MPs in the House of Commons yesterday debated the motion ‘That this House believes that Ofsted should respect the ability of faith schools to teach their core beliefs in the context of respect and toleration for others’. The debate, proposed by Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, comes in the wake of a spate of incidences in which Ofsted have ‘downgraded’ schools for, among other things, failing to adhere to Government guidance on promoting British values. This has led to allegations, largely by the schools themselves, of an ‘anti-religious’ bias amongst Ofsted inspectors. The British Humanist Association (BHA) briefed members of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) ahead of the debate, and believes Ofsted inspections remain crucial for ensuring ‘faith’ schools prepare their children for life in modern Britain.
In his opening remarks, Sir Edward Leigh accused Ofsted of ‘trying to enforce a kind of state-imposed orthodoxy on certain moral and religious questions’ and questioned whether or not the public could now have any confidence in their reports. Sir Edward drew particular attention to the case of Grindon Hall Christian School, which has been at the centre of controversy as far back as 2012 when the BHA revealed that the school had a ‘Creation Policy’ on its website seemingly advocating teaching both evolution and creationism as scientifically valid theories. An Ofsted report from earlier this year found that the school’s ‘efforts to promote equality of opportunity and tackle discrimination are inadequate’ and ‘pupils are not taught to develop appropriate levels of respect or tolerance for those from other faiths’. Inspectors have since been accused of asking inappropriate questions of the pupils and Sir Edward echoed comments made by the headmaster that ‘those inspectors clearly regard a Christian ethos as inherently negative’. An Ofsted investigation has found no evidence for these claims.
Responding to the accusations, Ian Swales MP, member of the APPHG, stated that whilst there may have been occasions on which Ofsted inspectors had been ‘over-zealous’, real concerns about the downgraded schools remained. He drew particular attention to the issues related to Grindon Hall, as well as to the fact that Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls’ Secondary, a Charedi Jewish school in Hackney, was found to be ‘good’ by Ofsted in spite of it having been redacting GCSE exam questions on evolution which it deemed to be inappropriate. Swales also talked about other ‘faith’ schools denying access to art and music and espousing a narrow view of the role of women and girls in society. ‘These are all real, recent cases’, he said, ‘and we need a system that is capable of picking them up’.
Swales also used his speech to discuss the subject of faith in schools more generally, calling for a clarification of existing collective worship laws and restating his party’s view that religious recruitment criteria should only be applied to ‘the staff needed to carry out religious activity in schools’. Both issues are the subject of ongoing BHA campaigns.
Other contributors to the debate included Shadow Education Minister Kevin Brennan, who stressed that ‘faith’ schools of whatever faith … must understand that the teaching of religion in our tax-payer funded schools is not about proselytisation or indoctrination’, and Liberal Democrat Schools Minister David Laws, who sought to assure the House that during Ofsted inspections ‘schools are neither discriminated against nor given special treatment based on any religious belief’.
BHA Faith Schools Campaigner Jay Harman commented: ‘We remain unconvinced that Ofsted is biased against “faith” schools in any way and have seen insufficient evidence of this in their reports. On the contrary, we are concerned about Ofsted having counted a school which has been censoring GCSE science exam questions as “good”. All schools have a vital role in building community cohesion and promoting shared values, and it is therefore of the utmost importance that Ofsted continues to evaluate how well “faith” schools contribute to these ends.’
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For further comment or information, please contact BHA Campaigns Manager Richy Thompson at richy@humanists.uk or on 020 7324 3072.
Read the House of Commons debate: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm150312/debtext/150312-0003.htm#15031229000001
Read the BHA’s briefing to MPs: https://humanists.uk/wp-content/uploads/BHA-Briefing-Ofsted-and-faith-schools-debate-12.03.15-FINAL.pdf
Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on ‘faith’ schools: https://humanists.uk/campaigns/schools-and-education/faith-schools/
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.