| SPECULATION that the Government might be backtracking on its support for new church schools and those sponsored by other faiths was denied by a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DfCSF) this week.
Press reports of recent remarks by the Secretary of State, Ed Balls, had been misconstrued, the spokesman said. Mr Balls had told a Commons select committee that the Government was not leading a drive for more faith schools and that they were a matter for local communities.
A spokesman for Mr Balls said: “He was simply stating what has always been the Government position, set out in Faith in the System, and that is unchanged.”
Faith in the System is a document published by the Department and launched by the Secretary of State last September. It is “a joint vision statement” that represents the shared views of both the Government and those who provide publicly funded schools with a religious character. It was intended to clarify the Government’s attitude to faith schools.
About one third of the 21,000 maintained schools in England have a religious character. Most are C of E or Roman Catholic, along with a handful of other faith foundations.
“The Government continues to support the benefits to society that this system brings for parental choice and diversity,” the document reads. “And we recognise that, with the changes in society, it is only fair that pupils of all faiths and none have the opportunity to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents. Our unequivocal purpose in agreeing this document is for other parties to appreciate the contribution of faith schools.”
Recent claims that this position was about to change were based on Mr Balls’s comments last week, when questioned about Runnymede Trust research, which seemed to suggest that faith schools could have a negative effect on community cohesion.
Mr Balls said: “I know that a year ago there was substantial concern whether faith schools were playing their proper part in community cohesion. As a result, alongside Faith in the System, we made a commitment to produce guidance for all schools on how they should produce community cohesion. One thing that came out of that work was many examples of faith schools leading efforts to promote community cohesion in their areas.”
He added: “May I be absolutely clear — there is sometimes confusion about this — that it is not the policy of the Government or my Department to provide more faith schools. We have no policy to expand their numbers. That should be a matter for local communities.”
Mr Balls’s remarks were in accord with the Church of England’s understanding of the Government position, said a church spokesman. The Government has always been clear that the provision of new schools will be a decision based on the wishes of local communities. “Talk of a shift is misleading, and is probably wishful thinking on the part of some lobbying groups,” he said. |
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