From the UK: Do Faith Schools discriminate against immigrant children?
Some of Britain’s faith schools are being accused of inadvertently discriminating against children from immigrant or poorer backgrounds, according to head of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA), Ian Craig.
Faith schools in Britain are allowed greater control in the selection process that determines which children are given places, but in some faith schools this process disadvantages those children that do not come from white, middle class backgrounds. Faith schools are also allowed to give a higher priority to those children raised in the same faith as the school but some faith schools operate a points system whereby, according to Mr. Craig, it is impossible for some children to be selected.
Just some of the criteria used by some faith schools depend on whether or not the child’s parents volunteer at a church which discriminates against those parents who work long hours and have no time to volunteer and also whether or not the child was baptised within three months of birth, which discriminates against Eastern European families, who traditionally do not baptise their children until they are one year old.
The Office of the School Adjudicator is keen to point out that they have not found any instances of faith schools deliberately discriminating against children from poorer or immigrant families but merely that the selection systems in place are inadequate. Local authorities are required to make sure that all schools follow the legislation regarding intake. But only when the intake legislation is made clearer will the system be truly fair for all children.