religion | Schools Week

Legal threats and governor revolts: Inside the mass academisation of Catholic schools

The Catholic MAT drive boosts the DfE’s flagging academy agenda, and dioceses say schools are reaping rewards – but rapid growth and resistance spell danger

DfE pulls plug on new voluntary-aided secondary over ‘lack of need’

One of only three proposed new voluntary-aided schools approved for government set-up cash has been cancelled because of a lack of basic need and an available site. Avanti Schools Trust applied to open a new Hindu secondary school in the London Borough of Redbridge in 2018 after the government reopened the process for new VA […]

Gibb slams Catholic RSE resources in rape culture clampdown

A minister has slammed Catholic RSE materials portraying women as “receivers” in sexual relationships, just a few months after he said using the resources was a decision for schools. The warning by schools minister Nick Gibb, and an Ofsted visit to one school using the resources, suggest a tougher government stance after a wave of […]

Where are new Catholic schools most likely to open?

New Catholic schools are most likely to open in London and the east of England if the cap on faith-based schools is lifted. The highest levels of immigration from Catholic countries are to the capital and East Anglia – so the Catholic Education Service expects the demand for new faith schools will be most acute […]

Schools mustn’t stop teaching other religions

With talk in the air that the new education secretary will deregulate faith schools, Charlotte Avery makes her plea for the place of comparative religion It was suggested this week that the new education secretary Damian Hinds plans to remove the 50-per-cent cap on pupils of the same religion being admitted to faith schools. This […]

Hijabs are none of Ofsted’s business

Schools should be safe spaces – allowing outside authority figures to probe young girls’ choice of religious expression is precisely the wrong approach to take, argues Zubeda Limbada Last week, Amanda Spielman recommended that Ofsted inspectors in England should question Muslim primary school girls who wear a headscarf. She wants to tackle situations in which […]

Fact Check: Is Brent Council the ‘first’ to allow multi-belief assemblies?

Several national newspapers this week reported Brent Council as the first in Britain to allow multi-belief school assemblies in place of daily Christian worship – but Schools Week has found little evidence for the claim, with the council insisting its schools have been able to do this for 11 years. The reports were based on […]