The Government has announced plans to change many of the rules surrounding admissions to, and the opening of, new faith based free schools and academies.

These proposals include allowing new and existing faith based free schools to religiously select 100% of their pupil intake.

Religious selection in schools is discriminatory, entrenches religious segregation in wider society, and often leads to ethnic and socio-economic segregation too.

In a society as diverse as ours, rather than facilitating segregation along religious lines, the Government should be doing everything it can to ensure that children of all faiths and none are educated together in inclusive schools.

The Government says that these proposals are intended to "promote inclusivity", but it should be obvious to everyone that facilitating a new generation of 100% religiously selective schools is, by definition, inimical to this aim.

The proposals are intended to generate a new wave of faith-based schools. A proliferation of faith schools will impede the integration of religious minorities, harm social cohesion, increase levels of discrimination in a state funded schools, undermine children and young people's religious freedoms and further disenfranchise the growing non-religious majority in this country who are increasingly seeing their options for a non-faith-based education for their child limited.

The time has come to end religious discrimination and segregation in our schools – not extend it.

Please urge your MP to oppose these proposals and encourage them to instead call for schools to be open and inclusive, catering for all local children regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs.