Independent faith schools are significantly underperforming compared with those that are nonreligious, figures from the school inspectorate reveal.
Yesterday Ofsted published data from inspections carried out at non-association independent schools between September 2024 and August 2025. Non-association independent schools are not part of the Independent Schools Council and are inspected by Ofsted, as opposed to the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
The data revealed a third – 33% – of independent faith schools did not meet the independent school standards, compared with 7% of independent special schools and 19% of other independent schools. The National Secular Society has consistently highlighted how independent faith schools often fail to meet standards because they prioritise religious doctrine above the education and welfare of children.
Ofsted: faith schools “continue to be more likely to not meet the standards”
Although Ofsted said there had been a “slight improvement” across all independent school types since August 2024, independent faith schools “continue to be more likely to not meet the standards”. Over a quarter (27%) are currently graded as not meeting the standards, compared with 6% of independent special schools and 15% of other independent schools.
Furthermore, only 67% of independent faith schools have been judged “good” or “outstanding”, compared with 90% of special schools and 79% of other independent schools
Some schools which failed to meet standards between September 2024 and August 2025 include Ahavas Torah Boys Academy, a Jewish faith school in Manchester, where most pupils study only English and maths in the secular curriculum. In April, Ofsted found at another Jewish faith school, Beth Jacob Grammar School in London, all children were withdrawn from relationships and sex education (RSE). The school refused to teach about same-sex relationships.
In the same month, Ofsted found Darul Uloom London, an independent Islamic school in Chislehurst, to be delivering secular subjects poorly.
In March, NSS analysis found independent faith schools were three times more likely to receive a warning notice in 2024 compared with nonreligious schools. It concluded the greater prevalence of failure amongst faith schools was driven by institutions not meeting requirements they perceive to conflict with their religious beliefs.
NSS: Findings “should prompt urgent action”
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: “Once again, Ofsted has found the general performance of independent faith schools it inspects to be considerably lower than others in the sector.
“This is worrying and should prompt urgent action from the Department for Education. We know many independent faith schools are content to keep on failing because they put religious dogma ahead of children’s educational and welfare needs.
“We can’t go on turning a blind eye to this. The independent faith school sector clearly needs Government intervention to ensure no child is deprived of their rights in the name of religion.”