Bishop deplores plan to ‘abolish’ faith schools

BY SIMON CALDWELL
A BISHOP has severely criticised the Liberal Democrats for an election pledge that could result in the abolition of religious schools.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto commits the party to stopping Catholic, Anglican and Jewish schools from selecting pupils on grounds of faith.
Critics say the policy would effectively spell the abolition of nearly 7,000 religious schools that have succeeded in delivering a high quality of education over generations.
Bishop Malcolm McMahon of Nottingham accused the Liberal Democrats of seeking to destroy the historic partnership between the state and the churches in the provision of education.
“Catholics should give it very serious consideration before they vote Liberal Democrat,” said Bishop McMahon, the chairman of the Department for Education of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, “Our position is that every person should have the right to bring up their children according to their consciences.” He said that this was the “firm principle” on which all the education policies involving the Catholic Church have been established since Cardinal Henry Edward Manning embarked on a vast schoolbuilding programme in 1870.
The bishop said the principle was enshrined in the 1944 Education Act and preserved by the 1988 Education Reform Act.
But he said the Liberal Democrats were now “looking at changing the fundamentals of education policy which is going to be very damaging for the Catholic Church”.
“I think we have fought hard over the last 150 years to develop the Catholic school system which we believe provides for the needs of our children,” said Bishop McMahon. “We would not want to see that eroded in any way.” The bishop said he was “surprised” by the policy, which he described as “unnecessary”.
He also accused the Liberal Democrats of seeking to “take a slice of the faith school capital”.
He said the party was targeting religious schools because they are successful, with religious schools together gaining about twothirds of all perfect Standard Attainment Tests although they constitute a minority of the sector.
“They [the Liberal Democrats] want a slice of success for everybody, which sounds wonderful until you realise that our schools weren’t founded for that purpose,” Bishop McMahon said.
“We have an education system based on principles not results,” he added. “We believe that education is fundamentally about developing the human person and everything, including good results, flows from that.
“The reason that the Catholic Church is in educa tion is based on the fact that we believe a child should get to know God and God’s creation. That’s why we are in it, that’s why we do it. It’s not only because we get good results.” The policy is contained in a section of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto called Freeing Schools for Excellence. “We will ensure that all faith schools develop an inclusive admissions policy and end unfair discrimination on grounds of faith,” the policy states.
Critics say it will mean that 4,470 Church of England, 2,300 Catholic and 85 Jewish schools will lose control over their admissions, with successful schools in particular possibly inundated with non-religious pupils – often at the expense of religious families.
The pledge echoes a failed Labour Party policy of 2006 to impose quotas of 25 per cent non-religious pupils on faith schools.
The policy was dropped by Alan Johnson, then the Education Secretary, after the bishops, led by Archbishop Vincent Nichols, successfully urged thousands of Christian parents to lobby their MPs to put pressure on Ministers.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, although an atheist, sends his three children – Antonio, Albert and Miguel – to Catholic schools because his Spanish wife, Miriam, is a Catholic.
The prospect of the Liberal Democrats either gaining or sharing power has soared after an impressive performance by Nick Clegg during the first televised leaders’ debate last week.
As The Catholic Herald went to press, an ICM poll for the Guardian put the Tories on 33 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 30 and Labour on 28.
Pundits say that if the May 6 general election reflects the polls then Britain will be on course for a hung Parliament and a country ultimately governed by a Lib-Lab coalition.
Such an outcome would undoubtedly fuel fresh fears of renewed attacks by the Government on Christian institutions.
The Catholic bishops have refused on principle to be drawn into party politics during the general election campaign.
Their pre-election document Choosing the Common Good states that the benefits brought by the Church-state partnership in education have been “substantial and clear”.