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· Professor Linda Woodhead Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion

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Total reach: 11,398,767 Professor Linda Woodhead (PPR) was interviewed extensively on 22nd July about the pamphlet she published with Charles Clarke calling for reform of religious education in schools. She appeared on the following radio stations:

• BBC Radio Bristol - listen again here from 2:09:12 • BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire - listen again here from 2:24:58 • BBC Radio Gloucestershire - listen again here from 2:17:00 • BBC Radio Humberside - listen again here from 1:17:48 • BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester - listen again here from 57:25 • BBC Radio Lancashire - listen again here from 1:24:24 • BBC Radio Kent - listen again here from 1:30:51 • BBC Radio Northampton - listen again here from 2:53:18 • BBC Radio Sheffield - listen again here from 1:39:00 • BBC Radio Shropshire - listen again here from 39:44 • BBC Radio Stoke - listen again here from 1:44:42 • BBC Radio Surrey/Sussex - listen again here from 2:38:12 • BBC Radio Wiltshire - listen again here from 1:46:20

station reach: 75,000 station reach: 61,000 station reach: 68,000 station reach: 74,000

station reach: 54,000 station reach: 31,000 station reach: 51,000 station reach: 73,000

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Professor Linda Woodhead (PPR) was interviewed for LBC on 9th June about a report co-authored with Charles Clarke about taking children out of RE classes. On 10th June, Charles Clarke appeared on BBC Radio 4's Sunday Programme to discuss the same topic, mentioning Professor Woodhead by name during the interview.

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Religious education ''vital for diversity''

Religious education is more vital than ever in an increasingly diverse society and needs a higher status, says former home secretary Charles Clarke.

Mr Clarke is co-author of a report calling for better religious education in school and a widening of the subject to include "beliefs and values".

The report argues that assemblies should no longer be expected to have a "broadly Christian" character.

Mr Clarke says understanding other faiths builds more "tolerant" views.

The report, co-authored by Prof Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University, says the place of religion in schools in England and Wales is still shaped by legislation from the 1940s, despite "enormous change in the religious and cultural landscape".

'Learning to talk'

"Our society has become massively more diverse," says Mr Clarke, a former Labour education secretary, in a report supported by the Economic and Social Research Council.

As well as those not identifying with any religious group, there are many more "different religions and ranges of belief within religion", he says.

"We are becoming more diverse, more individual. That's a good thing, but children growing up need to understand that society and be able to interpret it," says Mr Clarke.

The idea that religion would eventually be "discarded as irrelevant" has proved to be mistaken, he says.

Prof Woodhead says understanding about religions such as Islam, Hinduism or Judaism should be part of everyday life.

"These are children in your classroom or your neighbours, we're all part of the same society and we have to learn to talk to each other more intelligently," she says.

But the report argues the place of religious education in school needs to be updated and strengthened to stop a decline which has seen it treated as a "second-class subject".

It calls for a national syllabus that would be taught in all state schools and that it should be known as "religion, belief and values".

Act of worship

The report argues in favour of keeping a daily "act of collective worship" but that it should no longer be expected to be of a Christian character, but could reflect the "values and ethos" of the school.

The study says faith schools should continue and that parents should be able to choose to send their children to

Client: University of Lancaster Yellow News Reach: 1916376 Source: BBC (Web) Size: 0 Date: 17/07/2018 Value: 51439.0000 schools of their own religion.

Mr Clarke argues that, rather than driving segregation, good quality religious education can protect against extreme interpretations of beliefs that can be "divisive and dangerous".

"The best defence against that is to have children who are well-educated, well-informed and understanding about religions in our society," he says.

"Teaching about religious education generally builds a more tolerant society, a stronger society, a more resilient society to deal with the pressures that can otherwise lead to segregation in communities up and down the country."

'Disappointment'

But the proposed way of reforming the subject has been opposed by the Catholic Education Service.

The Bishop of Leeds, Marcus Stock, said it would not be acceptable for the state to "dictate what the church is required to teach in Catholic schools".

He said there needed to be a choice for schools in whether religion should be taught as a theological rather than "sociological" subject.

The National Secular Society rejected the proposals as "a real disappointment".

"The proposals represent baby steps in the right direction, but the report generally appears to be an admission that necessary reforms are not possible without the approval of religious bodies.

"That is a worrying state of affairs for a modern education system," said the group which campaigns for a separation of religion and state.

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Source URL: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/07/17/parents-should-not-allowed-opt-children-re-classes-former-education/

Education Parents should not be allowed to opt children out of RE classes, former Education Secretary says

By Camilla Turner, Education Editor 17 Jul 2018 17:38:23

Parents should not be allowed to opt their children out of Religious Education (RE) classes, the former Education Secretary has said.

In a new policy pamphlet, Mr Clarke, alongside Lancaster University professor Linda Woodhead, calls for RE to be treated as a “normal academic subject” like History and English.

Mr Clarke, who also served as Home Secretary under Tony Blair, argues that the laws governing religion in schools are 75 years out of date.

“The current legal relationship between religion, belief and schools is outdated in such a way that the law itself has become a barrier to schools’ ability to help their children understand their own situation and the world in which they are growing up,” he said.

“What’s urgently needed…is an urgent reform of the law that underpins the way religion is handled in schools.” Mr Clarke’s report, published by Westminster Faith Debates, said that the parental opt-out for RE lessons is “anachronistic” and harks back to a time when the classes were treated as confessional “Religious Instruction”.

“The right of withdrawal should be removed altogether once a national syllabus is established which secures the proper place of RE as a professional subject on the same basis as all others,” the report said.

The report also argues that RE should be renamed as “Religion, Belief and Values” to recognise the fact that the majority of people in England now say they have no religion.

The National Secular society said the ideas represent “baby steps in the right direction” but added that the report “generally appears to be an admission that necessary reforms are not possible without the approval of religious bodies”.

The Catholic Church said that while there is a need to improve RE in schools, the report's suggestions are "unacceptable".

The Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and lead bishop for Religious Education, said: “Catholic schools are the most successful providers of Religious Education in the country. This is because we take it seriously as a rigorous, theological academic subject.

"However, rather than look at the sector that does it the best they have opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals.”

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Mr Clarke argues that the laws governing religion in schools are 75 years out of date PA Former Education Secretary Charles Clarke

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NEWS Teachers force schools to stop ignoring religious education

Kaya Burgess, Religious Affairs Correspondent

18 Jul 2018 00:01:00

Religious Education teachers are trying to force schools to teach the subject by complaining to the education secretary about those that flout the law by not doing so.

A group representing RE teachers has successfully forced one school to offer religious studies at GCSE and said yesterday that it is considering further action against schools that offer no lessons on faith.

Their threat came as a former cabinet minister published a report calling for an overhaul in the way that children are taught about religion and belief. The legal obligation for state schools to provide a daily act of Christian worship should be dropped, according to Charles Clarke, the former education secretary.

Schools should instead be allowed to decide what form of worship “reflects the diversity and character” of their pupils and should be able to hold assemblies with no religious elements if they prefer, according to a report written by Mr Clarke and Linda Woodhead, a professor in the politics, philosophy and religion department at Lancaster University.

The report adds that schools should not be allowed to ignore their legal duty to provide RE lessons. Figures show that a quarter of state schools provide no teaching at all on the subject, rising to more than a third of academies. The report calls for a nationally agreed curriculum to be introduced for RE and for an end to the freedom granted to parents to remove their children from classes. The authors said the subject should be renamed “religion, belief and values”.

The Catholic Church described the report’s recommendations as “unacceptable” yesterday, remarking that the state should not be able to impose a national RE curriculum, which would “dictate what the church is required to teach in Catholic schools”.

The National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) has already taken its own action. It complained to the headmaster of an unnamed state school in the south of England over its failure to provide RE lessons and then to the school’s governors. When their appeal was turned down, they used the government’s official process to lodge a complaint with the education secretary last year. A spokeswoman for NATRE said that the Department for Education ruled that the school needed to alter its syllabus to comply with its duty to provide RE lessons and said the school now provided a GCSE in Religious Studies.

She said that NATRE is considering the same action against academy schools and said the group has advised regional religious education “advisory groups” to complain to the education secretary about poor provision.

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Russia denies promoting Macedonia protests over name deal

Mr Clarke argues that the laws governing religion in schools are 75 years out of date - PAMore Parents should not be allowed to opt their children out of Religious Education (RE) classes, the former Education Secretary has said.

In a new policy pamphlet, Mr Clarke, alongside Lancaster University professor Linda Woodhead, calls for RE to be treated as a "normal academic subject" like History and English.

Mr Clarke, who also served as Home Secretary under Tony Blair, argues that the laws governing religion in schools are 75 years out of date.

"The current legal relationship between religion, belief and schools is outdated in such a way that the law itself has become a barrier to schools' ability to help their children understand their own situation and the world in which they are growing up," he said.

"What's urgently needed…is an urgent reform of the law that underpins the way religion is handled in schools." Mr Clarke's report, published by Westminster Faith Debates, said that the parental opt-out for RE lessons is "anachronistic" and harks back to a time when the classes were treated as confessional "Religious Instruction".

"The right of withdrawal should be removed altogether once a national syllabus is established which secures the proper place of RE as a professional subject on the same basis as all others," the report said.

The report also argues that RE should be renamed as "Religion, Belief and Values" to recognise the fact that the majority of people in England now say they have no religion. MoreThe National Secular society said the ideas represent "baby steps in the right direction" but added that the report "generally appears to be an admission that necessary reforms are not possible without the approval of religious bodies".

The Catholic Church said that while there is a need to improve RE in schools, the report's suggestions are "unacceptable".

The Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and lead bishop for Religious Education, said: "Catholic schools are the most successful providers of Religious Education in the country. This is because we take it seriously as a rigorous, theological academic subject.

"However, rather than look at the sector that does it the best they have opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals."

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Coverage is reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the +44 (0)20 7264 4700 printing of digital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, [email protected] http://www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. www.KantarMedia.com 19th July 2018 | Reach: 1,944,228 | Read the article here In a new pamphlet, Charles Clarke, a former education secretary and home secretary, and Linda Woodhead, a sociologist of religion, suggest a long overdue cleanup of this mess. "Religious education" would be replaced by "religion, beliefs and values", compulsory in all schools up to the sixth form. It would include humanism as a belief system. Faith schools would add to the subject according to their own beliefs, but the core of the curriculum would be compulsory in all state-funded schools. Its content would be set by a panel of experts representing humanism as well as recognised faiths, but chosen for educational expertise rather than as champions of their own viewpoints.

The ultimate aim would be to help pupils recognise and reflect on their own values so that they can see what they have in common with others. Values are difficult to examine because they are expressed implicitly in what we do, and then justifiedexplicitly by the st01ies we tell and the rhetoric we use. One of the purposes of education in religions, beliefs, and values, is to recognise the differentforms of understanding represented by other religions and belief systems in order better to understand our own. Another is to understand strangers for their own sake. It is not enough to teach religion as a kind of anthropology. The ultimate purpose must be a much deeper sympathy within and between communities. Genuine and irreconcilable differenceswill sometimes emerge. On some matters, such as equality and diversity, there is only limited compromise possible with certain religious interpretations. But such disagreements are less damaging when they are out in the open. The essential thing is to grasp that beliefs and values hold together every community and every human life. They have to be lived before they can be discussed. In a diverse and multi faith country, schools need to become places where values are both lived and examined. A reformed education in belief is an essential part of that process.

In fact, the British public's attitudes to all matters spiritual are a bit confused, to judge by an opinion poll on a slightly different topic, published this week by Theos, a religious think-tank. Nearly half (47%) the respondents agreed that the world would be a more peaceful place if nobody was religious. But a clear majority (6r%) also agreed that "the teachings of religions are essentially peaceful". Perhaps some education is needed to clarify people's thinking.

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Reeling from the recent visit by local authorities more fundingif they She wants Ofsted,the education Keepingfaith Donald Trump, the disrupter-in-chief, work with religious organisationsto watchdog, to be given powers to vet a Europeans seemed to take comfort in start new schools. This new tranche of school's approach to community with inclusive remembering the Obamas. Pictures of schools would be permitted to select cohesion. After conductinga study of Michelle Obama dancing at Jay-Z's 100 per cent of their pupils according faith school admissions in Leicester, a Britishschools Paris show went viral. And in the to faith.Since 2010, freeschools set up multi-ethniccity, she also fears a push wonkier cornersof British politics, by religious bodies have been allowed towards religious extremes:"Some of thoughtsturned to her 2015 visit to to select half their students body by these faith schools use their complex Mulberry school, a state school for faith, which Church of England and admissions criteria to choose themost girlsin east London. Catholic schools may also do if they conservative versions.It's a real worry, Aftera rousing speech, the African are over-subscribed. Mr Hinds has because withinreligions there is a American first lady was pictured now abandoned his originalplan to lift varietyof interpretations and hugging and laughingwith crowds of this 50 per cent cap, under pressure observance." pupils: some white, some black, and fromsupporters of integrated Liz Kendall, Labour MP for many Muslim, glowing under her gaze educationand to the dismay of the Leicester West, warns: "The in their uniform-compliant hijabs. For Catholic church. increasing number of faith schools a capital that is proud of its diversity, But MPs and policy expertsare still could put that sense of community we the imageremains a symbolof concernedabout a driftto religious have worked so hard on locally at risk inclusion. and ethnic segregation. You wouldn't unless we havethe right rules and But it would be foolish to believe invent state sector faitheducation regulations."She tells me that primary thatevery UK school is doing as good now, says one, but the UK's history of school was her first- and formative - a job as Mulberry at blending the church schools means they cannot be contact with people froma varietyof hopes of such a diverse student body denied to other religious groups. backgrounds. with an emphasis on shared British Educating children together was Prof Woodhead has challenged the values. Last week a formereducation seen as so importantto cohesion in Church of Englandto abandon faith minister metaphorically raised his NorthernIreland that it was written based admissions to its 4,800 state Notebook voice in what is oftena whispered into the Good Friday Agreement. So fundedschools. It could then, she by MirandaGreen conversation about whether the why are we so relaxed about separate argues,re-establish their role as an school system is helping or hindering schooling in England and Wales at a ethical influence across society, not social cohesion. The pamphlet by time when headteachers are being just a way forchurchgoing families to Charles Clarke, secretary of state for giventraining on how to spot the get into academically good schools educationunder TonyBlair, argued futureterrorists among pupils who are without going private: "pray or pay" for a broad revamp of religious alienated fromBritish society? as thesaying goes. education in publicly funded schools Linda Woodhead of Lancaster Teachers already complain of being and more scrutinyof institutions run university,and Mr Clarke's co-author, asked to solve society'sproblems; they according to the �elief system of one accuses politiciansof doublethink: cannot. But the Anglican bishops, who religion - so-called faith schools. "They are kind of complacent about run about one-third of all state His interventionis contentious. In these cultural issues, thinking'OK schools in England and Wales, could the rush to provide more school sch�ls are a market, let it findits own make a start. places, Damian Hinds, the current level' and then there is a panic about education secretary,has promised integration:' [email protected]

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Parents shouldn''t be allowed to remove kids from RE, report recommends

A report released today on religion and belief in schools has been praised by Rev Stephen Terry from the education group Accord Coalition but criticised by the Catholic Church.

It includes various recommendations such as parent's right to remove children from RE being abolished. Charles Clarke, former Secretary of State for education, and Linda Woodhead, Professor of Religion at Lancaster University, wrote the report. They say: "The last 25-years have witnessed some of the most significant shifts in religious belief and practice since the Reformation", citing how "churches' religious monopoly has been lost" and how other faiths have grown in prominence." Generally, the report concludes that Religious Education has been treated as less important, has not kept up to date with a changing society and it makes several recommendations: - Enforced collective worship should be abolished and inclusion should be left up to governors - There should be a national syllabus of RE and not so much differentiation between schools because of locality - Parents shouldn't be allowed to remove their children from RE - Faith schools should still be allowed to prioritise children of faith in their admissions procedures but requirements for teachers and other students should be fair and 'kept under review' Speaking to Premier, Rev Stephen Terry from the education group Accord Coalition, supported most of the report's proposals: "They make some very strong recommendations concerning the curriculum and other recommendations regarding collective worship and places of faiths schools which also need to be considered quite seriously." He explained that RE currently still reflects the times of World War Two, when the first real Education Act was written. "Things have changed a bit in this country since then, whereas in 1944 the majority belief in the country was overwhelming Christian, these days we live in a much more diverse and multi-cultural society" "Our education legislation in general and legislation around the teaching of RE in schools and the acts of collective worship haven't kept pace." Terry said the proposal to change the name of the subject to 'Religion, Beliefs and Values'is "a first class idea because it includes the three elements I would wish to see in any teaching of RE" "The children who come out of school where this has not been given its proper emphasis are going to be coming out less well-equipped to cope with the demands and expectations of modern British society". The Catholic Church however, say that the recommendations are unacceptable'. Bishop Marcus Stock, the Bishop of Leeds for the Catholic Church, explained their reasons: "Firstly, that the State can impose a national RE curriculum, which would dictate what the Church is required to teach in Catholic schools. "Secondly, the curriculum they suggest contains no theological content, which is at the core of Catholic RE." He added: "We accept there is a need to improve RE in all schools and Catholic teachers and academics have been actively contributing to this discussion, producing suggestions that would work within the plurality in our country's schools sector, allowing for all schools to choose between RE as a theological discipline and Religious Studies as a sociological discipline." Listen to the full interview with Rev Stephen Terry here:

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UK Report Seeking National Syllabus for All Religious Education Called ''Attack''on Liberty

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter | Jul 19, 2018 3:02 PM

Catholic bishops and officials are speaking out against a new report launched at the British House of Commons this week which seeks to change the legal requirements for religious education in schools, including religious schools. A Catholic Education Service spokesperson told The Tablet on Wednesday that the U.K.'s Catholic bishops are "not happy" with the pamphlet, titled " A New Settlement Revised: Religion and Belief in Schools," because it is a "fundamental attack on religious liberty." Bishop of Leeds, Marcus Stock, declared that the one of the major problems with the report is that it discourages the teaching of theological content. "We accept there is a need to improve RE [religious education] in all schools and Catholic teachers and academics have been actively contributing to this discussion, producing suggestions that would work within the plurality in our country's schools sector, allowing for all schools to choose between RE as a theological discipline and Religious Studies as a sociological discipline," Stock stated. "Catholic schools are the most successful providers of Religious Education in the country. This is because we take it seriously as a rigorous, theological academic subject. However, rather than look at the sector that does it the best they have opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals." The 31-page pamphlet in question is largely critical of the means through which religion is taught to students in school, and called for a new "settlement in the relationship between religion and schools," pointing out that religion has declined and non-religious practice has been rising in British society. In the pamphlet, former Education Secretary Charles Clarke and Lancaster University professor Linda Woodhead for Westminster Faith Debates argued that faith schools need to promote inclusivity. The report recommends a national syllabus for religious education created by a multi-faith panel of "experts," and legislation to require all schools, including "independent schools," to use the syllabus. A current government bureaucracy, the The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, would be charged with inspecting the schools to "ensure that all schools properly fulfil their duty to teach the nationally agreed" syllabus. It also recommends that the right of parents to withdraw their children from religious education be abolished. "The current arrangements which enable faith schools to discriminate in their employment should be kept under review," another recommendation reads. The authors also call on churches and faith bodies to reduce the number of schools that make faith a criteria for admission. "We remain of the view that the country needs to move strongly in the direction of reducing the number of schools in this country which include faith as a criterion for admission," they wrote, while also expounding on the importance of inclusivity. All such faith schools "should be required by their sponsoring churches to promote inclusivity," they wrote, and to adopt the proposed national syllabus. In the appendix, the document points to surveys charting the fall of religious belief in England and Wales. "Belonging to a religious group has become less common than being religious, spiritual or non-religious outside of traditional institutional frameworks," it states. "The influence of traditional religious authorities is likely to continue to diminish, and the authority of personal choice and new, more disorganized, forms of authority is likely to grow." The CES spokesperson argued that faith schools should not be discouraged from making faith an admission criteria, however, stating that "this is a backhanded way of taking the Catholic out of Catholic schools." "We made it clear when they were compiling the report that we were not happy [with what its authors were suggesting]. They have launched this in full knowledge it would be unacceptable to us," CES added.

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Changes to religion in schools and inspections

The government must make major changes to the relationship between religion and schools, according to Charles Clarke.

The former Home and Education Secretary has produced a report with Linda Woodhead, professor of sociology of religion at Lancaster University, claiming that "the way in which religion is being dealt with in schools is not meeting the needs of our time".

Their recommendations, which feature in A New Settlement: Religion and Belief in Schools - a report launched in the House of Lords on Monday - include forming a national religious education council to advise on syllabus and changing RE to "religious, moral, ethical, social and cultural values".

According to Mr Clarke and Prof Woodhead, "such reform should better integrate RE and other elements of the curriculum such as PSHE, sex and relationship education, and education about values, and help 'de-exceptionalise' RE".

They also recommend abolishing the current statute for an act of collective worship, and instead leaving each school to decide the form and character of their school assemblies, as well as making more effort in "devising fairer admissions policies to faith schools".

Their report stresses that, while faith-based state schools should be available to all people in the local area,"families who are regular worshippers have a legitimate right to expect their children should have some priority in admission to schools which share their faith".

Ofsted, meanwhile, will undertake significant changes in the next school year, according to its chief inspector.

In reforms announced this week, Sir Michael Wilshaw said he plans to increase inspections to once every three years, typically over a one-day period.

"Short inspections will reduce the burden of inspection without losing the rigour which parents and the public rightly expect of Ofsted," he said.

Sir Michael added his intention to hold Ofsted to greater accountability and create a "scrutiny committee" in every region that will assess and rule on complaints made against inspections.

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Board of Deputies voices concern over new religious education report

Report calls for abolition of requirements for collective school worship Fri Jul 20 12:49:44 BST 2018 Fri Jul 20 12:58:39 BST 2018 The Board of Deputies has expressed concern about a new report calling for the abolition of compulsory school worship and for a new national curriculum on "religious and moral education" which the government should consider applying to all schools.

Vice-president Edwin Shuker said the board was concerned about the "overall hostility to faith schools" in the report, which was produced for Westminster Faith Debates by a leading academic expert on religion, Professor Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University, and former Education Secretary Charles Clarke.

Religious instruction - as opposed to education - should not take place during the school day, even in faith schools, the authors argue.

They recommend the government consider extending a nationally agreed syllabus on religious and moral education to faith schools - which traditionally have enjoyed autonomy on their religious education - and independent schools.

They also believe the current right of parents to withdraw children from religious education should be abolished if a new national syllabus were introduced.

But Mr Shuker said: "The report depicts faith schools as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution to the challenge of achieving community cohesion.

"Giving children a strong grounding in their faith tradition does not imply any contradiction with integration and indeed gives young people a proper understanding of their faith that gives a strong sense of self and builds a resilience to extremist opinions."

The Board disagreed with the idea that the state "should dictate the religious studies components taught by faith schools," he said.

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Former education secretary renews call for reform of religion in schools

Religious education should be replaced with a new national Religion, belief and values subject, a former education secretary has recommended.

The call to reform RE is one of a number of recommendations from a new report from Charles Clarke (education secretary 2002-04) and Linda Woodhead (professor of sociology of religion at Lancaster University) – A New Settlement Revised: Religion and Belief in Schools – a follow up by to their 2015 report. The suggested reforms to RE are broadly in line with the National Secular Society's call for legislative change to replace current laws surrounding RE with a new national entitlement for religion and belief learning. The report recommends that a new syllabus and curriculum for Religion, belief and values (RBV) should be determined by a national 'Advisory Council on Religion, Beliefs and Values'(ACRBV), appointed by the secretary of state. The body would represent "a balance between different faiths and beliefs", but with members "selected for their relevant expertise, and not in order to represent any particular faith or belief". The report reiterates the widely held view that the current arrangements for RE – where it is devised by SACRES/ASC (Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education/Agreed Syllabus Conferences) – are not fit for purpose. The authors however backtrack on previous recommendations that seemed to suggest any instructional/confessional RE should be separated from the academic subject. The latest report states: "of course all schools would be entitled to offer a wider syllabus, and more study, inside or outside school hours." The report does however reiterate calls for Ofsted to inspect religion and belief education, community cohesion and assemblies in all schools. The report recommends that the right to withdraw from RBV should end following reform. The report supports the continued existence of faith schools, recommending that "Children of families of faith should where possible be able to attend schools of that faith, and that their current legal right to be given priority in the admissions process should not be removed". The authors are clear, however, that moves to phase out religious selection are "highly beneficial" and call on churches and other faith bodies to make "strong and continues progress in reducing the numbers of their schools where faith is a criterion for admission". Arrangements which enable faith schools to discriminate in their employment should be kept "under review, the report says. On collective worship, the report appears to backtrack on the authors' 2015 recommendation that the legal duty on schools to hold an act of daily (usually Christian collective worship) be repealed. The report cites "important elements of Church of England opinion" as the reason behind their change of mind, along with a concern that abolishing the statutory requirement for collective worship will undermine assemblies. Responding to the report, NSS education and schools officer, Alastair Lichten, said: "Some of the proposals represent baby steps in the right direction, but the report overall appears to be an admission that much needed reforms are not possible without the approval of religious bodies. That is a worrying state of affairs for a modern education system – and again highlights the urgent need to separate religion and state in all areas – particularly education. "Much of the positives in the report come across as watered down versions of proposals already widely supported in the educational community. The backsliding from the previous report highlights how the privileged position of organised religion in state education is leading to an expedient acceptance of standards that are lower than is desirable." The National Secular society is campaigning for:

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An inclusive and secular education system, with an end to state funded faith schools. Schools to be brought under the Equality Act to end to religious discrimination against pupils in admissions and against teachers in employment, unless an occupational requirement can be demonstrated. All pupils to have the same national entitlement to high quality, non-partisan education about religion and belief. Abolition of the law that requires schools to hold acts of worship. We would instead like to see a duty on schools to ensure that all aspects of its curriculum, including assemblies, are respectful and inclusive of all pupils, regardless of their religion or belief, including non-belief.

Unattributed [sourcelink]https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2018/07/former-education-secretary-renews-call-for-reform-of- religion-in-schools [/sourcelink

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Religious education needs overhaul to `reflect UK'', says report

Ex-education secretary says assemblies, syllabus and admissions policy need change

Religious education in schools is outdated and should be replaced with a new subject: religion, belief and values, and the right of parents to withdraw their children from classes should be scrapped, according to the former Labour education secretary Charles Clarke. Significant shifts in the UK since the 1944 Education Act mean changes to the way religion and belief is taught in schools to reflect modern Britain are long overdue, Clarke and his co-author Linda Woodhead, a professor in the department of politics, philosophy and religion at Lancaster University, argue in a pamphlet published on Tuesday. In the 1940s, Britain was a predominantly Christian country. Now a majority of people say they have no religion, and there are parts of the country where people of other religions form a significant proportion of the population. A new nationally-determined syllabus called religion, belief and values should replace religious education and be required in all state-funded schools. At the moment, each education authority sets its own RE syllabus. Faith schools could provide additional teaching if desired. Parents should no longer have the right to withdraw children from the syllabus. "Religion, belief and values should be a proper educational subject like any other," Clarke told the Guardian. Daily collective worship of "a broadly Christian character", which is a legal requirement under the 1944 act, should be replaced with a requirement for all state-funded schools to hold a "regular assembly or act of collective worship in keeping with the values and ethos of the school and reflecting the diversity and character of the school community", the pamphlet argues.

Unattributed [sourcelink]http://www.educationviews.org/religious-education-needs-overhaul-to-reflect-uk-says-report/ [/sourcelink

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Professor Woodhead was interviewed by BBC Radio Leicester on 22nd July about research carried out in Leicester with Dr Mairi Levitt into faith schools' admission policies. Listen again here from 1:09:46. station reach: 60,000 Magazine, Consumer

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Faith schools'' admission policy a `labyrinth'' for parents

A STUDY of the admission policies of faith schools in Leicester has found that they are complex and difficult to navigate, with the result that parents from poorer and no faith backgrounds are least well served by schools in the city.

In the study of policies of faith schools, all state funded Church of England and Roman Catholic schools were included, as well as Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh schools. The research was carried out by Dr Mairi Levitt and Professor Linda Woodhead from Lancaster University. Leicester was chosen because of its ethnic and faith diversity: the 2011 census showed the city to be one third Christian, 23 per cent no religion, 19 per cent Muslim, and 15 per cent Hindu. The city has 13 state-funded faith schools for primary-age children, serving 16 per cent of the city's children; and five faith schools for secondary-age pupils, serving 17 per cent of the population. Professor Woodhead said: "The study reveals a labyrinthine system of selection criteria, and a mixed picture regarding the educational outcomes of faith schools relative to other state schools." Examples of complexity include RC schools that give priority to those who have submitted a "mass verification form to show they have attended mass weekly", or "temple stamps" for the Hindu school; but many have multiple criteria which must be met for a place to be awarded. Researchers said that the issue was not confined to Leicester, and the Office of the Schools Adjudicator had criticised the complexity of some faith schools criteria, which made it difficult for parents to understand how they could satisfy it and apply for a place for their child. "Although some of the newest faith schools — Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu, as well as Catholic — have good results, they are, in practice, closed to all but the most religiously strict and practising members of their own faiths," Professor Woodhead said. "Even when they are obliged by law to take a proportion of children who do not share the faith, their selection criteria are so complex and demanding that it is unlikely that any would apply." Dr Mairi Levitt said: "Although some faith schools, particularly Christian ones, are open to those of other faiths, they tend to be academically less successful. Conversely, schools with higher academic success are more likely to be oversubscribed and to employ stricter selection criteria." The study concludes that the families who benefit most from the current situation are those who are able to navigate the increasingly complex system, and those who are actively religious according to stated selection criteria or, in the case of non-faith schools, live in the right area. The poorest served are families from poorer backgrounds where the community school is under-achieving, and who would not be able to seek a place in a faith school.

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Study: faith schools'' entry policies are complex and inconsistent

Faith schools' admissions policies are complex and difficult to navigate and the problem hurts parents from poorer and non-faith backgrounds the most, according to a study of schools in Leicester.

One of the study's authors, Professor Linda Woodhead, said it revealed "a labyrinthine system of selection criteria". She added that new Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Catholic faith schools were "in practice closed to all but the most religiously strict and practising members of their own faiths". Her co-author and colleague at Lancaster University, Dr Mairi Levitt, said the problem was particularly pronounced in schools where pupils enjoyed greater academic success. "Although some faith schools, particularly Christian ones, are open to those of other faiths, they tend to be academically less successful. Conversely, schools with higher academic success are more likely to be oversubscribed and to employ stricter selection criteria." The authors said the "sheer complexity" of faith schools' admissions criteria was one of their "most striking findings". They added that there was "little consistency between schools" on admissions. Some policies focused on parental faith while others concentrated on the child, and often there were multiple criteria. Even when faith schools are obliged by law to assign some of their places without reference to faith, the authors said their selection criteria are "so complex and demanding" that they deter those from outside the faith from applying. The study found families from poorer backgrounds with under-achieving community schools and those who did not have a religious affiliation were worst hit by the problem. It said families who were best able to navigate the system or were actively religious benefited most. It cited examples of faith schools explicitly giving priority to parents who submitted evidence of their religious observance. The city's six Catholic primary schools gave priority to children who were baptised Catholic, followed by: those baptised into another Christian denomination and who had been received into the Catholic faith; those being prepared for Catholic baptism; those baptised or dedicated in another Christian denomination; and those belonging to other faiths. The study's authors said one of these criteria (those being prepared for Catholic baptism) should be considered invalid. The schools also said they would give priority to those able to submit forms which verified their weekly attendance at mass. One Hindu school asked for "an official temple stamp" and certification that "the family are practising Hindus" who either "'follow all the key tenets of the faith as practised by our Temple' or cannot verify that the family follow the key tenets 'but they do attend the Temple either regularly or irregularly'". It added that the evidence was "mixed" on both faith schools' educational outcomes relative to other state schools and whether their existence enhanced or limited choice for parents in Leicester. It said the problem of complex, inconsistent admissions policies was not confined to Leicester. Itcited a 2015 report from the schools adjudicator which said appeals over faith school admissions criteria accounted for "a significant part of the adjudicator's workload" and most objections to them were upheld partially or fully. The study focused on Leicester because of its multi-ethnic, multi-faith population and the diversity of faith schools in the city. No More Faith Schools campaigner Alastair Lichten said the study was "a reminder of the farcical and counter- productive situation created by the existence of state-funded faith schools". "It's absurd that public money is being spent devising criteria which segregate children and actively hinder families who cannot play the system. Rolling back faith schools and ending religious entrance criteria would simplify the arrangements for school admissions, create a fairer system for all and contribute to a more cohesive society. "When you bear in mind that it would also save the taxpayer money in the process, it becomes abundantly clear that

Client: University of Lancaster Yellow News Reach: 935 Source: National Secular Society (Web) Size: 0 Date: 06/07/2018 Value: 29.0000 ending religious discrimination and rolling back faith schools is just common sense." The National Secular Society has long campaigned for inclusive schooling for children from any faith-related background or none, and against religious discrimination in school admissions. In May the government abandoned plans to lift the 50% cap on faith-based admissions to new free schools in England but said it would pave the way for a new wave of religiously selective voluntary-aided faith schools. Earlier this year the schools adjudicator ruled that Catholic schools could accept a certificate signed by a priest as a reason to give pupils priority in admissions. At the time the NSS said the implications of the decision were "outrageous". The adjudicator had previously upheld a series of complaints against the certificate. In 2016 a Sutton Trust report revealed that the most socially selective schools were often faith schools using oversubscription criteria to select disproportionately wealthy pupils. Professor Woodhead's previous research has found that parents rarely consider faith to be an important reason to choose a school. A nationally representative study of Great Britain which she commissioned with YouGov in 2013 found that just five per cent of parents thought'grounding of pupils in a faith tradition' was important, with just three per cent saying the same about 'transmission of belief in God'. The top factors influencing the choice of a school were academic standards (77%), location (58%), discipline record (41%) and ethical values (23%). Leicester has state-funded faith schools designated as Church of England, Roman Catholic, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim. There are 13 state-funded faith schools for primary age children in the city (serving 165 of the population) and five at secondary level (serving 17% of the population).

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Faith school admissions benefit affluent families and are too complex says new study

Some faith schools inherently favour both more strictly religious families and more privileged families through the use of overly complicated and burdensome admissions policies, a new study has found. The research, conducted by Professors Mairi Levitt and Linda Woodhead at Lancaster University, used Leicester's diverse school system to examine the issues with the current school admissions system in the UK. The research found that selection requirements enforced by some faith schools are overly complex, and that some faith-based criteria require the commitment of time and/or money that not all families are in a position to provide.

Humanists UK, whose 2015 report An Unholy Mess revealed that virtually every religiously selective state faith school in England was breaking admissions law in some way, stated that this latest research supports its calls for wholesale reform of the school admissions system. The new report, entitled Choosing a faith school in Leicester: admissions criteria, diversity and choice, sets out ‘to reflect on the claim that faith schooling offers more and better choice and quality', among other objectives. Leicester was chosen both for its size and for its diversity, given that it is home to a range of different religious and non-religious communities as well as a number of different types of school. The report's key findings and conclusions include: ‘Not only are [religious] criteria complex and difficult to fulfil in the case of several of the faith schools – both Church and other faith – there is little consistency between schools.' In some circumstances, religious selection ‘also allows a degree of socioeconomic selection, with more affluent parents benefitting'. While all schools, including faith schools, are required to prioritise children in care or care leavers in their admissions, some faith schools ‘subordinate this to faith criteria'. Nonreligious families, ‘especially those from poorer backgrounds', are disproportionately and negatively impacted by the presence of faith schools, a ‘problem [that] is unlikely to go away' given the steady rise in those identifying as non-religious. Reacting to the findings, Professor Woodhead said: ‘The study reveals a labyrinthine system of selection criteria, and a mixed picture regarding the educational outcomes of faith schools relative to other state schools… Even when they are obliged by law to take a proportion of children who do not share the faith, [faith school] selection criteria are so complex and demanding that it is unlikely that any would apply.' Humanists UK's landmark report An Unholy Mess revealed ‘nearuniversal noncompliance' with the School Admissions Code by religiously selective state secondary schools. The report, which detailed the rulings of the Schools Adjudicator on the admission arrangements of a sample of such schools, found violations in virtually every case, ranging from unlawful requirements to financially support churches and other places of worship, to breaches of the Equality Act 2010 indirectly discriminating on the basis of race and/or gender. Humanists UK's Education Campaigns Manager Jay Harman commented, ‘Once again the evidence is clear that state-funded faith schools are abusing their freedom to religiously select in order to turn away all but the most religious, most affluent families in society. This is discriminatory, unfair, and divisive, and it is an entirely inappropriate practice for public, taxpayer-funded institutions to be engaged in. ‘As we have recommended repeatedly in the past, the Government must look urgently at the reform of the admissions system, withdrawing the right of state faith schools to religiously discriminate in their admissions policies at all and guaranteeing equal access for all to their local schools.' Notes For further comment or information please contact Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Jay Harman on [email protected] or 0207 324 3078. Read the full report: https://faithdebates.org.uk/wp…/07/ChoosingafaithschoolinLeicesterfinalMS.pdf Read Humanists UK's previous news item ‘An Unholy Mess: new report reveals nearuniversal noncompliance with

Client: University of Lancaster Yellow News Reach: 6309 Source: British Humanist Association (Web) Size: 0 Date: 12/07/2018 Value: 169.0000 the School Admissions Code among religiously selective state schools in England':

Unattributed [sourcelink]https://humanism.org.uk/2018/07/12/faith-school-admissions-benefit-affluent-families-and-are-too- complex-says-new-study/ [/sourcelink

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Religious education report is an `attack'' on Catholic schools

The Bishop of Leeds said the report was 'unacceptable'

A bishop has condemned a report on religious education in Britain, saying it has "little regard" for the Catholic Church and its recommendations are "unacceptable". Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds, who is the lead bishop for Religious Education on the bishops' conference, said the report would "dictate" what the Church can teach in Catholic schools, and treats religion as a purely sociological matter. The report, titled ‘A New Settlement Revised: Religion and Belief in Schools', was written by former Education Secretary Charles Clarke and Lancaster University professor Linda Woodhead for Westminster Faith Debates. The 60-page booklet says that the current syllabus for religious education in British state schools is outdated, and calls for the subject to be renamed Religion, Beliefs and Values. While the report says that Religious Education (RE) should be mandatory for all state school students, its content should be comparative. Faith schools could provide additional teaching on top of this, it adds. However, Bishop Stock said the recommendations had "little regard for the approach taken by the Catholic Church to the teaching of RE." "Not only are their recommendations largely incompatible within our sector, they were compiled with the knowledge that the Catholic community would find them unacceptable; this was explicitly stated in their report," he said. In a statement, Bishop Stock said the there were two main problems with the report: "Firstly, that the State can impose a national RE curriculum, which would dictate what the Church is required to teach in Catholic schools. Secondly, the curriculum they suggest contains no theological content, which is at the core of Catholic RE." He added: "We accept there is a need to improve RE in all schools and Catholic teachers and academics have been actively contributing to this discussion, producing suggestions that would work within the plurality in our country's schools sector, allowing for all schools to choose between RE as a theological discipline and Religious Studies as a sociological discipline." "Catholic schools are the most successful providers of Religious Education in the country. This is because we take it seriously as a rigorous, theological academic subject. However, rather than look at the sector that does it the best they have opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals."

Unattributed [sourcelink]http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2018/07/18/religious-education-report-is-an-attack- on-catholic-schools/ [/sourcelink

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Don''t use faith to decide who gets a school place, says new report

Canon Stuart Bain watches over primary-school pupils at a leavers' service in Durham Cathedral earlier this year

THE Church of England should phase out selection on the basis of faith in its schools, a new report recommends as part of a radical overhaul of religious education. In A New Settlement Revised: Religion and belief in schools, Dr Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University, and Charles Clarke, a former Education Secretary, reiterate their call for widespread reform ( News, 19 June 2015 ). After extensive consultation over the past three years, the new report refines their suggestions. They argue that senior Anglicans would support such a move, five years after the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke of a "steady move away from faith-based entry tests" before rowing back and holding the line on support for faith- based selection (News, 14 November 2013). The report recommends that a national curriculum be set by a new Advisory Council on Religion, Beliefs and Values, chiefly made up of professional RE educators. This syllabus should, it says, be statutorily required in all schools, including independent schools — as applies to relationships and sex education. Currently, there are about 150 locally agreed syllabuses, drawn up by a variety of faith and interest groups. "If the country is to have confidence that faith schools can and should legitimately be supported by public funds... they need to know that religion is taught in accordance with the inclusive values which the country as a whole shares," it says. Another recommendation is that parents' "anachronistic" right to withdraw pupils from the RE syllabus be abolished ( News, 20 April ). The Church House response to the Commission on Religious Education, chaired by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd John Hall and due to report in September ( Comment, 22 September 2017 ), described the right as "an unhelpful hangover from the concerns of another age" but warned that ending it could result in schools' being "dragged through the courts... the current situation may have to remain". The new report seeks to encourage C of E leaders to favour moving away from faith-based selection. It says that "a significant number of senior Anglicans" who were consulted said that they would be "happy if there were no selection at all on the basis of faith. It would be "highly beneficial if the thinking of many of the Church of England's leaders were now put into effect, for example by adopting a strategy of phasing out of all selection in their schools on the basis of faith, perhaps over a number of years," the report says, concluding that the state "needs to move strongly in the direction of reducing the number of schools in this country which include faith as a criterion for admission". While arguing that "children of families of faith should where possible be able to attend schools of that faith, and that their current legal right to be given priority in the admissions process should not be removed", the report argues that "a distinctive faith ethos and values... does not depend on selection criteria". On Wednesday, the C of E's chief education officer, Nigel Genders, identified an "an apparent contradiction" in the new report, "which promotes the right of parents to choose an education that is consistent with their faith, but suggests that schools move away from of any faith criteria in admissions processes to enable this. This seems a difficult square to circle and so the reason for calling for churches to remove faith criteria is not clear." Mr Genders welcomed a "significant ground-shift" away from the original call for abolition of the requirement for collective worship. The report now recommends "a regular assembly or act of collective worship in keeping with the values and ethos of the school and reflecting the diversity and character of the school community". The requirement is currently daily collective worship "wholly or mainly or a broadly Christian character". Mr Genders also praised the "recognition of the importance of religious education in schools". Central to the report are concerns about a "worrying decline in standards", voiced alongside a survey of the religious-social landscape which positions religious education as a vital tool of integration.

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In a separate paper — a response to the Government's consultation on its integrated communities green paper — the authors observe that the division between those who belong to organised forms of religion and those who do not threatens to become a "growing source of tension". Tim Dakin suggests ways to attract more students into training for public service There was a need, Professor Woodhead said this week, to "create a society and culture in which religion is not ‘weird'". Young people's interest in debating question of belief and values was "enormous", she said, yet RE was being "allowed to wither away". Last year, religious studies (RS) was the fourth most popular GCSE subject. Successive studies have highlighted that schools are breaching the legal requirement to hold daily worship, and to provide an RE lesson at least once a week ( News, 22 September, 2017 ). The report recommends changing the name of the subject to "Religion, Beliefs and Values" and upholds its original view that the legal requirement for RE after the age of 16 should be abolished; and that for those aged 14-16 it should be modified into "a wider study of religious, spiritual, moral, ethical, social, and cultural values". The report's recommendations have not impressed either Roman Catholic educationalists or secular campaigners. Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK, expressed disappointment that the report "throws its support not only behind faith schools themselves, but behind the divisive practice of their discriminating against prospective pupils and teachers as well". The Catholic Education Service described the report as a "a direct attack on the Catholic Church"; and the RC Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Marcus Stock, said that Roman Catholic schools were "the most successful providers of religious education in the country". The report's authors had "opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals." Mr Genders has previously been critical of "lumping together schools run for the exclusive or main benefit of their faith alongside Church of England schools", and has argued that C of E schools are "not faith schools for the faithful... [but] church schools for the community" — a claim that has been challenged by campaigners who note that 35 out of 40 dioceses do not advise schools to refrain from using religiously selective admissions criteria ( News, 24 November, 2017 ). While emphasising that 60 per cent of C of E schools have no religious-affiliation admissions criteria, he has warned that "providing places purely on distance from the school would mean that only the wealthiest, who can afford to move house near by, can access the best schools." The report makes a number of recommendations to "promote inclusivity" in schools, including twinning arrangements, and says that schools should be stripped of the right to admit on the basis of faith by OFSTED if they do not meet requirements to educate "in a way that promotes inclusivity and community cohesion". Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, CEO of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, said on Tuesday that the report showed "the chronic need for action from the Government". The legal framework was "no longer fit for purpose", he said, and pupils needed to explore how worldviews were "often misunderstood, misrepresented, stereotyped, and simplified in the media and wider society". Paul Smalley, chair of the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious, said that "much of what is proposed is in line with what school teachers, SACRE members, and the public are hoping for... "Other recommendations, such as a ‘national RE syllabus' written by an Advisory Council appointed by the Secretary of State, will divide the RE community." He added: "It will take confident political leadership to take any legislative change regarding RE through Parliament, and I am not optimistic that this is likely to occur any time soon."

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Report on religion in schools ''an attack on Catholicism''

The CES say the report 'is a backhanded way of taking the Catholic out of Catholic schools'

The Catholic Education Service (CES) and the Bishop with special responsibility for religious education have reacted with outrage at a new pamphlet calling for urgent reform of religion in schools in England and Wales, written by former Home Secretary Charles Clarke and Professor Linda Woodhead and launched at the House of Commons on 17 July.

Entitled 'A New Settlement Revised: Religion and Belief in Schools' the 31-page booklet of recommendations is a bid to update the laws governing religion in schools from the Education Act of 1944 and bring them into line with Britain's current religious and cultural landscape in which a majority of people say they have no religion.

However, a CES spokesperson said they are "not happy" and described the pamphlet as "a direct attack on the Catholic Church" and "a fundamental attack on religious liberty."

Of particular concern to the CES is the call for a national syllabus for RE, which the authors say should be determined nationally and not locally to "raise the academic standard of religious education" and stop schools regarding good teaching of RE as "an irksome appendage to the rest of school life". They also advise the name of the subject could be changed to "Religion, Beliefs and Values". The CES, which acts on behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference to support Catholic education, said this will result in RE being taught as "an exclusively sociological subject" and will mean "the Anglican state dictating their version of Catholicism."

"It will also strip the Bishops of their right to set the curriculum – it's incredibly misguided", continued the CES spokesperson.

Bishop of Leeds, Marcus Stock, who is also on the committee for education and formation with special responsibility for religious Education, told the Tablet that the recommendations are "unacceptable for two reasons".

"Firstly, that the State can impose a national RE curriculum, which would dictate what the Church is required to teach in Catholic schools. Secondly, the curriculum they suggest contains no theological content, which is at the core of Catholic RE," he said.

He continued: "We accept there is a need to improve RE in all schools and Catholic teachers and academics have been actively contributing to this discussion, producing suggestions that would work within the plurality in our country's schools sector, allowing for all schools to choose between RE as a theological discipline and Religious Studies as a sociological discipline."

"Catholic schools are the most successful providers of Religious Education in the country. This is because we take it seriously as a rigorous, theological academic subject. However, rather than look at the sector that does it the best they have opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals."

In terms of faith schools, the pamphlet says Catholic and other faith schools should still be able to give priority to children of faith first "where possible" with the caveat that the admissions policy and school ethos are transparent. It added that they should make greater attempts to "promote inclusivity" and that "churches and other bodies should make strong and continued progress in reducing the numbers of their schools where faith is a criterion for

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The CES spokesperson said: "There's no appetite for getting rid of faith schools as they produce great results. They can't shut them down but this is a backhanded way of taking the Catholic out of Catholic schools."

The pamphlet follows the authors' original document – 'A New Settlement – Religion and Belief in Schools in 2015'. It incorporates further research and debate carried out by the Westminster Faith Debates and the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Research programme supported by Lancaster University.

The CES said: "We made it clear when they were compiling the report that we were not happy [with what its authors were suggesting]. They have launched this in full knowledge it would be unacceptable to us".

Professor Linda Woodhead said: "Following the launch we will be carrying out more research on the state of religion in schools, and seeking the widest possible support for the needed changes amongst government and across the faith communities and other key constituencies." Share this story

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