Johnson Encourages Religious Teachers to go on Exchange Programmes

Legislation requiring new faith schools in England to admit at least 25 per cent of pupils from the wider community has met with a mixed response in religious circles.

Education Secretary Alan Johnson encouraged faith schools Wednesday to send teachers on exchange programmes with schools of different faiths to help promote "community cohesion".

"This is about all faiths," he told the BBC. "It's not just about one particular faith, i.e. Muslim schools."

Earlier this year, several faith leaders agreed that their schools would teach their pupils about other faiths in Religious Education classes.

Johnson told the BBC another initiative could be see faith schools twin with non-faith schools.

The aim, he said, was that "children get a good balance of what all the religions are about, and there's an understanding and cohesion about how we teach religion".

On Tuesday, Johnson announced he would introduce an amendment to the Education Bill giving local authorities the power to require new faith schools to offer up to a quarter of their places
to children of different or no faith.

The Church of England earlier this month said it would require any new CofE schools to allow at least 25 percent of entries to the wider community, a move the Government welcomed.

But the Catholic Education Service opposed the new plan. Director Oona Stannard said faith schools were "not part of the problem".

In a lengthy statement issued by the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales, Ms Stannard said the governing bodies of Catholic voluntary aided (VA) schools were the admissions authorities "and should remain so without political interference".

"Their role should not be compromised by a requirement to implement social engineering through externally imposed admissions quotas," she said.

Many faith schools are popular with parents for the particular "ethos" they promote, said Johnson, but he added there would be no quotas or enforced admissions where there was no local demand.