Author: Alastair Lichten

Child praying

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 »

Classroom

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

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 »

Classroom

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

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?

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 »

Faith schools protest

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

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 »

Peace walls... of Belfast, via Wikimedia Commons, © diego_cue [CC BY-SA 3.0]

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 »

Hand holding

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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 »