Thousands of children are languishing in unregistered faith schools.
These schools prioritise fundamentalist religion over the education and welfare of children.
The scandal of unregistered schools must be addressed.
Some religious institutions operate schools which are not registered with the Department for Education, despite this being a legal requirement.
Schools are left unregistered to avoid regulations and inspections, so they can teach a very narrow, religion-based curriculum without oversight. This severely limits children's future options, as children leave these schools with very poor literacy, no formal qualifications and no skills or experience for life in modern Britain.
The lack of scrutiny also presents major safeguarding concerns. Children have been taught in unsafe conditions and subjected to physical punishment in these schools. The curriculum may also teach extremist, regressive and discriminatory dogma.
In 2019, Ofsted estimated as many as 6,000 children were being educated in unregistered settings. But the number could be even higher. Approximately 86,300 children and young people were electively home educated nationally during the year 2019/20. There is little regulation of home education, so many of these children could in fact be attending an unregistered school.
Some unregistered schools exploit loopholes in the law to avoid registration and operate at the margins of the law as an "out of school educational setting". Although many out of school settings, including tuition centres and supplementary schools, provide an excellence service, a minority put children's welfare at risk.
We are working to end the harms caused by unregistered schools by campaigning for greater powers for Ofsted tackle these settings, the elimination of loopholes to force more schools to register, and improved regulation of elective home education.
Take action!
1. Suspect an unregistered school? Report it!
Unregistered schools are illegal and pose a serious threat to children's wellbeing. If you think you know of a possible unregistered school, please report it to the schools inspectorate Ofsted.
If you are aware of children in imminent danger, please call 999 and inform the police.
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Ofsted head issues warning on religious pressure in education
Posted: Fri, 2 Nov 2018 16:58
The National Secular Society has said the government "must heed" a warning from the chief inspector of schools in England that religious pressure is undermining children's education.
In a letter to the chair of the Public Accounts Committee this week, Amanda Spielman called for tougher action on unregistered schools and better guidance for schools resisting "community pressures". She also advocated a register of home educated children.
Spielman called unregistered schools "a huge concern". She said Ofsted inspectors had been "shocked by what they have found" in them and called for more powers to deal with them.
She warned of narrow curricula in unregistered schools, with some giving children "a predominantly or exclusively religious education", and the potential for child abuse.
She said Ofsted inspectors had found "extremely worrying material" in some of these schools. She cited examples of books that say men may use physical violence against their wives, tell women not to refuse their husbands sex and call for the death of gay people.
Inspectors have found similar material in poorly performing registered independent schools and a maintained community school.
Spielman added that the premises in unregistered schools are "often squalid and unsafe" and the quality of education offered is "often poor".
"We have heard from children in these schools who, for instance, were never taught basic mathematics or how to read English."
She said Ofsted's lack of power to seize evidence means "we are tackling this problem with one hand tied behind our back" and called for "a tighter definition of what constitutes a school".
The NSS has campaigned for years for measures to address the growth of unregistered schools. Last week two people were convicted of running an illegal school in the first successful prosecution brought for that reason in England.
Spielman also urged the government and local authorities to support schools which resist "community pressures" to restrict children's rights in the name of religion.
"I am concerned that too little support is given by the DfE (Department for Education) and local authorities to schools that face pressure from groups in the local community or national pressure groups.
"When these groups press for changes in school policy on the basis of religion or culture, it can lead to the curtailing of rights of other protected groups, most often girls. This can affect what is taught, what is not taught, what activities children take part in and what they are withdrawn from, and what children wear or do not wear.
"Ofsted will always support schools that make the right decisions in the interests of all children who attend their school, particularly when this is in the face of undue influence. However, as the inspectorate, there is only so much we can do. We very much hope that the DfE moves to put in place stronger guidance to support schools that find themselves in these circumstances. "
Last year the NSS asked the government to issue guidance on religious dress in schools after revealing that girls in dozens of English schools are forced to wear hijabs. The NSS reiterated its call earlier this year after a highly-rated primary school in east London which restricted the hijab and fasting backed down amid a campaign of intimidation from opponents.
Spielman called for a register of children in home education, saying some parents "use home education as a guise to allow them to use illegal schools or to evade the scrutiny of public services".
"The lack of information about where these children end up is perhaps my greatest concern as chief inspector. I am not proposing that Ofsted inspects home education, but we must now move to a registration process run by local authorities.
"This would ensure that we know where these children are and that they are safe. I very much hope that the DfE moves quickly from its recent call for evidence to a concrete legislative solution."
In July the NSS backed plans for a register of home educated children.
The NSS has previously raised concerns that religious groups exploit lax home schooling regulation to indoctrinate children with narrow worldviews. In March a Metropolitan Police study found that half of 70 known extremists in London removed their children from state schools to educate them at home.
NSS education and schools officer Alastair Lichten said the government "must heed" Spielman's latest comments.
"Amanda Spielman has highlighted a series of problems which need to be tackled. Unregistered schools are failing to provide children with an adequate education. It is particularly shocking that material promoting violence against women and promoting the death of LGBT people has been found in establishments which supposedly educate children.
"Schools which stand up to unreasonable religious bullying need more support. And registration would be a minimal and reasonable imposition on home education which would strike a reasonable balance between children's rights and families' autonomy.
"The government must not shy away from confronting these issues out of a misplaced desire to avoid offending religious sensitivities."
NSS welcomes first convictions for running unregistered faith school
Posted: Wed, 24 Oct 2018 15:55
The National Secular Society has welcomed a landmark successful prosecution of the proprietors of an unregistered religious school.
At Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday Nacerdine Talbi and Beatrix Bernhardt were convicted of running Al-Istiqamah Learning Centre in Ealing, west London as an unregistered school.
At least 350 unregistered schools have been set up across England, according to Ofsted. But this is the first successful prosecution of its kind.
Talbi (the school's director) and Bernhardt (the headteacher) were given a community order subjecting them to a 12-week night-time curfew. The institution was fined £100.
The Islamic learning centre, which also offered supplemental education, has been temporarily closed. It is not clear whether it will move toward registered school status, as other illegal schools have.
The school was teaching 58 pupils in a west London office block. Talbi claimed it was a study centre for home educated children, but the court heard that around half of the pupils were at the school for 25 hours per week.
The school had a head teacher and homework and charged fees in a way that suggested academic terms. It conducted lessons in subjects including maths, science, geography, history, English and Arabic.
Ofsted started investigating the school last year. Inspectors said the hours were such that pupils could not have attended school elsewhere.
The chief magistrate concluded the centre was "providing all or substantially all" of the education for children who attended for 25 hours. This meant it was "being operated as an unregistered independent educational institution providing full-time education".
According to reports following the conviction, a worksheet on the school's wall said "Muslims and animals" were saved on Noah's ark and Allah punished people because "they disbelieved".
The case is seen as a test for efforts by Ofsted and the Department for Education to tackle unregistered schools, following the launch of a taskforce in 2016 to combat their proliferation.
The NSS has campaigned for years for measures to address the growth of unregistered schools, which often teach a narrow and restrictive faith-based curriculum, denying young people a decent education.
Earlier this year the NSS met Lord Agnew, the minister in charge of faith schools, to discuss efforts to tackle unregistered faith schools. The society also raised concerns about parents claiming to be home educating when they send children to illegal schools.
At the meeting Lord Agnew reassured the NSS that the government was prioritising efforts to tackle unregistered schools and working with local authorities to address the problem.
NSS education and schools officer Alastair Lichten welcomed the convictions, saying it was "good to see the Department for Education's focus on illegal schooling paying off".
"We all have an interest in ensuring children are at the very least physically safe no matter where they receive their education. But beyond than this, children have the right to an education which opens their future potential, rather than closing it.
"Schools with narrow curricula or aimed at preparing pupils only for life within a specific religious community, critically undermine children's rights to an open future.
"In independent schools the right balance needs to be struck between school autonomy and protecting children's rights. No such balance can exist when 'schools' operate completely outside regulatory oversight."
Following the conviction Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman said: "We hope that today's judgment sends out a message to all those running such schools that they will face justice.
"We will continue to investigate and expose illegal, unregistered schools and, where we find them, play our part in making sure they are closed or become properly registered."
Lynette Woodrow from the Crown Prosecution service said: "This is the first prosecution of its kind against an unregistered school in England and Wales. The centre claimed it simply provided tuition to home-schooled children but using witness statements and photographic evidence collected by Ofsted inspectors, the CPS was able to prove this was not the case.
"It is a criminal offence to run an unregistered school and we will take steps to prosecute those responsible where there is the evidence to do so."
Lord Agnew also welcomed the ruling: "We have always been clear that where schools are operating illegally, action will be taken and this decision is evidence of that."
There have long been concerns over the role of unregistered faith schools. In 2008 The JC raised the issue of children disappearing from the education system at the age of 13 and being "systematically undereducated in secular studies" in unregistered, unregulated schools.
Registered independent schools are subject to the Independent School Standards – which have been strengthened in recent years, thanks to lobbying from the NSS.
