Education Bad News for Secular Education in the UK I will now post three articles from Humanists UK that show things aren't progressing in the UK the way secularists might hope. Sometimes it's one step forward and two steps back. Humanists UK and the National Secular Society are fighting to counteract this - please support
Education 70 Rabbis challenge Chief Rabbi over religious selection in school admissions School admissions have been a bone of contention of mine for a long time, especially having once worked in the faith school sector for about a decade. The UK is very different to places like the US. Here, in certain sectors, some 40% of our state schools are faith schools.
BHA Entirely the wrong direction of travel: Church of England announces 100 more church schools From the BHA: The Church of England's educational empire-building continues, with its recent announcement of plans to build more than 100 discriminatory Anglican 'free schools', which will have the legal right to select 50% of school places on the basis of religion. As if that weren&
free market economics Academisation - A Non-Evidence-Based Ideological Crusade on Education. I Am Angry. At last our schools will be “set free” by George Osborne. They’ll be “free from local bureaucracy”, no longer run by councils but governed instead by academies, such as the one set up by carpet millionaire Lord Harris. It seems incredible that up until now, no one has taken
Education New figures show 40% of latest Free School proposals were from faith groups The BHA reports (and for those who do not know what "free schools" are, see here): The Department for Education (DfE) has now published the names, locations, and religious characters of all Free School applications from the ‘tenth wave’, revealing that two fifths of applications submitted were from
Free Schools 'Free schools are a vanity project and a reckless waste of public money' Geoff Barton, headteacher of King Edward VI School in Suffolk, writes: I drove in to work this morning listening to Radio 4’s Today programme. I wasn’t quick enough to avoid its regular Thought for the Day segment. But in a way I’m glad. Because straight afterwards education secretary Nicky Morg
BHA Government approves 12 new religious Free Schools The BHA has released this: During a speech detailing Conservative plans to open 500 new free schools by 2020, David Cameron has today announced the approval of 49 new Free Schools due to open from September 2015 and beyond. This includes 12 new religious schools. The British Humanist Association (BHA)
Education Free School praised by Michael Gove ordered to close due to bullying and religious bigotry A Christian free school lauded by Education Secretary Michael Gove has been ordered to close after inspectors accused pupils of harbouring “prejudiced views” of children from other faiths which went unchallenged by their teachers.
Education The Perfect Storm : Gove’s Teacher Shortage For those of you who are in the teaching profession, or who are interested in politics, and how Govian free market economics is trying to usurp education, then this is fascinating. It's a tour de force, from Disappointed Idealist: Something hideous this way comes. It’s a teacher shortage. Nothing
Education Woo hoo! Yes! Zippedy doo whoop!... Oh shit... YES!!! GIVE IS OUT, GOVE IS OUT, WHOOP DE DOO, GOVE IS OUT. GOVE HAS GONE, GOVE HAS GONE, YAY YAY YAY, GOVE HAS GONE!
Education Islamic take-over of UK schools being investigated The government are continuing to look into the Islamification of certain schools in the Birmingham area as I reported (from the BBC) before. Here, the anti-terrorism unit has got involved. This is close to my teaching and secular heart (from the BBC again):
Education Why I am going on strike Wednesday 26th is an important day for the National Union of Teachers here in the UK. We have voted to go out on strike and I am going to do so, foregoing my pay for the day. I don't take this action lightly, but then nor do I accept hat he government is doing to the education system lightly. I woul
Conservatives Gove and Free Schools are an embarrassment. Shocker. So I have written a number of times about Gove and his penchant for free market economics in school and his libertarian approach to education. And how it totally sucks. Well, his Free School initiative is terrible and is faltering as the days go by. Between Free Schools and Academies, he is doing a
Conservatives Cause for concern: two state schools challenge Government policy on teaching evolution This is a disgrace. This is what our schools are coming to given the government's insistence that anyone can set up schools (Free Schools). This is just an excuse for ideological indoctrination. Here is an email the British Humanist Association sent me:
Education An Indictment of British (Faith) Free Schools I am a big advocate of the state education sector in Britain. I hate Michael Gove, the Conservative Education Minister, with a passion. He is trying to deregulate and effectively privatise the education system. I will joining my brothers and sisters on strike on the 17th October. I will be
Education Concerns raised about gender and religious discrimination at Derby Muslim Free School The Derby Telegraph has reported that Al-Madinah School, a Muslim Free School that opened in Derby in September 2012, is forcing all female members of staff to wear a hijab (whether Muslim or not), and is requiring girls to sit at the back of classrooms. The Sunday Times is further reporting that re
Creationism Government changes rules to require Free Schools to teach evolution Sorry, /i know I have posted a lot of news articles recently, but this one from the British Humanist Association has made me sooo happy: The Government has announced today that it has changed the rules governing Free Schools in order to require them to teach evolution. The British Humanist
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