Faithless Academies

sigh

2008-07-04T18:55:00.001-07:00

Channel 4 - News - Fighting the evolution war

Know what we need? More faith schools...

2008-04-03T05:40:00.001-07:00

Faith schools, a law unto themselves - Education News, Education - The Independent

The vast majority of faith schools are breaking the law when admitting pupils, according to Government research published yesterday. The study shows that some seek money from parents and fail to give priority to children in care.

A survey of 106 voluntary-aided schools by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) revealed that 96 are in breach of a new statutory code on admissions. Of those, 87 are faith schools.

Faith schools (mainly) charge for admissions...

2008-03-13T06:36:00.001-07:00

State schools demanding payments from parents to secure places, ministers find | Schools special reports | EducationGuardian.co.uk

Ed Balls, the children's secretary, said abuse of the system was disproportionately occurring in faith schools and others which control their own admissions. Ministers met Roman Catholic, Anglican and Jewish leaders this week to express concerns. The evidence was so shocking, ministers said, that at one point they considered suspending this year's offers of school places pending a full inquiry.

Jim Knight, Schools Minister, described the situations as "shocking", and councils are to get more powers to oversee admissions to faith schools.

Faith dentistry?

2008-03-11T07:28:00.001-07:00

National Secular Society - Faith-based welfare: the hand-over accelerates

Mr Dow revealed that: “The church is signing 25-year contracts for the new academies. Christian groups bidding to deliver dentistry are getting 20-year contracts.”

Bishop Dow revealed that the Government had, for more than two years, “been in conversation with church leaders about the possibility of the church providing extensive welfare services, rather in the way that the church plays a major part in education.”

This is just plain worrying...

Lancing and Shoreham academies?

2008-03-11T07:25:00.001-07:00

Teachers Furious At Academy Plans (from The Argus)

West Sussex members of the NUT have already unanimously voted to oppose academies in the county.

Now three coastal schools are threatened with sponsorship from Woodard Schools.

Whither the government's review of academies?

2008-03-11T07:20:00.001-07:00

Fiona Millar on the government's review of academies | Schools comment | EducationGuardian.co.uk

The deadly silence since then implies that, like everything else about academies, the review is closed and secretive, although at some stage there will no doubt be a covert briefing, hinting that a report no one can actually read has proved that academies are a huge success.

And third, the grassroots campaigns all tell a similar story about the opaque process by which academies come into being. Key features are a lack of any clear definition of what justifies an academy, covert bludgeoning of local authorities through Building Schools for the Future, and the wholly undemocratic "preferred sponsor" route that hands schools over to sponsors without any of the public scrutiny required by the 2006 Education and Inspections Act.

Fiona Millar rightly highlights many of the most worrying aspects of academies, those that centre around who a sponsor is allowed to be, and the process through which they can take over a school.

Technorati Tags: fiona millar, academies, sponsors, sir peter vardy

Oldham faith schools

2008-03-11T07:14:00.001-07:00

Rochdale News & Features

A two-year research project, launched after the riots in neighbouring Oldham, found that mono-culture schools should be avoided as they divide communities.

Teachers’ unions backed the findings, by experts at Lancaster University, and said academies led by faith groups would not achieve the diversity needed to unite the borough.

Unfit for Mission

2008-03-11T07:06:00.001-07:00

MPs investigate Catholic influence on schools - Education News, Education - Independent.co.uk

The move comes after a 66-page circular from the Bishop of Lancaster, Patrick O'Donoghue, instructed Catholic schools in the North-west to stop "safe sex" education and place crucifixes in every classroom. Schools were also told not to support charities that promote or fund pro-choice policies, singling out Amnesty International – which is in favour of abortion for women who have been raped in war zones. Barry Sheerman, the Labour chairman of the committee, said there was evidence from other areas of the country of Catholic schools being told to adopt a more fundamentalist line.

Yet again taxpayers' money is being used to fund the propagation of religious propaganda in schools.

Technorati Tags: bishop of lancaster, fit for mission, barry sheerman, catholicism, sex eductation

Heartsease to go ahead

2008-03-11T07:02:00.001-07:00

EDP24 - Government go-ahead for Heartsease academy

A bitter battle for the future of thousands of Norfolk children looked to be over last night as the Government gave the go-ahead to the county's first academy school - and kept the two Christian sponsors at the helm. Schools secretary Ed Balls has sent a letter to those involved in the plan, telling them they can press ahead with the £20m Open Academy in the place of Heartsease High in Norwich.

This despite the controversial involvement of Graham Dacre. There are some minor concessions, however: the academy will not be a faith school, and will have to teach the agreed Norfolk religious education syllabus. What this means for science lessons is not clear...

Technorati Tags: heartsease, graham dacre, norwich, faith academy

Bullied by Lord Adonis

2008-03-11T06:56:00.001-07:00

We're being bullied over academies - Halifax Today

We are being bullied and bribed into accepting an academy rather than being persuaded of the benefits of academies over community or foundation schools.

The Church of England plans to build 100 academies by 2010 while acknowledging the jury is still out on whether they are successful. Rather than prop- erly researching the academies it controls, the Church prefers to have faith and multiply.

The public meeting at Holy Trinity was packed and overwhelmingly anti-academy and yet the Labour councillors, who were there "to listen", have now decided they will all endorse an expression of interest in an academy.
This decision has even been taken before the extraordinary council meeting on February 27 to discuss the matter.

Vardy's venom

2008-03-11T06:53:00.001-07:00

Politics put before children – Sir Peter - JournalLive

“And I am sick and tired of people referring to our academies as faith schools. Roman Catholic schools are faith schools, Church of England schools are, so are Jewish schools, but ours are not."

Sir Peter Vardy's spiteful comments here show his inability to conceive of why a council might prefer an academy run by Durham University, the North East Chamber of Commerce, and the county council, to one run by his Emmanuel Schools Foundation. he seems toi assume that all academies should be, as a first choice, ESF-run. The only reason not to choose ESF, for him, is because one is putting politics before children (rather than thinking children might not be better off in a fundamentalist, evangelical institution).

Technorati Tags: sir peter vardy, esf, consett, DEEP

Oldham Non-Faith Academy?

2008-03-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

National Secular Society - Christian-Muslim academy project hits the buffers

Plans for a joint Christian-Muslim academy in Oldham have been dropped by the local authority, because it says there are enough “faith school” places in the town. The real reason is that the religious bodies couldn’t agree on the proportions of places that should be available for each of their followers. The academy will now be sponsored by someone other than the Church and will be designated a “community academy”.

This article also contains a quotation from Ed Balls, which suggests that academies, in future, will have to follow the National Curriculum in science, which is a blow for Peter Vardy, and the other fundamentalists looking to get a foothold in our schools.

Exclusions at academies

2008-03-06T09:08:00.001-08:00

Academy looks like a done deal - Halifax Today

According to the Anti-Academies Alliance, academies are excluding students at more than twice the national average, with a higher proportion of children from black, ethnic minority or low-income families being excluded.

Late baptisms soar as parents chase Catholic school places - Independent Online Edition > Education News

2008-01-12T06:56:00.000-08:00

Late baptisms soar as parents chase Catholic school places - Independent Online Edition > Education News: "Meanwhile, Britain's faith schools are facing a recruitment crisis with a lack of committed Christian teachers available to take up headship or teaching roles. Liverpool Hope University, the only ecumenical university in Europe, is holding a careers fair next Tuesday specifically aimed at students considering a career as a teacher in a faith school."

This, however, is just sad. The idea that only Christian teachers should teach at a Christian school is, quite frankly, baffling. I went to a religious school, it is now an independent school run by the Church Schools Company, yet I would have difficulty in naming more than five or six or the teachers who were committed Christians.

Indeed, I would go so far as to say that two-thirds of the teaching staff grudgingly sat through the hymns and assemblies, and a few were actively hostile to organised religion. They had no problem in having a job at a nominally religious school, whilst remaining quiet about their own beliefs. Maybe what we need is teachers who are better liars, rather than better Christians...

Late baptisms soar as parents chase Catholic school places - Independent Online Edition > Education News

2008-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Late baptisms soar as parents chase Catholic school places - Independent Online Edition > Education News: "Research published today shows baptisms of children aged between one and 13 make up nearly a third of all entrants into the Church (30.3 per cent) compared with just 5.4 per cent 50 years ago. This represents a rise from 6,925 children to 20,141.

In the same period, the percentage of 'cradle' baptisms into the Church has gone down from 85 per cent to 64 per cent in the same period. The figures show there were 108,996 cradle baptisms in 1958 and 42,425 in 2005 – the last year for which figures are available."

It's good to see that even the immortal souls of our children are up for sale, at the moment...

Doubts surface over multi-faith schools | Schools special reports | EducationGuardian.co.uk

2008-01-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Doubts surface over multi-faith schools | Schools special reports | EducationGuardian.co.uk: "'It is not the policy of the government or my department to promote more faith schools. There are no plans to expand the number - that should be a matter for the local community."

This is utterly disingenuous, of course. Whilst it is true that many different types of groups can become sponsors of academies; those with the time, resources and desire to get their hands on the minds of the young tend to be religious or business groups.

Whilst it might not be the policy of the government to promote faith schools, it is the policy of the government to continue a scheme which has seen the number of faith schools rise, and faith groups have said they will use to increase the number of faith schools in the future...

Evening News 24 - Parents slam academy decision

2008-01-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

Evening News 24 - Parents slam academy decision: "However today Rosalie Monbiot, the council's cabinet member for children's services, said they had noted the petition, but felt that the signatories were mistaken in believing the new academy would be a faith school.

She said: “Whereas before the opinion from consultations had been in favour of the academy, this time we had the reservations expressed by the governors of Heartsease and the local parents. We recognised that to some extent and I think to be fair, the petition was based on a lot of misinformation."

This shows, quite clearly, that the academy programme is not meant to be as responsive to the concerns of parents and local people as it is to those of potential sponsors of schools. The fact that the council member feels free to dismiss legitimate concerns as 'disinformation', whilst pushing through a plan to which there is considerable local opposition.

Central government is being appealed to, to force Heartsease to close, even after academy plans were rejected by the local council. This move shows the venality of the academies programme, the desire, at any cost, to sell our children's education to the highest (or, in some cases, lowest) bidder.

Big green teaching machine | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

2008-01-07T05:51:00.000-08:00

Big green teaching machine | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

"In the library, an alphabetical list of random buzzwords runs down one wall: 'organic grown, ostrich, outperform'."

This is a long article extolling the architectural virtues of Westminster Academy. However, because the building has only been in use since September: "its performance educationally is impossible to assess." Hopefully, all of its problems will be solved by a "straightforward atrium layout".

2008-01-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

This is a report of a study by Edinburgh University that found that the 'successes' in academy schools were largely down to pupils being encouraged to take easier subkects. Of course, that's not the whole story, even PwC, in their study for the government, concede that some of the improvement is down to academies having to educate fewer 'problem pupils'.

"But Terry Wrigley, a senior lecturer at Edinburgh University, warns in his study that there has been a 'serious erosion' of traditional subjects as children are enrolled on so-called soft courses to inflate test scores.

His report says there has been a huge growth in pupils taking GNVQs, which can be worth up to four good GCSEs, despite concerns by employers that they are easier to pass than other courses. There has also been a drop in the number of teenagers studying languages, history and geography, it is claimed.

'By the standards of European and other competitor countries, these pupils are poorly educated,' the report says."

FT.com / World - Press baron courted over academies

2008-01-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

FT.com / World - Press baron courted over academies: "The government’s top education adviser tried to enlist the owner of the Daily Mail into backing several city academies intended to force children from different ethnic and religious backgrounds to study together under one roof.

In spite of detailed discussions with Lord Rothermere to set up five so-called “community academies”, the plans were abandoned after company executives feared involvement would muzzle critical coverage by the group’s local newspapers."

There is so much that is disturbing in these two paragraphs, I can't even begin to dissect them now...

Academy Set To Be Most Expensive In Uk (from Lancashire Telegraph)

2008-01-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

Academy Set To Be Most Expensive In Uk (from Lancashire Telegraph): "THE CONTROVERSIAL Darwen academy is on course to become the most expensive school of its type ever built.

The final cost of the project, originally put at £34million, is now nearer £49million, according to a leaked borough council document.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families reveals that only two other academies, which are opening in September, have come close to this sum, with The Bridge Academy in London costing about £47million and the Thomas Deacon Academy, Peterborough, about £46million."

New Statesman - Schools need to be fair, not free

2008-01-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

New Statesman - Schools need to be fair, not free: "Whether sponsored by universities or not, city academies remain independent institutions with deeply undemocratic governance arrangements, which give total control to sponsors in return for little or no capital investment, and which pay lip service to parental representation at any level. They are not covered by the body of education law that governs parents' and pupils' rights on admissions, special needs and exclusions in maintained schools, and are under no obligation to co- operate with other local schools.

I have yet to see a reasonable explanation for why they need these freedoms; unless it is, as many suspect, so that they can improve results by changing their intakes. Independent research carried out for the government in 2005 by PricewaterhouseCoopers seems to suggest that this might be so, given that academies are excluding more children and benefiting from more advantaged intakes than their predecessor schools."

Evening News 24 - Councillors reject city academy

2008-01-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Evening News 24 - Councillors reject city academy

Old news (I'm just going through some old emails), but good news about Heartsease...

New Academies Could Double Councils Transport Costs (from This is Hampshire)

2008-01-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

New Academies Could Double Councils Transport Costs (from This is Hampshire): "Councillor Peter Baillie, Cabinet member for education, admitted: 'While the academies will not be faith schools, because the academy sponsors ticked the faith box then pupils will be able to use that for free transport. It's a quirk in the legislation.'"

This is just bizarre...

TES - Teaching jobs, resources & ideas from the Times Educational Supplement

2008-01-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

TES - Teaching jobs, resources & ideas from the Times Educational Supplement: "The launch of Faith in the System allowed ministers to present a united front with faith schools after a battle last year over admission quotas. Alan Johnson, the former education secretary, wanted new faith schools to offer guaranteed places to children of a different faith or none but was forced into an embarrassing U-turn."

Pop Star Helps Open Academy (from Enfield Independent)

2008-01-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

Pop Star Helps Open Academy (from Enfield Independent): "POP STAR Daniel Bedingfield performed at Enfield's first city academy last week to mark its official opening."

Excellent. The scheme must work, then.

Steve Chalke, Baptist minister and founder of the Oasis trust, which sponsors the academy, said: "For quite a number of years we dreamed of a school opening."

Well, now he's had a school opening. Shame he didn't dream of good, comprehensive education for all, really...

If Balls wants better schools, he must scrap faith selection | Comment | Guardian Unlimited Politics

2008-01-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

If Balls wants better schools, he must scrap faith selection | Comment | Guardian Unlimited Politics: "Here is what the IPPR study found, to the rage of the Mail on Sunday: faith schools that administer their own admissions policies are 10 times more likely to be unrepresentative of the social mix in their area than faith schools where the local authority is the admissions authority. Non-religious schools that are allowed to administer their own admissions (academies and foundations) are six times more likely to be unrepresentative of their areas."

Free our schools from a fatally flawed system | Comment | Guardian Unlimited Politics

2008-01-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Free our schools from a fatally flawed system | Comment | Guardian Unlimited Politics: "One in seven was prepared to lie, such as about their faith. The desperate search for a good education is turning middle-class parents into fraudsters."

Poll forces Church to re-examine way it teaches religion in schools -Times Online

2008-01-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Poll forces Church to re-examine way it teaches religion in schools -Times Online: "The Church of England is to re-examine its approach to teaching religion in its schools after a 'surprising' number of people told pollsters that church schools promote 'narrow religious teaching'.

Nearly half of more than 1,000 people polled by The Opinion Research Business said that church schools are different from state run schools, more than a third said they were the same and the rest said they did not know."

This is the same survey Ekklesia referred to, the one the CofE claimed showed that people supported faith schools...

C of E should stop 'spinning' around church schools - think-tank :: Inspire Magazine

2008-01-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

C of E should stop 'spinning' around church schools - think-tank :: Inspire Magazine

Ekklesia once again burst the Church of England's bubble, by examining the figures that the CofE claims indicate that the public support faith schools. What they reveal instead is a public deeply skeptical about the quality of sex education in religious schools, and stringly suspicious that they cause social division.

camden-news-leak

2008-01-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

camden-news-leak

This story from the Camden New Journal should not surprise any of us. The story is that a Lib Dem leader of Camden council wrote a briefing note about the plans for the UCL academy in Camden that suggested that the project could be used to curry favour with voters, and worried that the CofE and other religious groups might predominate if the academy were up for an open bid. It also expressed concerned that an open process would not have the school open in time for the next election.

So far, so local politics.

The worry is that the academy scheme has politicised the provision of education. Now there are worries about the timing of schools, their sponsors, and what effects these will have on local elections. In a move that appeared, ostensibly, to be a challenge to the powers of local government, the powers of local governments has been enhanced in the same way that the planning process does. This opens it to the same sorts of abuses, and does not serve the interests of those who wish to educate children.

Labour leader Theo Blackwell said: "The public interest has taken second place to rather crude political jockeying.” The tragedy is that that is the effect this scheme was bound to have, opening the schooling of pupils up to the highest (or, as we have seen, sometimes lowest) bidder.

Concern about head's job over school change - Aylesbury Today

2008-01-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

Concern about head's job over school change - Aylesbury Today: "Jonathan Johnson is well respected for pulling Quarrendon out of special measures last year after only 11 months in the job. He is popular with staff, parents and pupils, but if the Government approves Bucks County Council's proposal he will be the only member of staff to not have an automatic job transfer."

This is especially interesting when one realises that the school is to become an academy run by the Church of England, and that academy schools are allowed to make exceptions in their hiring policies. It might be a good time to be a fundamentalist with a desire to run a school...

This also raises questions as to why the school is becoming an academy at all. The school has been pulled out of special measures, and the plan for it to become an academy will mean that no money is spent on the school's facilities until a new school is built in 2011.

Cllr Clayton said: "When it becomes an academy there will be some capital to spend on the school. We will not be able to spend the £4 million needed to bring it up to scratch, but there will be some improvement."

It's also good to know that the money spent will not even bring the school 'up to scratch'...

NHS trusts asked to help run city academies - Telegraph

2008-01-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

NHS trusts asked to help run city academies - Telegraph: "David Laws, the Lib Dem children's spokesman, said: 'People will be amazed to discover that the Government is bringing in the NHS to sort out the management of under-performing schools.

'What time and skills do NHS managers have that will improve the standards of state education?'"

Of course, the same question could be asked of religious groups and second-hand car salesmen...

'Our' faith schools

2007-12-31T05:46:00.000-08:00

One of the oft-unspoken assumptions of those who support the academies scheme is that certain faith schools are all right, and should be encouraged. 'Normal' religions and denominations will be fine in the way they run schools, won't they?

This report suggests otherwise.

"In Fit for Mission, the document written for schools in the Lancaster diocese, O'Donoghue wrote: 'The secular view on sex outside of marriage, artificial contraception, sexually transmitted disease, including HIV and Aids, and abortion, may not be presented as neutral information ... parents, schools and colleges must also reject the promotion of so-called "safe sex" or "safer sex", a dangerous and immoral policy based on the deluded theory that the condom can provide adequate protection against Aids.'

The bishop also called for any books containing polemics against the Catholic faith to be removed from school libraries. 'Under no circumstances should any outside authority or agency that is not fully qualified to speak on behalf of the Catholic church ever be allowed to speak to pupils or individuals on sexual or any other matter involving faith and morals,' he said."

Secular school barred by Whitehall | UK News | The Observer

2007-12-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Secular school barred by Whitehall | UK News | The Observer

The school in question was the country's first 'trust' school. The basis of this site was the assumption that the greater powers over a school gained by an academy school sponsor would allow them to override the legal stipulation that there be an act of religious worship (specifically Christian worship) in every school every day. It appears that this might not be so. you could have a Wiccan academy school, but not a faithless one.

"One senior figure at the then Department for Education and Skills, told Kelley that bishops in the House of Lords and ministers would block the plans. Religion, they added, was 'technically embedded' in many aspects of education."

Unity has some insightful comments about the CofE's statement that: "Either overtly or by default, this country is still a Christian one." over at Liberal Conspiracy.

Oxbridge snub to government on academies | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

2007-12-03T05:27:00.000-08:00

Oxbridge snub to government on academies | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics: "Only one offer of a place at the university has so far been made to a pupil from any academy, but the student missed the grades required, it says."

The university in question is Cambridge. I realise that academies are meant to replace 'failing schools, but this hardly suggests that they are succeeding where the other schools failed. They are just failing more expensively...

"Eradicating Failure..."

2007-10-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

SFS Group

Someone might want to point out to the Prime Minister that independent schools have not yet managed to 'eradicate failure' within their own walls, never mind in anyone else's. Certainly at the one I went to, there were all sorts of students who failed terribly. Some were not allowed to come back to the school for sixth form.

Think of it: a school that educates children so badly that it does not consider them of a high-enough standard to attend the school any more... Mr Brown seems to be confusing the notion of 'fee-paying' with that of excellence.

Oh, and he's dropping the requirement for an academy sponsor to make any financial commitment to a school at all - so now you can take over a school, change the curriculum in ways that you want, be exempted from following employment law, pursue your own weird educational theories for free! As long as you belong to a suitable organisation (ie - you are a fundamentalist Christian used car salesman from the North East).

Pimlico School

2007-10-26T03:55:00.000-07:00

SFS Group

Now, there's a surprise. Conservative councillors in Westminster are trying to hand our schools over to Conservative donors like John Nash. Not that this is a party political point, but when, with the decision-making in the hands of local government, was it not going to be partisan?

Academies in crisis - News - Oldham Advertiser

2007-10-18T04:27:00.000-07:00

Academies in crisis - News - Oldham Advertiser

Here's a story about Edutrust, who want to open lots of lovely, new multi-faith academy schools. They went to a number of meetings with Bradford council, at which they were asked many questions they failed to answer, or answered unsatisfactorily, according to one Lib Dem councillor, David Ward.

Towards the end of the consultation they withdrew, their Chief Executive having decided that the expense of the 18-month long involvement was: 'unlikely to deliver the desired academy.' So, now they're focussing their efforts on Oldham. A spokesman for Oldham Council said its experience with Edutrust had been 'extremely positive.'

Fortunately, the local MP has said that: 'Nothing is more important than our children's future.' So that's all right, then.

Some stakeholders are more equal than others

2007-09-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

'We will enter into no further correspondence with you' | News crumb | EducationGuardian.co.uk

This story about Connor Birch's attempts to communicate with the steering group of a new Anglican academy school in Hereford is worrying. The steering group's attitude clearly indicates that, as Mr Birch is part of the National Secularist Society, his opinions on their proposals are not worth listening to, and even that they do not have to. Atheists obviously aren't 'stakeholders', like other members of the community...

Comment is free: The unbelievable privilege of faith

2007-09-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Comment is free: The unbelievable privilege of faith

This is an excellent article on CiF, outlining some of the arguments against faith schools generally, and certainly state-supported ones. It raises a few interesting issues:

One argument put forward by supporters of faith schools is that schools established by religious institutions predate schools run by the state. What this is an argument for, precisely, is unclear. One might as well point out that the first hospitals and libraries were all in religious institutions, and suggest that this indicates that they should be run this way to this day. Perhaps, as the Spanish Inquisition predates our current interrogation techniques, we should allow the Catholic Church to question suspects for the police...

That there have been schools set up by religious institutions far longer than there have been those set up by municipal or other nominally secular authorities is indicative of nothing more than the greater role religion played in our society in the past. A key difference is that these religious schools funded themselves, they did not expect the taxpayer to foot the bill.

Another point which caught my eye was the story of David McNab, an atheist teacher at a Roman Catholic school in Glasgow who was blocked from applying for a post involving pastoral care because he was not a Catholic. An employment tribunal ruled in his favour, but only because the school had failed to list the post as one of a 'reserved' nature, reserved for Catholics only.

It is an odd situation when, since the Religious Discrimination Act of 2004, an employer cannot refuse to employ someone for a post on the grounds of their religion, but a religious employer can refuse to employ someone in a post because of their lack of religion.

Quaequam Blog! » Blog Archive » The Great Faith School Swindle

2007-09-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Quaequam Blog! » Blog Archive » The Great Faith School Swindle

This is a great post, pointing out the hypocrisy of some of those who are manipulating our democratic processes, in order to build more faith schools.

"So, here we have a man lauding the power of faith schools to bring people together, while actively fighting legislation that would actually mean it happened. On a programme about a religious festival; some would call that politicisation. And he uses license fee payers’ money to indulge in this wanton hypocrisy. Doncha just love it?"

Quite.

Blood & Treasure: lots of good work for charity

2007-08-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Blood & Treasure: lots of good work for charity

Sorry there have not been too many updates recently. Still, it appears that any hope that change at the top would lead to a reassessment of the academies programme was naive in the extreme. All of the major parties seem to be agreed that academy schools are good things, despite there being no evidence to back that belief up...

Truth In Science: Revealed - Exposing Creationists in the UK: A brief history of Creationism in British Schools

2007-08-05T04:04:00.000-07:00

Truth In Science: Revealed - Exposing Creationists in the UK: A brief history of Creationism in British Schools

This site is a good and detailed examination of the teaching materials sent out bu the Creationist Truth In Science groups in 2006.

The Magic of Childhood

2007-05-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

You'll be glad to know that Peterborough's new academy will be built without a playground, as it might lead to: '“uncontrollable” numbers of children running around in breaks at the 2,200-pupil school', according to this article in The Sunday Times.

Apparently, pupils are to be treated more like 'company employees', and will get their exercise in PE lessons in a nearby field.

' “We are not intending to have any play time,” said Alan McMurdo, the head teacher. “Pupils won’t need to let off steam because they will not be bored.”'

Some staff also add that it will avoid children falling victim to bullies in the playground. Ah yes, that must always have been the way to deal with bullying in the playground - remove the playground. This is the kind of joined-up thinking that will, fortunately, predominate at academies.

Let's face it, what right-thinking academy sponsor wants to see idle children shrieking and running around when they could be learning valuable time-keeping skills, or preparing themselves for the sorts of leisure-free lives their parents lead.

Anyone who does not find the following paragraph worrying has lived too long in Blair's Britain:

'There will be a 30-minute lunch period when pupils will be taken to the dining room by their teacher, ensuring they do not sneak away to run around.'

And the following epitomises the backward management-think that characterises most New Labour projects:

' However, Delap, who has run the academy project on behalf of its sponsor, Perkins Engines, and the Deacon school trust, said that playgrounds did not fit into the concept.'

When playgrounds do not fit the concept of a school, when children have to be escorted to a dining hall to ensure that they do not run around during their lunch hour, and when a school thinks that it has so many pupils they might become 'uncontrollable' at lunch break, there is something wrong with the school.

I'm sure Delap are proud of themselves for ticking all of those Blairite boxes of 'thinking outside the box', 'blue-sky thinking' and 'slaying old-world shibboleths that are holding us back.' It's a shame they do not realise what humungous shitehawks they are.

To those that think 'structured hydration' is a suitable replacement for break time, I have nothing further to say. At present, the world is yours, but there will come a time when ordinary people, more interested in quality than enforced 'choice' will replace your quotas with humanity, and will learn again to live full lives without your 'help'.

Brown Academies?

2007-05-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

The media have jumped on Gordon Brown's suggestions that he would "continue to support and finance" academy school as evidence that education policy will continue in the same way under a Brown government. I am not sure that follows, however.

The statement is distinctly lukewarm when compared to Tony Blair's messianic zeal for the unproven, expensive wastes of public money. After all, what is Mr Brown's alternative? To refuse to finance the schools? To withdraw all funding from them.

I'm not hugely hopeful about the direction of education under Mr Brown, but don't see his comments to The World At One as being particularly troublesome. I can even bring myself to hope that they indicate a slight change in emphasis...

No Academy For Haringey

2007-05-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Schools' Adjudicator has ruled that the new school in Haringey will be a council-run comprehensive. It beat two proposals for academy schools, and one for a trust school. More information can be found here.

The Heartsease Debate

2007-05-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently, there is to be a meeting to debate the academy to replace Heartsease High in Norwich (see last post). It should be interesting to see the results...

When You're Allowed To Bend The Rules...

2007-04-30T03:46:00.000-07:00

This article explains how Heartsease school does not fit the criteria for transformation into an academy. It is not a failing school, and there are two other schools, which better fit the criteria in the area.

However, the Christian sponsors of the school are said to have preferred the school that was doing better, which they are going to knock down. This quite clearly shows that the academy scheme is not being run for the benefit of communities or pupils, but rather to best benefit the sponsors, and to show the scheme itself to best advantage. If (according to the National Audit Office) you cannot use the scheme to get value for money in failing schools, why not try in ones that run perfectly well...

"Heartsease High does not fit the criteria set out by the government for transformation into an academy. Recent improvements in performance mean it is far from a “failing” school. In fact, the government initially earmarked the Park High at King's Lynn and Oriel High at Gorleston as perfect sites for Norfolk's first academy. But Mr Dacre and the Bishop of Norwich preferred Heartsease. Norfolk County Council was always likely to support the plan, on the basis that £2m of private money and £25m from the government was too good to turn down. There are also strong suggestions that the government has told local authorities that their ability to access millions of pounds in cash from the building schools for the future initiative, to transform high schools, is linked to how many academies they successfully promote."

Government Officer responds to NAO criticisms

2007-04-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Last month, the National Audit Office noted academies' terrible results in Maths and English, their failure to be responsive to local communities, and the fact that almost all were over-budget. Here, David Bell responds to those criticisms, as reported by The Guardian. He is 'glad' that, although they are not doing so at the moment, academies are 'on track to deliver value for money'.

Headteachers in Academies

2007-03-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

The ASCL union reports that many head teachers are losing their jobs in the new academy schools, because they do not fit the aims and ideal of the prvate sponsors.

Some people, will, no doubt see this as a welcome clearing out of the dead wood who presided over 'failing' secondary schools. Those people might also think that a market solution will obviously produce better than those who have been seen to fail.

Other of us migth not be so optimistic...

Rewriting the Rules

2007-03-03T03:51:00.000-08:00

According to yesterday's TES, the draft code for schools admissions has been altered since it was consulted on, on order to exempt Academy schools. The phrase 'admission authorities' has been changed to 'admission authorities for all maintained schools', allowing academies to argue that it does not apply to them, as they are distinct from 'maintained schools' in the document.

The fact that this has been changed since the draft version of the document was produced and consulted on by the government suggests that it was a change which was meant to go unnoticed. It also chimes in nicely with the increasingly-frantic Blairites' desire for 'permanent revolution'...I'm sorry 'irreversible reform'.

NAO criticises Academies

2007-02-26T04:51:00.000-08:00

"The National Audit Office (NAO) criticised the academies scheme for millions of pounds of cost-overruns, low exam results, poor A-level provision and a failure to collaborate with neighbouring schools." from the Norwich Evening News.

The National Audit Office, of course, is the Parliamentary body, independent from government, that sees of public policy is being administered in a way that delivers value for money.

"In a new report, the NAO said academies cost more than other schools to build and most of the projects ran over-budget by an average of £3m."

Another interesting facet is this: "The report also reveals that academies are being forced to restrict community groups from using their facilities in order to avoid VAT liability, despite the fact that academy buildings were always intended for community use."

2007-02-26T04:32:00.000-08:00

A new report from the IPPR suggests that allowing schools to pick their pupils on the basis of their parents' faith leads to their being less representative of local communities, according to The Telegraph. Needless to say, Lord Adonis has said that this will have no effect on Government policy.

US sponsors pull out

2007-02-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

US sponsors of the 'charter school' scheme in America have pulled out of negotiations on sponsoring academy schools in Great Britain, as reported in the Daily Telegraph here. The company has not been named, but it marks a blow to Mr Blair's aim to have another 400 of these schools that no one wants to sponsor.

Which is why we should. Education is too important to be left in the hands of fanatics as we stand to one side and tut. We should aim to sponsor secular, liberal, humanist schools ourselves, to engage with the government's activities (at £2 million per school, it's an absolute bargain!) rather than sighing and blogging about the perils of the academies scheme.

"Jews are monkeys, and Christians are worthless"

2007-02-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

This kind of sentiment is being taught at King Fahd School in Acton, according to former teacher there, Colin Clarke. This article outlines his allegations in more detail.

The schoolis funded by the Saudi government to teach Wahhabism (?). This shows the kinds of corrosive intolerance which pervades some religious teaching, and is a prime example of why we should not tolerate greater religious influence in state-funded academies. (King Fahd is privately-funded, although the Saudi government could, presumably, afford the £2 million to become an academy sponsor)

The new Labour government has a radical faith-based agenda, and seems to have no discriminatory faculty when it comes to faith groups or businesses. They are, by dint of being faith groups or businesses, obviously a good thing. Let's raise the money to set up our own, faithless schools, and set new standards in education.

No Steiner Academy in Hereford

2007-02-02T04:52:00.000-08:00

This report tells of Herefordshire Council's decision not to allow the conversion of the fee-paying Hereford Waldorf School into an Academy, funded by £10 million of government money:

Councillor Godfrey Davis said he couldn't see why government was giving one school "millions" to make itself an academy when the county was crying out for cash to keep village schools going.

I like the fact that it was being branded as an 'eco-academy' to try to make it sound more appealing...

ID packs for schools

2007-01-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

Slightly off-topic, but here's the Newsnight interview with Andrew McIntosh, whose 'Truth In Science' group is promoting Intelligent in schools.

2007-01-31T03:49:00.000-08:00

There is an interview in today's Guardian with Steve Chalke , who runs Oasis, the Baptist organisation that runs five academies:

'"Creationism is a load of garbage," Chalke declares. "Genesis is a poem based on a Babylonian creation myth."

Chalke insists that anyone can work for Oasis and any of its organisations. "People have to be committed to the ethos, but they don't have to be Christian," he says. "We want depth, not a label. I'm not interested in who says they are a Christian or not, but whether they are inspired by the message of Christ of inclusion and equality"'

His different vision of how academy schools should work, and how faith organisations can be involved in what have been traditionally the state's roles in service provision are interesting.

The question remains, however, as to whether or not the state should subsidise his ideas about what a school should be...

Not Schools of Choice...

2007-01-19T03:46:00.000-08:00

Here, Melissa Benn explains why academies are not always schools of choice. She highlights the case of Labour MP Karen Buck, who removed her child from an Academy to go to the local comprehensive.

"As long as some schools are allowed to engineer favourable intakes for themselves - be they private, grammar or faith schools - and then build on that advantage, those will be seen to be the successful schools"

Vardy's Untruths...

2006-12-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Peter Vardy here says: "It is emphatically not a fundamentalist school, and welcomes pupils and staff of all faiths, and none."

And here he says: "We do hire Christian headteachers. As all our schools have a strong Christian ethos it would be difficult to see how we could operate with a principle of a different faith."

I wonder which one we should believe...

With Friends Like These...

2006-12-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

Des Smith, a Catholic headmaster caught up in the cash-for-peerages scandal, has called for Tony Blair to be treated in the same way that he was, as is reported here.

Whilst he might be more than entitled to think that "a cosy chat with Tony Blair at Chequers simply will not do," and in an entirely fair world his statement that "My experience was dehumanising and designed to reduce me to bare essentials. The Prime Minister must be treated in the same way." would be a reasonable guide to action that should be taken, one cannot help but wonder what sorts of people the Government thought they were dealing with.

After all, if you're going to give special privileges to faith groups, and do your best to promote a radical faith agenda, you would hope that those who benefit most from it would not call for your being treated in a dehumanising way, designed to reduce you to bare essentials. Whatever that might mean...

PS - It's also notable that rather than calling for a revision of police procedures, so that other people avoided the treatment he got, Des' main concern is to ensure that everyone else gets screwed as royally as him. That is Christianity in action.

No More Faith Schools, Say Headteachers

2006-12-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

In contrast with the article below, this one, which appeared in the same newspaper on the same day, comes to the opposite conclusions.

Only 9% of headteachers agree with the Prime Minister that there should be more faith schools. One wonders why this did not interest Martin Wainwright as much as the talk of 'lizards' and the opening of doors at King's.

In An Ideal World...

2006-12-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

This is a fawning, uncritical portrait of Peter Vardy by Martin Wainwright, the Guardian's Northern editor. Every serious question is elided or dodged, and the article is not comprehensive enough to provide any real security of mind. Naturally, the fundamental questions about whether a religious school should receive state funding are not even addressed.

*Edit* And let's not forget this: "Last year, as part of a wider investigation, the Guardian revealed that the number of children eligible for free school meals at Kings, the standard indicator of deprivation, had dropped by more than 100 compared with the school it replaced, leading to renewed claims that it was cherry-picking pupils who were easier to teach."

What It Looks Like From Over There

2006-12-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here is an interview with Sir Peter Vardy. I give it to you without comment...

Irreversible Reform

2006-12-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

That's the Prime Minister's aim. This article asks: Is irreversible reform sensible?

Faithless City Technical Colleges?

2006-10-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a good history of Keneth Baker's failed City Technical Colleges programmeof the late 1980s. Some may spot similarities with another controversial policy...

Summary of the Legal Implications to Challenging Academies

2006-08-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

A BBC News article looks at the implications of the legal challenges to Academy schools, and for some of the reasons behind them.

A Parent is Launching a Legal Challenge to Academies

2006-08-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

Parent Rob McDonald, from Tamworth is disputing his council's right to create an academy school in the courts.

Academies (amongst other things) can increase racial divisions

2006-06-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

The CRE has expressed concerns about evidence suggests that the government's educational 'reforms' will lead to an increase in racial and religious segregation. CRE Policy Chief Nick Johnson told the Educational and Skills Committe that giving parents greater choice led to them 'banding together', thus leading children to their being exposed to less diversity.

And so it goes on...

2006-05-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

According to this article in the Yorkshire Post ministers have ignored their own guidelines to push the Academy Schools through. I'm not sure it needs any more comment...

A Trinity of Horror Stories

2006-05-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

This article relates some of the more absurd occurrences at Sir Peter Vardy's Trinity School in Doncaster. These include:

A student being excluded for wearing the wrong trousers.

A student being excluded for walking the wrong way down a corridor.

A student permanently expelled for smoking.

In all, 148 students have been suspended this year. I, myself, went to a fairly disciplinarian school, and the difference with Academy schools seems to be that they appear to be excluding students (who in the past would have got detentions) in an attempt to bolster their results. Unsuccessfully, as can be seen in the post below.

Another intersting element to the article, was this:

"Last year, as part of a wider investigation, the Guardian revealed that the number of children eligible for free school meals at Kings, the standard indicator of deprivation, had dropped by more than 100 compared with the school it replaced, leading to renewed claims that it was cherry-picking pupils who were easier to teach."

I had missed this before, and will try to follow it up soon.

Students do not do better at Academy schools...

2006-05-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

As if the venality and corruption associated with them were not enough, as if the sale of education to private interests were not enough, now we find out that they do nothing he help students achieve better grades. Can there possibly be any justification for them now?

The Rise of Creationism

2006-05-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

This Guardian article looks at the recent rise of creationism in Britain, and puts it in a world wide conrext, as well as talking to some of those responsible.

"Of course, some fossils are older than others, but there are none that predate the first major catastrophe - which was the great flood that took place about 4,500 years ago." That there are people, trained ass geologists, in the world who believe this and are doingtheir best rto make others believe it is one of the reasons why we must start building academy schools of our own. They aren't oging to stop until they are forced to. Let's show them that our ideas are more appealing than theirs...

So, who can sponsor a school?

2006-04-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

According to the government, anyone can. Despite Ruth Kelly's claims that only 'appropriate organisations' could, the government's guidance now suggests that anyone except gamblers and pornographers can. This shows quite how much this government views the acquisition of wealth to represent moral good.

It does, however, bode well for our project. Simply wishing to start secular, humanist schools, then, there can be no objection in terms of the suitability of the sponsors. It will be interesting to see what will happen when the Jedi and the Wiccans get their acts together. Shame there are no evangelical Satanist car dealers to really shake things up a bit...

In Praise of Corruption

2006-04-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Tony Blair offered this explanation for the cash for honours crisis in the academies system yesterday: "I think if someone gives £2m of their own money, time, effort, energy, years of hard work - isn't that something we should be saying 'that's a great thing that they have done'?"

Let us note that he does not specify what they should be doing in order for them to gain our praise. Drug dealers pulling off a major deal, celebrities having their own houses built, Roman Abramovich - all of these fulfil the criteria he sets out. How you give £2 million of your own time I do not know. Or £2 million of your energy - presumably you'd get a special tarriff from your electicity provider if you were spending that much...

Wonderfully, Tony has given us the perfect rationale for bribing the government: "Look, if someone goes to the effort of buying a minister a house, thereby saving the public purse that cost, takes them on holiday, maybe pays their kids' school fees - shouldn't we be celebrating that, not condemning it? The problem with Britain is that we are so hidebound by our disinclination for 'corruption'. My new, reformed 'morality..."

Too Optimistic?

2006-04-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

This article is rather optimistic in its assessment of the academy scheme crumbling. However, it does point out that of the first 100 academy schools, a third will have faith sponsors.

As it points out, the only people who will be deterred from investing in academy schools as a result of the adverse publicity of the last week, will be those who had truly philanthropic motives, and do not want to be tarred with the brush of corruption. Thoxse who do not care will still be happy to buy schools and peerages.

'As Chris Waterman, executive director of the Confederation of Children's Services managers, puts it: "you pay 10% of the purchase price to buy the freehold of an academy but you get a trust for nothing; that is not selling but giving away the family silver".'

Why Do We Want Faith Schools?

2006-04-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

This is a good article from Peter Wilby about our assumptions about faith schools, and the impact religion has upon people. Particular highlights are:

"As I have argued here before, religion has a magnificent record of inspiring art, architecture, music, literature and even scientific inquiry. It has completely failed to improve human behaviour. Rather, it tends to persuade people that, provided they are believers, they can get away with anything.

"This may explain why several Christian sponsors of city academies come from what most of us would regard (without implying any actual dishonesty) as slightly dodgy occupations. At least two are car dealers, hardly a trade noted for its ethical standards."

and:

"Likewise, today’s parents rationally calculate that they should at least have their children christened and send an occasional donation for the church roof, stepping up their commitment according to the state of local schools as the child approaches 11.

"No wonder the churches are so keen to sponsor schools. It is by far the most effective form of promotion they have."

La La La! Lord Adonis Can't Hear You

2006-04-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

The unlelected Education Minister Lord Adonis yesterday gave a typically Blairite defense of the city academies scheme. It seems staggering in the 21st century that Tony Blair could ennoble on of his advisers and appoint them to being a minister for education, and yet what is more staggering is the way in which the Blairite faction are incapable of seeing any errors in their way of thinking.

Lord Adonis said: "I have had nothing but statements of support this week" (he has obviously not read any of the newspapers or read any polls); "It would be absolutely wrong for us to slow down now." (simply a patent untruth - caution and evaluation of success are never 'absolutely wrong); he insisted that nothing improper had taken place (the fact that he can see what we know went on as 'proper' shows the extent to which the Blair government is steeped in venality and corruption).

To Evangelise or Not To Evangelise...

2006-04-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

It is reasonable to believe Mr Eric Payne when he says: "Some recent media reporting and TV programmes seem to have had a preconditioned agenda seeking to mock and destroy the evangelical arm of the Church. Linking this to certain academies was both misleading and invalid.

"Academies are required to have a clear ethos. Whilst the new academy will operate within a framework of Christian values it is not there to evangelise or indoctrinate."

He admits to being an evangelical Christian, the basis of whose Charisrtianity is evangelising. They have a duty to spread the good news, and yet he claims that an institution he is sponsoring, which will have 'Christian' values will not attempt to evangelise.

Mr Payne is either not doing his duty to his God, or to the children in his care, much as he might like to have it both ways.

Also, is it 'misleading and invalid' to link evangelical groups to city academies when they are the sponsors of city academies?

He goes on to claim that: "Amongst others, teachers, local employers and the community will benefit." This is despite the fact that the teachers will not have any of the same protections under law that their colleagues in the state sector do.

Another One Bites The Dust

2006-04-22T03:22:00.000-07:00

Andrew Rosenfield of Minerva donated £2.5 million to the city academies programme, lent the Labour Party £1 million in secret, his predecessor lent the Labour Party £2.3 million, months before they secured planning permission for a £500 million shopping centre in Croydon. Mr Rosenfield has now had to resign as it becomes clear that he may be questioned by the police.

The End of Comprehensive Education

2006-04-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

This article by Melissa Benn and Fiona Millar is a good summary of the ways in which the Education Bill is an outright attack on comprehensive education. It gives interesting depth to the arguments about pupils being forced to choose an academic or vocational path at 14.

Jamie Oliver would be proud...

2006-04-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

Steve Sinnott here proves that almost any argument can be made to revolve around Turkey Twizzlers...

One step forward...

2006-04-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

This is all the information I have at the moment about the NUT's decision to support the existence of faith schools. It seems odd, as it comes at a time when everyone else's faith in them is waning...

Academies Represent the Venality of Blairism

2006-04-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

This is Jonathan Freedland's perceptive article about how the flaws in the ways the city academies scheme were devised and implemented are natural reults of Blairism. I would say that this is true of all of his public service reforms: the denigration of the professional and the promotion of a mythical choice; the adoption of market mechanisms over common wealth; these are all symptomatic of Blair's ideological rabidity.

It can be done!

2006-04-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

This article contains a reference to Northcliffe School, near Doncaster. At this school parents exercised their choice to prevent the school becoming an academy sposored by the Emmanual Schools Foundation (Peter Vardy's organisation). 90% of response during a consultation was unfavourable. Is this model sustainable across the country?

Education, Education, Incarceration

2006-04-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Des Smith, one of the designers of the City Academy policy, was arrested last Thursday. He is being held as part of the investigation into the sale of honours. Mr Smith was a part of the body which recruited sponsors for academy schools. Eight sponsors who made gifts have since received honours from the Labour government. It is satisfying yet unsurprising that one of our most venal policies in a long time, the sale of our children's futurem should have been implemented by someone who was open about the buying of power. However, suggestions that the buying of honours is any more corrupt that the buying of the curriculum are laughable. Fortunately, it is more prosecutable...

Link to the story.

Worrying Implications for the National Curriculum

2006-04-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

This article from the Socialist Worker (yes, I know!) draws attention to an aspect of the new Schools Bill which has, up until now, been almost completely ignored. Whilst this site's real concern is the setting up of divisive faith academies, the requirement for 14-year olds to be separated into two curricula, one for the 'academic' students, and one for the 'vocational' students is no less worrying.

Christian Group Opposes Faith Schools

2006-04-17T06:01:00.000-07:00

Christian group Ekklesia also opposes faith schools, on the grounds that "faith should be a free choice, not one imposed on others through a ‘Christendom’ style deal between religious and political leaders." This article explains their position in more depth...

"The Church of England’s education supreme also appeared to attack what he deemed the “French secular system” of teaching about religion but not teaching religion itself.

But the ‘phenomenological approach’, which seeks to get pupils to understand the lives of believing and non-believing life stances without proselytising is well rooted in British educational theory, and widely accepted as a way of informing about religion without pushing for or against it.

Teaching religious faith is a matter for faith communities, not state schools which are there for all irrespective of creed or background, argue opponents of faith-based systems in the state sector.

But Canon Hall argues that faith schools enable “people in faith communities to grow in self-respect and understanding, and therefore to grow in respect for others.”

“The Church of England is defending its entrenched interests in a way which may be in danger of legitimating more extreme religious groups, sidestepping arguments about fairness and reducing Anglicanism to a semi-imposed civic religion," commented Ekklesia’s co-director, Simon Barrow.

Last year the Roman Catholic Cardinal for England and Wales and a senior Anglican bishop both admitted to qualms about Christian children going to a Muslim school, undermining the argument that faith schools are neutral. "

'Most' Pupils Will Be Accepted...

2006-03-28T02:09:00.000-08:00

This information, originally taken from the DfES website tells us the following:

"Will pupils from a school replaced by an Academy be guaranteed a place there?
We expect most pupils at schools replaced by Academies to have the option of transferring to the Academy."

The answer, then is 'no'. Not all pupils will automatically be guaranteed a place when their school is replaced by an Academy schoool. One might wonder, why not? And, where are these pupils (who used to attend the school, and have not been excluded) meant to go?

More Encouraging Words From The Moderate Wing Of The Church

2006-03-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

In this article we learn that the head of the Scottich Episcopalian Church, Rev Bruce Cameron, agrees with Dr Rowan Williams. The Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church in Scotland also support this position.

An intriguing addition to Dr Williams' comments was that he said: "It's not the same as saying Darwinism is the only thing that ought to be taught. My worry is creationism can end up reducing the doctrine of creation, rather than enhancing it." and I am not sure what that means. Is he suggesting that intelligent design be taught? How does one reduce the doctrine of creation?

Now all we have to do is to convince these people that the issue is so important that it should not be left in the hands of private interests. Peter Vardy will always want to teach Creationism, it will always be damaging to children to whom it is taught. Should we be not only allowing but encouraging this?

Let's finish with the surprisingly sane words of Father Michael McMahon, a Catholic scholar in Scotland: "The Hebrews, the people who composed the Book of Genesis, didn't believe it was first-hand reportage, that there was someone peering behind the trees writing it all down. The book is a literary thesis about the creativeness of the world, not a description of the scientific process by which the world was created.

"You don't read Genesis as you do a science book. To do that is to reduce what it is trying to do, which is explain the relationship between human beings, one to another and those to God."

Could The Archbishop of Canterbury Be A Secret Fathless Academies Supporter?

2006-03-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

In this article Dr Rowan Williams argues that Creationism is a 'category mistake', and that it should not be taught in any schools. However, he supports Muslim faith schools as being a potential force for 'normalising' Islam in society.

This is an odd statement, although it does suggest that Dr Williams has signed up to the notion that "all faith is good faith, especially when it's moderate and liberal like mine", which seems to be the thrust of modern government thinking. He fails to recognise that teaching in Muslim schools could be just as backward and destructive as that of Creationism.

*sigh*

Birmingham's Three Academies

2006-03-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

This article nicely highlights the problems with the three city academies set up by Peter Vardy in Birmingham. It raises the interesting issue of how separate and religiously-charged schooling has exacerbated Northern Ireland's problems.

"This is a progressive Bill. A reforming Bill. A Labour Bill."

2006-03-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Ruth Kelly said that, and it is typical of the Orwellian double-speak employed by the Labour party as soon as it is about to sell off anpther piece of the country's heritage to the private sector. It may help us to examine it in a little more detail:-

THIS IS A PROGRESSIVE BILL - This Bill will enable the taxpayer to foot most of the bill for schools which will be teaching Creationism. This is not a progressive bill.

THIS IS A REFORMING BILL - This takes control of schools out of the hands of LEAs, and puts it into the hands of private companies, individuals and faith groups. To take power from local communties, and sell it (at the bargain price of £2 million per school) to private interests. This may well be a reform, but it is a reform back to the nineteenth century. We saw much the same thing when Tony Blair abolished hereditary peers, thereby 'reforming' the House of Lords back to the 1280s. This is not a reforming bill.

THIS IS A LABOUR BILL - This is a bill which would be rejected by any Labour party conference, and one for which around 15% of all Labour MPs couldn't bring themselves to vote. It is utterly out of step with the traditions and heritage of the Labour Party. This is not a Labour bill.

Give cash and help set up our first Faithless Academy!

2006-03-08T06:19:00.000-08:00

Peter Vardy has lots of money. Peter Vardy can start lots of schools.

We have very little money, enough to start no schools yet. However, as you can see, there is now a lovely button on the right hand side of the screen, allowing you to give as much or as little as you like to the cause of promoting inclusive, evidence-based education.

Hooray!

BHA Press Release

2006-03-08T05:28:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of the BHA press release, which explains humanist arguments against publicly-funded faith academies. It also points out that many academies may have higher grades at GCSE because they have much higher levels of exclusion (expulsion).

However, where I differ from the BHA on this is that they do not think that there is any need to build separate, humanist, secular schools, and they say on thbeir website that that is just as bad as building faith schools. I do not think that building schools dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge rather than dogma is, in itself, a provocative act. In fact, I think it is entirely reasonable that atheists and secular humanists use legislation that is being used to promote religious interests to promote their own views.

We live in an age which refuses to distinguish between beliefs. Apparently, they are all equally valid, despite the fact that if some of them are true then the others cannot be. I suggest that we take advantage of this climate to advance our lack of beliefs as single-mindedly as any Creationist or fundamentalist Muslim.

Norwich doesn't want faith academies...

2006-03-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

This is a story about opposition to faith academies in Norwich. Surely an important element of choice is allowing a local community to choose none of the government's favoured options?

The myth of 'choice' is one that has been utterly embraced by a Labour government, but it is a myth, especially in transport, education and healthcare. We do not need to choose which operations we should have, nor are we equipped to best make those choices. Hospital league tables will not provide us with that information. We train doctors for a decade to make those choices for us.

The same applies in education. Not all education is equal, and, in the past, we have entrusted teachers and educators to make choices about how best to provide education ansd of what it should consist. The right of a parent to choose poor, faith-based education is not, and should not be more important that the right of a child to be educated well.

The point of comprehensives

2006-03-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Peter Wilby's article on the ideological underpinnings of comprehensive schools are a good idea of why they are such a sacred cow for so many. The purpose of education in promoting an inclusive and tolerant society is well-covered, as is the divisive nature of academiy schools.

The History of 'Academy' Schools

2006-03-02T04:45:00.000-08:00

Simon Jenkins here discusses the history of academy schools, showing that the Tories tried and failed to introduce them at many points during the 1980s. It is interesting to ask what the difference between these new schools and the grant-maintained schools Labour was so keen to close in 1997 is.

This has been a bad idea for the last 20 years, but it looks as though it will become law. We must raise funds for secular academies, and schools in which business interests are not in control of the curriculum.

2006-02-23T04:30:00.000-08:00

"There will be a widespread welcome for today's announcement by the main religious organisations that children in faith schools should, as a matter of course, be taught about all the major faiths.

This confirmation that a broad religious education should take place within all faith schools demonstrates their explicit commitment to promoting inclusion and tolerance which have never been more important in our society." Ruth Kelly, 22nd February, 2006

The key word here, of course, is 'should'. Whereas, in the past, we have sen it as right and fitting to impose restrictions on schools to assure that certain provisions were provided (such as the national curriculum), we now are preparing to replace 'must' with 'should'.

This is especially worrying when it comes to the teaching of religion, as the way in which it is taught is obviously a fundamental concern for everyone in the 21st century. Why does teaching more and more about a wider range of irrational beliefs (perhaps only with the aim of promoting one of them above the others) strike us as an example of a 'commitment to promoting inclusion and tolerance', when, if followed to its extreme, it is quite the reverse.

"A strong ethos is important to raising standards in any school, regardless of whether that ethos is faith based or not." Ruth Kelly, 22nd February

So, presumably, non-faith schools are just as good at educating childen, and better at not having them turn into religious fanatics. Would it not be best to try and create more secular schools, then?

"That ethos, of course, must reflect the values and goals of their community in which these schools are based."

Must it? What if the values and goals of a local community directly conflict with those of society as a whole? I went to school in Caterham in Surrey, should my school have promoted a sense of privilege, conspicuous consumption and casual racism? It did, but should it? And should it have been designed to?

This is not to say that local communities do not have local needs, but that too much emphasis on them is a step back for education, a move towards a more American system, in which intelligent design can be taught in publicly-funded schools. Some beliefs are just wrong, and, if one has the misfortune to grow up in an area where many peopel hold those beliefs, why should we compound them by rteinforcing them at school. School should be a place to go to get away from the demand of the local community, not to have the conformity it demands enforced on one in a place of learning as well.