The National Secular Society has told the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in an oral briefing that faith based school admissions should be ended.
The committee oversees the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, an international treaty ratified by the UK in 1976.
Article 13 of the covenant enshrines the right to education, and states education shall “promote understanding, tolerance and friendship” amongst people of different racial and religious backgrounds.
It also requires that secondary education be “accessible to all by every appropriate means”.
Adding to its earlier written submission, the NSS told the committee in an oral briefing that state funded schools should be “open and welcoming to all”.
The NSS welcomed the Government’s recent abandonment of plans to scrap the 50% cap on faith based admissions in new faith based academies.
But it also warned the committee of the risk of a new wave of 100% selective faith schools that could arise from the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The NSS recommended exemptions to the Equality Act which enable faith based admissions be repealed.
Other organisations participating in the oral briefing included Oxfam and Amnesty International.
The briefing came before the committee’s questioning of a government delegation on the UK’s compliance with the covenant.
The committee’s recommendations, known as concluding observations, are due to be published next month.
In 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the Government end faith based admissions in English schools.
Admissions should not disadvantage those with ‘wrong’ religion or belief
In its written submission, the NSS said families should not be disadvantaged when applying to state funded schools because they hold the ‘wrong’ religion or belief.
It highlighted recent research which shows faith schools under-admit children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, children in care, and children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The NSS said faith based admissions “particularly disadvantage” children raised without religion or within a minority religion. It cited recent census results which showed Christianity is a minority religion in England and Wales, and most people in Scotland are nonreligious.
The submission also highlighted how faith schools segregate children along ethnic as well as religious lines.
NSS: ‘No child should be discriminated against on the basis of their family’s religion or belief’
National Secular Society human rights lead Alejandro Sanchez said: “In a society as diverse as ours, rather than facilitating segregation along religious lines, the Government should be doing everything it can to ensure that children of all faiths and none are educated together in inclusive schools.”
“No child should be discriminated against in school admissions on the basis of their family’s religion or belief. We are grateful for the opportunity to brief the committee on this important issue. We now look forward to their concluding observations.”