I think we should end public funding of faith-based schools in England. Or at least those who advance the usual arguments against fee-paying schools should acknowledge that there are many similar arguments for abolishing publicly-funded faith-based schools, and if we’re going to get self-righteous when chastising those who choose to send their children to fee-paying schools, then we need to realise that faith-based schools are not so very different and that parents choosing them have a rather lot in common with their fee-paying counterparts.
Most faith schools are either voluntary controlled (where all building expenses and running costs are paid for by taxpayers) or voluntary aided (where running costs are paid for by taxpayers and up to 90% of building costs are paid for by taxpayers). In short, everyone, not just those of the faith who are allowed to attend the schools, pay for them. We all pay, the churches call the shots, and a select faithful few get to attend. Taxpayers pay the piper, but the clerics call the tune…
It is also inappropriate for a school system paid for by taxpayers to play a role in espousing any one particular religion. Religion is a personal matter and one for the family or place of worship, not for a state-funded vehicle designed to equip youngsters with the tools to think critically about the world.
Finally, faith-based schools are proxies for selectivity. Recent studies, such as those by academics Rebecca Allen and Anne West this year and reports presented to Parliament several years ago, buttress the position that faith-based schools cream off the better elements; their intakes are often not reflective of the pool of children from the immediately surrounding area, and the percentage of children eligible for free school meals (ie poor kids) is less than in non-faith state schools. Isn’t such selection what parents choosing fee-paying schools are criticised for playing into?
Where I grew up, educational segregation was constitutionally enshrined, and thus you either attended a Catholic school (where you had to be well-documented as such) or a Protestant school (for those whose papers weren’t in order, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and any others.) It was weird and stupid, as is any faith-based segregation, but it was enshrined in the Canadian Constitution. There is no such constitutional protection in England and therefore no reason why this archaic system should be protected the way it has been.
Snowdon on Schools 