources cited however are religious, such as agency Tearfund, and other institutions that work with churches such as the Runnymede Trust. The evidence is also recent - all of it dates from 2001 or later and the majority was produced in the last two years. Research and opinion polls have been organised in reverse chronological order below, followed by relevant parliamentary questions and statistics from the DCSF.

Topics covered include:

• The impact of religious admissions on social segregation (sometimes called “cream skimming” or social selection)
• Faith schools and school standards / attainment
• Faith schools and community cohesion
• The number of new faith schools
• Faith schools and homophobia
• Faith schools and recruitment
• The number of schools of different types, and their denominations

Although the scope of evidence surveyed here is wide and cannot easily be summarised, it repeatedly gives cause for concern about the way that many faith schools operate, and the consequences of this for wider society. The polls and surveys in the report demonstrate that many members of the public have similar concerns as Accord, which is convinced that only legislative change will bring about an education system free from religious discrimination.

staff writers