A child in care has been unable to attend the school identified as most appropriate for them due to faith based admissions criteria, a local authority has said.
The local authority said the child “did not secure the first choice school of carer and social worker as corporate parent” due to admissions criteria that placed children in care at a lower priority than those not in care but whose families belong to the religion of the school. An appeal against the decision was “unsuccessful”.
Schools use oversubscription criteria in their admissions arrangements to determine which children will be prioritised for a place if there are more applications than places available.
Faith schools very often prioritise applications from families who share the religion of the school. By law, oversubscription criteria must designate children in care, or looked after children (LAC), and previously looked after children (PLAC) as first priority. But faith schools can prioritise all children from families who share the school’s faith above LAC / PLAC who are of different religion or belief backgrounds.
The local authority’s comments feature in the newly published annual report of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA), which oversees school admissions arrangements.
The OSA described the “localised” but “persistent” problem of faith schools not giving equal priority to all children in care based on religious affiliation. It said “at least one” local authority has called for a revision of the School Admissions Code regarding the ability of faith schools to prioritise children of specific religious backgrounds ahead of LAC / PLAC.
Last year, some local authorities similarly told the OSA that faith schools in their area “effectively disadvantage” LAC / PLAC who are not of the school’s faith, with one authority describing faith schools as the “main difficulty we face” in ensuring admissions serve the needs of LAC / PLAC.
As well as disadvantaging LAC and PLAC, research has shown faith schools also treat pupils from lower-income backgrounds less favourably.
In February, a report from the Education Policy Institute found that schools linked to dioceses, both in Multi-Academy Trusts and non-Multi Academy Trusts, are less likely to reflect their local areas in terms of the number of pupils they admit from low income backgrounds.
Similarly, research published in January by the Sutton Trust found that faith schools “are consistently more socially selective than non-religious schools”, admitting significantly fewer pupils on free school meals.
And research from the London School of Economics last year found faith schools admit fewer pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Faith schools are also more ethnically segregated and restrict choice for many families.
NSS: Faith schools perpetuating disadvantage against those in greatest need
National Secular Society spokesperson Jack Rivington said: “There is growing evidence that faith schools perpetuate unfairness and disadvantage in our society, particularly against those whose need is greatest.
“Exemptions allowing faith schools to discriminate in admissions mean looked after children, children with special educational needs, and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged are treated less favourably. They should be reviewed as matter of urgency.”