Conservatives pledge 'thousands' of faith schools

The Conservatives have said that more faith schools are needed in the UK.

In a speech prepared for a prize-giving ceremony at Greater Manchester’s St Ambrose College, Shadow Education Secretary Tim Collins said that a major expansion of faith schools is “absolutely at the heart of the Conservative vision for better education in the 21st century”. He said: “We must have more of them – not a handful here and there, but hundreds, ultimately perhaps thousands, more.”

Mr Collins stressed that Catholic, Church of England, Jewish and Islamic schools offered higher academic standards and a stronger ethos than secular schools. He said: “They are more likely to provide clear moral guidance and are more insistent upon school uniform and effective discipline.”

The Shadow Education Secretary said that faith provided the “bedrock of our sense of right and wrong”, teaching “the basic codes of conduct which enable us to stay peaceful, happy and friendly with our families and neighbours.”

Mr Collins also said that faith schools helped to bring communities together and teach children values. He said: “They teach the next generation about things which are eternal and unchanging – placing into proper context the normal trivial short-term obsessions of the media and showbiz. They are among the few places where the young can seek out answers to the really big questions – not who will win Pop Idol but what is the purpose of my life and what happens after my death.”

Mr Collins said that the consequences of “the decades-long departure from faith and family” included broken homes, more drug use, abortions and “children without a moral compass”.

The Conservatives plans for faith schools include the provision of state support from faith schools as long as they accept OFSTED inspection, deliver the National Curriculum and admit a minimum of 10% of pupils from other faith or no faith backgrounds.

(KMcA/GB)