Simon Barrow (London, Ekklesia): Like Polly Toynbee, I would be delighted to see the government re-think its policy on faith schools – and specifically the iniquity of selection on grounds of religion (or the lack of it).
But while I wish Polly well in her search for a secularist and humanist equivalent of “Hallelujah!” it's worth pointing out that critics of faith schools are not just to be numbered from those who have problems with religion more generally. We will not get rid of selection by faith without support from the faiths, and there is plenty of it. Anglican chaplains, Jewish rabbis, my own Christian think-tank Ekklesia – we are all part of the huge public concern for fair access to schooling, irrespective of belief.
This is important, because one of the reasons that some close to New Labour seemed immune to criticism on faith schools is that they think it’s just part of some tedious patch war involving people for whom anything to do with religion is like the new Great Plague.
Politically, that’s a great pity. Those who want to defend the status quo are very content with the idea that those who oppose selection on grounds of faith in public education are merely malcontents with a chip on their shoulder about faith. (That's unfair to secularists and humanists, too).
Polly notes that the Mail has tried to pillory Richard Brooks, whose ippr report criticised selection by faith before he became Ed Ball’s advisor on education policy. We do indeed need more facts on the table about the divisive impact of selection, we need to hear a much wider range of questioning voices – from all those who believe in inclusive, community schooling.
Earlier this year the Association of Teachers and Lecturers produced a fine briefing paper on the policy changes needed in relation to faith schools. People from all kinds of backgrounds helped to produce it.
As ATL general secretary Mary Bousted commented at the time: “In a country which is becoming increasingly secular and multi-faith it is hard to justify public taxes being used to fund schools which discriminate against the majority of school children and potential staff on the grounds of their religious belief.”
Ekklesia has argued strongly that giving preference to Christian parents, and effectively encouraging some people to lie about their convictions to get a school place, is not only wrong in principle, it is quite contrary to the Christian message of equality.
