Faith schools should be forced to accept non-faith families, says councillor

Faith schools in Brighton and Hove should be forced to accept more students from non-faith families, according to councillor Ruth Buckley, who lobbied Hove MP Mike Weatherley on the subject.

The Green councillor for Goldsmid met with the Conservative MP during a cross-party meeting on how Central Government can help ease the problematic shortage of school places in the city.

The problem of faith schools, of which there are 16 in the city, being under no obligation to accept admissions from local non-faith families was the focus of the meeting, while Cllr Buckley also called for clearer dialogue between those planning free schools and local authorities in order to make it easier for the council to plan its school admissions policy.

She said: “Every avenue needs to be explored to find a solution to the shortage of school places. It’s our duty to provide a good and balanced education for the city’s children, and the job is being complicated by the government’s disjointed policies and lack of funding.

“Currently some publically-funded schools can refuse to take in local children because they aren’t of a particular faith. In my ward, residents have been forced to buy cars to drive their children to primary school three miles away due to catchment areas decreasing year on year. This isn’t fair, and we want to see more children being able to go to their local school within their community. I have suggested that the government should allow for 50% of non-faith families to send their children to their local school as with new free schools.

“Also the government doesn’t have to inform the council before allowing a free school to open up, making it very difficult for the council to plan around them. I’ve asked Mike Weatherley to find out why these groups can’t let the council know what they’re planning, to help work better together in providing a good balance of education for all children in the city.”

After the meeting, Mr Weatherley, who said he would raise the subjects covered with Secretary of Health Michael Gove, said: “The talks were really useful. It is important to engage with all parties when discussing such issues. I promised to contact my colleague the Secretary of State for Education to put forward the views of councillors. Free Schools and Academies should enjoy a degree of independence – that is what they were set up to do after all – but clarity on the Government’s position with regard to setting up such institutions will be useful to all.”

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Tags: Mike Weatherley, Ruth Buckley