In its formal response to a consultation on how schools in England should comply with the independent school standards, Humanists UK has welcomed the Government’s effort to crackdown on the narrow, intolerant, and discriminatory teaching identified in an alarming number of private faith schools.
The new advice for private schools was provoked by the increasing concern of Ofsted inspectors at the number of private schools, particularly faith schools, that are failing to meet the required standards. Last year it was revealed that one in four small private faith schools in England inspected by Ofsted were rated ‘inadequate’ and a further 22% ‘require improvement’, with many failing multiple times. In fact, earlier this month Humanists UK revealed that a private faith school in London had been deemed ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in all but one of its nine inspections since 2008. Despite this, the Department for Education (DfE) has tended not to shut such schools down.
In an attempt to spell out the school standards more clearly, the new guidance includes: a warning to proprietors about the teaching of creationism as fact; a demand for the ‘active promotion of respect’ for LGBT people rather than ‘a general policy of encouraging respect of all people’; and explicit condemnation of religiously motivated gender segregation and gender discriminatory teaching, such as ‘separate but equal’ teaching about boys and girls. Humanists UK has welcomed all of these moves, while making a number of recommendations to further clarify schools’ obligations.
Key recommendations include an explicit prohibition on homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic teaching irrespective of the religious character of the school, and a clearer strategy for closing schools that continue to fall short of the standards or refuse to meet them, while mitigating disruption to the education of their pupils.
Humanists UK has also criticised the Government’s failure to include explicit reference to the non-religious in the draft guidance, particularly when discussing the importance of schools promoting mutual understanding and respect between people with different beliefs. It notes that being non-religious or leaving religion remains a significant taboo ‘in certain faith schools and within certain religious communities’, an attitude that the Government ought to be stronger in challenging.
Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Jay Harman commented,
‘We are glad that the Government is finally waking up to the fact that a worrying proportion of private faith schools are providing an education and espousing an ethos totally at odds with what it means to live in a diverse, democratic, and civilised society. This is what this new advice seeks to address, and it is not before time.
‘Our attention now will turn to ensuring that this guidance is properly enforced. As we point out in our response, there are children who have spent the entirety of their education to date in schools that fail to meet the necessary standards, and that is simply not acceptable. In fact, some schools are quite open about their intention to ignore the standards, ostensibly for religious reasons. The children in these places deserve so much more than this, so we hope the Government will start taking much tougher enforcement action against them.’
Notes
For further comment or information please contact Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Jay Harman on jay@humanists.uk or 0207 324 3078.
Read Humanists UK’s full response: https://humanists.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018-04-23-JH-Humanists-UK-response-operating-the-independent-school-regulatory-system.pdf
Read Humanists UK’s previous news item ‘Government warns private faith schools about teaching creationism as fact’: https://humanists.uk/2018/03/22/government-warns-private-faith-schools-about-teaching-creationism-as-fact/
Read more about Humanists UK’s work on private faith schools: https://humanists.uk/campaigns/schools-and-education/faith-schools/
At Humanists UK, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. Our work brings non-religious people together to develop their own views, helping people be happier and more fulfilled in the one life we have. Through our ceremonies, education services, and campaigning work, we’re committed to creating a fair and equal society for all.