Author: Alastair Lichten
The government must respond to pressure to end compulsory school worship
As opposition to compulsory worship gathers and its defenders grow increasingly out of touch, Alastair Lichten says... Read More »
The new education secretary must resist the reactionary campaign against RSE
The campaign against inclusive relationships and sex education risks spreading from the school gates to sympathetic... Read More »
Faith schools’ normalisation of discrimination must be challenged
We regularly hear from teachers who have been discriminated against by state funded schools because they have the... Read More »
New guidance on independent schools: analysis of hard-line opposition and DfE concessions
The government has published new guidance on independent schools, amid systemic failings by independent faith schools.... Read More »
Faith school advocates place inculcation above education
A Christian faith school is "not where everyone was 'nice to each other', but one that will preach and proclaim the... Read More »
New voluntary aided faith schools: what happens next?
This week the Department for Education announced plans for 14 new faith schools which could select all their children... Read More »
Integrated communities require inclusive, secular schools
A government plan on integration sets out a positive vision on education - but faith schools remain the elephant in... Read More »
A secular education system would mean community schools for all
The 1944 Education Act set many of the foundations of our education system. At the time the Church of England –... Read More »
Northern Ireland's children and families are paying the price of faith schools’ failure
Over the last five years schools in Northern Ireland have experienced a 10% funding cut. While the classroom population... Read More »
Weaponised unreasonableness: father claims school standards violate his rights
After a father threatens the government with legal action over a requirement to teach about LGBT people in independent... Read More »
Unravelling the choice delusion
We often hear that faith schools improve choice. But an NSS report shows that choice centred narratives mischaracterise... Read More »
We must resist both religious hatred and its weaponisation
After a sharp rise in reported crimes in which religious hatred was a factor, Alastair Lichten says liberal democracies... Read More »
Church schools are faith schools. Pretending otherwise is dishonest
The Church of England's pretence that 'its' schools aren't faith schools is a dishonest attempt to avoid association... Read More »
How to teach in a Catholic state school in Scotland
You're a newly qualified teacher and you've just seen an advert for a new teaching post at your local state school.... Read More »
Religion and politics – the discrepancy at the heart of our schools
Schools are forbidden from promoting, showing favouritism to or discriminating on the grounds of partisan politics.... Read More »
New guidance on the right to withdraw from RE in Wales – response
New guidance on managing parents' right to withdraw their children from religious education in Wales is largely common... Read More »
Faith schools: why reducing the harm isn’t enough
We can mitigate the harm caused by faith schools in plenty of ways. But after the launch of the No More Faith Schools... Read More »
We can’t build a shared society around segregated schools
Our education and schools officer examines the education proposals in the Government's new integration strategy, arguing... Read More »
Home schooling debate must prompt wider discussion of children’s rights
As supporters of a new Bill aim to see home schooling in England registered for the first time, education and schools... Read More »
Big ideas for religious education?
The latest report into the problems with religious education reiterates the need to start with a fundamental examination... Read More »
The 'war on Christmas' is coming
The myth of a culture war on Christmas may be comical and its claims endlessly debunked, but its promotion is part... Read More »
Secularism and National Libraries Week #LibraryLetters
Ahead of Libraries Week 2017 Alastair Lichten argues that libraries' values of free expression and pluralism illustrate... Read More »
Casework focus: community schools and religious takeovers
Parents and staff regularly contact the NSS over concerns related to religious influence in their schools. Campaigns... Read More »
The human rights of women and secularism go hand in hand
On International Women's Day 2017 NSS campaigns officer Alastair Lichten reflects on the intersection of gender and... Read More »
President Trump: American theocrat
Donald Trump may be America's latest 'atheist president', but his presidency has put Christian Nationalism at the... Read More »