CHURCH OF ENGLAND, Roman Catholic, and other faith schools are under attack from a political “witch hunt” by militant secularists and left-wing diehards, says a report, In Bad Faith, published this week by the right-wing Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).
Allegations made earlier this year by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, that he had “shocking evidence” that a significant minority of faith schools were using admissions procedures to keep out troublesome pupils, were seriously exaggerated, and designed to curry favour with the secularist lobby and an Old Labour rump, says the report’s author, Cristina Odone.
She suggests that faith schools are “at the mercy” of growing opposition in Mr Balls’s Department and in Labour ranks.
“Today’s class warriors are bent on portraying faith schools as . . . the preserves of pushy middle-class parents,” she writes. Moreover, she accuses the Government of hypocrisy, pointing out that it tolerates “postcode cherry-picking” by community schools in middle-class areas, and selection by aptitude in schools specialising in subjects such as music and foreign languages.
The admissions row, however, was followed by an energetic “fence- mending” exercise by the Government, and the church education authorities are being given access to evidence gathered by the Government’s chief schools adjudicator, Philip Hunter, whose report on admissions practices in a large sample of maintained schools is expected next month.
Commenting on the CPS report, the Church of England’s chief education officer, the Revd Jan Ainsworth, warned against accepting the premise that church schools were under attack by the Government. She spoke of a “positive, constructive relationship” with the DCSF.
“That said, Cristina Odone has provided a powerful weapon against some of the myths about faith schools, particularly the baseless claims that they are divisive and covertly select certain types of students.”
The Schools Minister, Jim Knight, rejected the report’s claims: “Faith- based schools are assured of a secure future under this Government.” |
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