Faith schools have faced yet another challenge in the last few weeks after teachers attending the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers backed a resolution stating that "the government's policy of increasing numbers of faith schools will hinder integration, foster religious divisions and provide fertile ground for religious and ethnic conflicts."
The move resulted in more pressure on the National Union of Teachers to end faith-based state education, with some even warning that faith schools could breed “terrorism”, reports The Guardian.
Delegates at the annual conference of the NUT held in Torquay over the Easter weekend, however, came out to reject the motion.
NUT members instead voted for an amendment to the resolution that would safeguard the existence of faith schools in Britain and ensure that admissions to faith schools would not be influenced by the religious beliefs of parents.Several delegates at the NUT conference voiced strong opposition to the wording of the original resolution, put forward by Hank Roberts, from the north London borough of Brent.
The motion was described as “insulting” by Andrew Baisley, from Camden north London, who said: “I would not want our members who work in faith schools to think that the NUT has got it in for them.”
If Blair’s Education Bill is approved then it could see a much greater contribution from faith groups in education.
The Church of England, which educates 940,000 children across 4,700 schools, came out to defend faith schools at the time of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers conference.
A spokesman for the church said: “Education has for centuries been regarded as part of the church's mission and service to the nation.
“The schools are popular - they are good schools. They offer an inclusive education with a Christian ethos."
The Catholic Education Service, which runs 2,200 schools and sixth form colleges across the country, said parents had the right to choose an education in sympathy with their ethos.
