1. The Catholic Education Service for England and Wales strongly opposes the reported intention of Government to table an amendment in the Education and Inspection Bill to introduce admissions quotas without reference to faith for new schools with a religious character.
    
2. The governing bodies of Catholic Voluntary Aided (VA) schools are the admissions authority for our schools and should remain so without political interference. Their role should not be compromised by a requirement to implement social engineering through externally imposed admissions quotas.

3. Schools with a religious character are part of the solution for society, not part of the problem.

4. It is wrong to suggest that forced quotas on admissions will help community cohesion – indeed the impact could be quite the reverse.  In the Catholic sector we have seen  time and again the poor and marginalised, and particularly immigrants , develop a sense of confidence, self esteem and belonging to society as a result of a first class education rooted in their Catholic faith tradition. The respect for their faith and values built a sense of security that enabled parents to trust and pupils to learn. Historically this is often associated with the education of Irish immigrants but it is as relevant today with the many Polish and other immigrants from our universal Catholic Church.  The contribution that we have been able to make to society as a result is an opportunity that other religious communities and faiths should have too, without hindrance of quotas that would limit the places available to their own members.

5. In cases of oversubscription, to turn away those of a particular denomination or faith from their own schools, in order to offer an entitlement to others without faith, could easily breed resentment. It should also be remembered that faith communities make the existence of their schools possible not just by the financial contribution to capital but also by many other forms of support.

6. It would be better instead for Government to encourage faith schools to be maintained, designated as having a religious character, requiring transparent inspection and reporting by Ofsted. This should help allay fears about what is going on in such schools, ensuring appropriate standards of education for pupils, and bringing them, their teachers and governors into contact with community schools and others.

7. There should be the expectation that all schools demonstrate how they contribute to community cohesion in word and deed. Such a move has been made by the Catholic Church in our recently welcomed offer to Alan Johnson (1) to make reporting on this transparent to the public and thereby open to scrutiny.  We have undertaken, for example, to require reporting on how interfaith dialogue is experienced in the school, how an understanding of all people being equal is made real, appreciation of the traditions of others, service in word and deed, and how the school is involved with the wider community and its links with other schools including community schools. We suggest that all schools should be explicitly required to address and report on these issues.

8. Catholic schools are set up firstly to educate children of the Catholic faith, to form them as Catholics, and to provide them with a well rounded education. Through the combination of these experiences pupils grow up appreciating the uniqueness and God given dignity of all human beings. They are helped to contribute to society at large as good citizens, demonstrating, for example, humility, integrity, compassion, peacemaking and justice.

9. In what has become known as the “Faith Schools debate” it is erroneously suggested that faith schools are something to be wary of, as if the blame for a lack of community cohesion can be laid at the door of Church schools – nothing could be further from the truth.  As the recently published survey “Quality and Performance in Catholic Schools” (2) shows, our schools are socially and ethnically mixed, and they may have large numbers of pupils who are not Catholic. The high standards reported by Ofsted are not confined to the academic but also encompass positive attitudes, good behaviour, respect for others and excellence in social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. The survey also noted the high degree of parental involvement in Catholic schools and in supporting children’s’ learning. Good governance is also a feature. These aspects demonstrate the reality of the fruitful relationship between home, school and parish upon which Catholic schools are built. It is one in which support for the mission of the school, backed up with practical action is key.

10. The Catholic Church welcomes those of other faiths or none when places are available (overall about 30% of places in our schools are occupied by pupils who are not Catholic). The faith of such children is fully respected. The school, however, remains true to its Catholic identity whatever the pupil profile and those seeking places do so on that understanding. If in the future a quarter of the pupils at the school may be there by a new entitlement and possibly even hostile to the religious aspects of the life of the school, this would be unfair to the pupils in question, and to the remainder at the school.

11. Catholic education cannot be disaggregated or reduced to a pick and mix approach; its religious foundation and ethos permeate all aspects of its work and policies, in turn building a harmonious community. It works best when all involved have sympathy for the Catholic approach and a wish to participate fully in the life of the school.

12. The Catholic Church is not anticipating an expansion of its VA schools responding as it does to demand for places by Catholics. The recent influx of Catholics from Europe and elsewhere alerts us, however, to the need to be able to respond to demographic change. Thus, the proposed introduction of quotas could affect us in the short term and is more likely to do so in the longer term. Critically, we see the imposed introduction of quotas as removing important statutory rights and responsibilities from our governing bodies and overturning long established principles in the provision and running of Catholic schools.

13. Catholic schools enjoy good relations with many other partners in education including those of other faiths and none. We look forward to continuing to work in ways that promote community cohesion and remain willing to discuss any proposals from Government to help community cohesion. However, we do not believe that the alleged intention to introduce quotas is the way forward. We, therefore, urge the rejection of the reported amendment to introduce admissions quotas and the challenge it represents to the governing body's right as admissions authority.

Oona Stannard

Chief Executive and Director (16 October 2006)

Footnotes:

1.       The letter to Alan Johnson was sent by Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Chairman of The Catholic Education Service, on 2.10.06. It may be viewed on CES website www.cesew.org.uk.

2.       “Quality and Performance: A Survey of Education in Catholic Schools” may be viewed on the CES website – click here.

3.       For further information contact the Catholic Communications Network on 07891 105 245 or Oona Stannard on 07818 425 199 or the CES on 0207 901 4880 or calger@cesew.org.uk