The Church Times carried two items this week:
A news report by Margaret Holness Faith groups slam ‘ignorance’ of new schools campaign and a comment article by Paul Vallely Beware the erosion of faith schools.
The Guardian had a leader column earlier in the week, which I failed to list previously, Testing faith.
Others writing there were: Savitri Hensman in support of the Accord position in Schooled to be neighbours and in support of the status quo, Henry Grunwald Have faith in our schools.
Two pieces of research which Accord cites in support of its position are:
National Foundation for Educational Research The impact of specialist and faith schools on performance
London School of Economics London faith secondary schools cater for affluent pupils
I have a great suggestion to solve the ‘faith school’ problem… Let the CofE run all schools in England. ps By the way, the suggestion that they may generate social problems is hypothetical – based on theories about terrorism in Northern Ireland, which had it’s roots in more than religious differences… AND the terrorism has stopped even though NI still has faith schools! pps No-one can point to any REAL problems at the moment; so banning them now seems unnecessary and almost a phobic overreaction – to a perceived risk that is not real!). If some school ever did give… Read more »
DavidWh writes: pps No-one can point to any REAL problems at the moment; so banning them now seems unnecessary and almost a phobic overreaction – to a perceived risk that is not real!). If some school ever did give rise to trouble-makers in the future, I think most people would accept that it should be taken into public control until it was sorted out. KF> I would say that the continuing existence of denominational schools in the Scottish education system has done much to prolong the scourge of sectarianism in Scottish society. Just be in the environs of Ibrox and/or… Read more »
Kennedy>IT’s just expecting the taxpayer to pick up the tab for denominational schools that I have a problem with. I have problems with that statement – I chose to send my children to a faith school – It meant taking out extra mortgage to help pay towards the school/boarding. But also – like most parents who send their children to faith schools – I am a taxpayer! Whenever this comment is made about taxpayers paying for church schools I just wonder if the person making the comment thinks parents who send their children to faith schools somehow had some kind… Read more »
Islwyn> Whenever this comment is made about taxpayers paying for church schools I just wonder if the person making the comment thinks parents who send their children to faith schools somehow had some kind of dispensation from the chancellor. KF> Sorry – you mistake me for someone that lives south of the border in Englandshire. In Scotland (different education system), the denominational schools (almost entirely RC) are funded in exactly the same way as the rest of the state schools. The difference is the way that the RC church is allowed to influence appointments and policy (esp. in moral and… Read more »