BHA: Dagenham Council votes for community school to merge into Church school – against both schools’ wishes

Thursday, 12 July 2012 4:06 PM

Barking and Dagenham Council voted yesterday in favour of plans to incorporate a community school into a Voluntary Aided Church of England school – despite both schools coming out against the proposals. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has condemned the decision as an example of a Council riding roughshod over the consultation process.

The staff governors of Village Infants School voted against the proposed merger from the outset, and on Monday, William Ford Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Junior School also voted against. A strong local campaign to the plans gathered over 700 signatures, and the overwhelming majority of responses to the consultation were against. In addition, teachers at Village Infants School had previously announced that they will strike against the plans, and there have been questions about the legality of the consultation process.

Village Infants head teacher Heather Douglas commented, ‘Village Infants has always been careful to make the point that we are not against the Church of England, we are against the principles behind Voluntary Aided schools and the staff are against being forced to change their employer. Village Infants has many Christian teachers as well as atheists and Muslims. They did not choose to work in a “faith” school and feel compromised by being forced to do so.’

However, in spite of this opposition, the Council Cabinet voted to proceed with the merger. BHA Faith Schools Campaigner Richy Thompson commented, ‘This is a clear-cut example of a Council ignoring the wishes of the local community in taking a decision – and as ever, that decision results in more “faith” schools and a more segregated schooling system. We will work with the school to see what we can do to get this decision overturned.’

Notes
For further comment or information, please contact Richy Thompson at richy@humanism.org.uk or on 0781 55 89 636.

View details of the 11 July Cabinet meeting and report on the proposed amalgamation: http://moderngov.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=180&MId=6725

View the proposals and consultation document: http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/Education/Documents/WilliamFordVillageAmalgamation.pdf

Read the BHA press release, Teachers at Dagenham community school to strike over planned incorporation into Church school, 4 July 2012: http://www.humanism.org.uk/news/view/1061

Read the Council’s press release on proceeding with the merger: http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/News/PressReleases/Pages/VillageInfantsSchool.aspx

Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on ‘faith’ schools: http://www.humanism.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-schools/faith-schools

View the BHA’s table of types of school with a religious character: http://www.humanism.org.uk/_uploads/documents/schools-with-a-religious-character.pdf
 

Disclaimer: Press releases published on this page are from key opinion formers who promote their organisation's activities by subscribing to a campaign site within politics.co.uk. politics.co.uk does not endorse, edit, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases are wholly the responsibility of the originating company or organisation.

Related stories

Church of England digs in against gay marriage

Gay marriage proposals are attracting intense opposition

Legalising gay marriage could lead to the Church of England's disestablishment, it has warned.

comments comments

Cameron: Church of England needs to 'get with the programme'

Outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said decision had cost Church credibility

David Cameron has refused to intervene after the Church of England voted against allowing women to be appointed as bishops.

comments comments

Religious solidarity trumps atheist scepticism, poll suggests

Power of faith? Atheists seem more hostile to Muslim issues than Christians

People of different faiths are likely to support each other's issues more than people of no faith, a new survey suggests.

comments comments

Rumble of war between Church of England and parliament after women bishops vote

Women in the Church: MPs asked why women could not be bishops when a woman is at the head of the Church of England.

The House of Common was on course for a clash with the Church of England today, after MPs across the main parties savaged the decision not to allow women bishops.

comments comments

Queen wades into religion debate: Church of England 'under-appreciated'

The Queen is also head of the Church of England

The Church of England is "occasionally misunderstood" and "commonly under-appreciated", the Queen has said.

comments comments

Clegg joins campaign for gay marriage in church

Gay marriages in church looking hopeful

The fight for gay equality won a boost today after Nick Clegg revealed he will push for same-sex marriages in church.

comments comments

Queen's Church of England link questioned by MPs

Should the Queen remain head of the Church of England?

Constitutional changes are raising further questions about the Queen's role as head of the Church of England, MPs have said.

comments comments

Comment: St Paul's protest has revealed pressures at the heart of the Church

Nick Spencer is research director at Theos, the public theology thinktank

The more society becomes individualised, the more the Church of England will struggle to keep its unique message intact.

comments comments

Cameron: Williams guided church through times of change

Cameron: Williams guided church through times of change

Prime minister David Cameron praises Dr Rowan Williams, who has announced his resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury:

comments comments

Profile: Church of England's next Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Justin Welby

Justin Welby has taken the Church of England by surprise to emerge as the next Archbishop of Canterbury

A privileged education and a past in the oil business: why has the Church of England picked one of its self-confessed "thicker bishops" as the Archbishop of Canterbury?

comments comments

Press Releases

BHA: New 2011 English and Welsh Census figures on religion released

GALHA and BHA support International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

Government opposes cross-party move to give legal recognition to humanist marriages

Strong case for assisted dying made in final day of Nicklinson/Lamb Court of Appeal case

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG) Test

2013 Shelley Lecture - Is Literature Good for Us?

One Life presented by the BHA choir

Blackham Lecture 2013: How do we raise moral children? Stephen Law presents...

Britain’s Sexual Revolution - a talk by Dr Matt Cook

BHA: Nicklinson, Lamb and ‘Martin’ assisted dying hearings at Court of Appeal begin

More Articles ...

Twitter

Join the conversation at #opinion_formers

Related Opinion Former Press Releases

BHA: Barking & Dagenham Council reverses unlawful decision to create faith school

The Cabinet of Barking and Dagenham Council voted yesterday to rescind their recent decision to incorporate a community school into a Voluntary Aided Church of England school against the wishes of both schools, a decision that the British Humanist Association (BHA) and others had claimed was unlawful. The BHA has welcomed the decision, having been in the early stages of working with local residents to take legal action against the merger.

BHA: Church looks to use its schools as tools for evangelisation

Yesterday saw the Church of England set out its recent Church School of the Future Review, also known as the Chadwick Report, at the General Synod. Introducing the report, John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford and chairman of the Church of England board of education, argued that Church schools are ‘absolutely and irrevocably at the heart of our mission’, and explained that they are working on a new curriculum that will mean that ‘the Christian faith right the way through its life, not just in RE and collective worship.’ The British Humanist Association (BHA) has questioned the legality of such a move.

BHA: Michael Gove to work 'to extend the role of the Church in the provision of schools'

Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove has said that he will work with the Chair of the Church of England’s Board of Education, Bishop of Oxford John Pritchard ‘to extend the role of the Church in the provision of schools.’

Special event coverage

ESRC logo

Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Evidence-based policy should not be a radical concept. It needs to be celebrated.

ESRC logo

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, the Deafness Cognition And Language Research Centre (DCAL) hosted an event exploring the powerful benefits of bilingualism in spoken and sign languages, for hearing and deaf people alike - benefits that reach hearing and deaf people alike.

Opinion Former Events

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition & Conference 2013

Following the great success of the BSIA's Information Destruction Conference and Exhibition in May 2012, we are pleased to annouce that the event is returning again in June 2013. This one-day conference and exhibition is aimed at key decision makers in organisations that carry out the secure destruction of confidential material.