"I want my children to go to a school where they can sit next to a Christian, play football in the break with a Muslim, do homework with a Hindu and walk back with an atheist - interacting with them and them getting to know what a Jewish child is like. Schools should build bridges, not erect barriers."

Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE, chair of the Accord Coalition

"All children should be free to grow up in a world where they are allowed to question, doubt, think freely and reach their own conclusions about what they believe."

Ariane Sherine

"Segregation, albeit self-segregation, is an unacceptable basis for a harmonious community and it will lead to more serious problems if it is not tackled"

Cantle Report into riots in Oldham, 2001

"I've previously worked in Cape Town in South Africa, which is emerging from an Apartheid history, which is of course, deeply divided. I can honestly say I have never lived or worked in such a segregated community as this". "We have to encourage people into the belief that having their children educated alongside children from another culture, another religion, is an enhancing thing and not a diminishing thing."

Chris Chivers, Canon of Blackburn Cathedral

Our aim

"To promote inclusive education where pupils from different backgrounds and beliefs are taught together so they can learn with one another and about one another."

Click here to have Your Say
Click here to have your say.

 

Wall between Protestants and Catholics in Belfast. No mixed schools.

 

Wall between Jews and Arabs in Palestine/Israel. No mixed schools.

 

Barriers in the mind are as rigid
as barriers on the ground.

 

We don't want to have to say
"We told you so"
but we will!

Have your say about new Muslim schools in Derby

The Al-Madinah group intends to open Muslim schools (primary and secondary) in Derby in September 2012. The schools will be funded 100% by taxpayers.

  • Please click here for the latest comment from the Department of Education relating to the proposed Al-Madinah school
  • Please click here for why we are concerned that Al-Madinah may not be following the rules.

We think this is a highly divisive step which will not help to promote good community relations.

We have seen the results of segregated education elsewhere (Northern Ireland for example) and we know it creates a "them and us" attitude on both sides. We have seen it result in prejudice, intolerance and worse.

We do not like the idea of children being forced to grow up in a religious bubble where everyone around them: parents, teachers, peers and community, believes the same thing. How are they to make a free and informed choice about what to believe as adults if they have been exposed to only a single world view?

We have created a "Have your say" web page and we welcome everyone from Derby and Derbyshire to tell us what they think about the proposals

Lack of open public consultation

As reported in the Derby Telegraph, 16th December, 2011:

  • "Al-Madinah said admissions were set to open in January and close in March."
  • "Mr Amjad said temporary accommodation was also being looked for in case a permanent site could not be found in time."
  • "Mr Amjad said that a full three-month public consultation would take place on the plans once a site is found."

Al-Madinah has also said that it will advertise for a head/principal in January and appoint as soon as possible afterwards on a one year contract.

Section 10 of the Academies Act 2010 clearly says:

  1. "Before entering into Academy arrangements with the Secretary of State in relation to an additional school, a person must consult such persons as the person thinks appropriate."
  2. "The consultation must be on the question of whether the arrangements should be entered into."

So, Al-Madinah is willing to consult:

  • After it starts recruiting pupils
  • After it has a building
  • After it has set an opening date
  • After it has appointed a head teacher
  • After it has starts recruiting staff

Is this an honest and fair approach to public consultation or does it demonstrate minds that have already been made up?

The latest email from the Department of Education seems to cast doubt on the Al-Madinah approach.

Swedish "free" schools

"Free" schools, introduced by Michael Gove under the Academies Act, are closely modelled on those in Sweden. However, just as they are set to take off in England the Swedish government has introduced new regulations:

"The new rules state that lessons in Swedish 'free' schools must be objective, factual and not contain any religious elements. Compulsory religious instruction and worship have also been abolished. The introduction of the legislation in August followed a series of controversies around religious 'free' schools, including the teaching of creationism."

BHA News, November, 2010

Teachers and "free" schools

  • NASUWT: "The promotion of social cohesion is at the heart of public service provision. Free schools are not premised on the basis of making a meaningful contribution to the promotion of social cohesion. They are deliberately established to stand in isolation from the local authority family of schools. There is the real potential for them to lead to parents seeking segregated schools, as has happened abroad."
  • NUT: "Comprehensive education based on equality should enable the accommodation of beliefs within which faith groups and non-faith groups can attend happily." "The NUT will continue working with all the other education unions, with parents, governors, politicians and other allies inside and outside Parliament to reverse the damaging aspects of the Government’s Free Schools’ proposals."
  • ATL: "ATL calls for faith schools to implement measures, through their admissions, curriculum and employment practices, to ensure that they minimise the risk of segregation and to promote the goal of community cohesion."

We believe:

  1. That children in inclusive schools, compared to those in segregated schools, develop better understanding of, and more tolerant attitudes towards, those from different backgrounds and beliefs.
    (For example: see the key findings of this study.)
  2. That understanding our common humanity, and tolerance of different beliefs, come from mixing with those different from yourself.
  3. That education should encourage open and enquiring minds.
  4. That good community relations and social cohesion depend on integration, not segregation.
  5. That all children have the right to learn about all of the world's belief systems.
  6. That education should equip young adults to make an informed choice about which religion or belief, if any, they wish to follow.
  7. That we share a common culture to which we can each contribute depending on the richness of our backgrounds.
  8. That with rights go responsibilities - particularly towards children.
  9. That schools should be subject to the same Human Rights legislation as other organisations.
  10. That schools should not discriminate in pupil selection or staff employment.
  11. That education is a shared social responsibility funded by taxpayers so schools should be accountable to the whole of the local community - not just parents.
 

We campaign for:

  1. Top quality local community schools - primary and secondary.
  2. Inclusive schools open to children from all backgrounds and beliefs.
  3. Religious Education that teaches about all the world's religions and beliefs - without promoting one above others.
  4. The use in all schools of the local Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.
  5. An end to segregation on grounds of religion, belief or ethnic origin.
  6. An end to employment discrimination based on religious belief.

We support:

  1. Article 14 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Freedom of thought, conscience and religion): "Children have the right to think and believe what they want ...", "the Convention recognizes that as children mature and are able to form their own views, some may question certain religious practices or cultural traditions."
  2. The right of parents to teach their children about their own religion. Note: there is no obligation for society to pay for schools of a religious nature.
  3. Freedom of thought, belief and expression - as long as no harm is caused to anyone else.
  4. The right of people to choose and practise whatever belief system they wish as long as they cause no harm to anyone else and they do not apply undue pressure on others to believe the same.
  5. The right for anyone to criticise any set of beliefs - in a civilised manner.

Self segregation & forced segregation

"Proposed new schools need to be attractive to all communities. In addition, much more needs to be done in engaging and involving parents from all communities in school based community cohesion initiatives."

Ritchie Report into riots in Oldham, 2001.

"We cannot deny that segregation along religious lines has been a major factor in the troubles in Northern Ireland." "We cannot hope to move beyond our present community divisions while our young people are educated separately." "I don't in any way object to churches providing and funding schools for those who choose to use them. What I do object to is the state providing and funding church schools."

Peter Robinson, First Minister, Northern Ireland.

History contains many examples of forced segregation - from the ghettoes for Jews in almost all European cities for most of the last 2,000 years (culminating in the Jewish Holocaust and the problem of Israel/Palestine that is still the greatest cause of conflict in the world today) to the policy of separate development ("Apartheid") along racial lines in South Africa.

Segregation today tends to be self-imposed along a mixture of ethnic, religious and economic grounds. Under current government policies, taxpayers help to encourage that segregation by funding religious schools that often result in 100% segregation along religious lines. This is not acceptable in a plural, diverse, inclusive and civilised society.

Numerous studies have shown that children in inclusive schools, compared to those in segregated schools, develop better understanding of, and more tolerant attitudes towards, those from different backgrounds and beliefs. No studies show the opposite - that segregation promotes community cohesion.

A case study published by the Quilliam Foundation in October 2010 outlines the dangers of the radicalisation of Muslim students if they maintain religious segregation at tertiary level.

Panorama: "White fright" - the dangers of self-segregation.

NOTE: DCIE is not responsible for this material and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of DCIE.

WARNING: these are YouTube links and some of the comments on the web pages are offensive.

The content of the program is deeply worrying and shows what can happen if communities separate themselves from one another. How can there be understanding and tolerance if people from different communities (predominantly a religious community on one side) never meet and interact with one another? One has the question the role of religion in this separation - especially if self-identity is based almost exclusively on religion.

There are no quick fixes to this - but increasing separation in religious schools will certainly make things worse.

DCIE's role

We campaign for integration, for the understanding that comes when children and adults mix, work and play alongside those from different backgrounds and with different beliefs.

We cannot understand those who claim that segregation along religious line is the best way to promote social cohesion and we do not want a form of religious apartheid here in Derbyshire.

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