Faith school cap change proposed
from Education Executive:
As reported by DfE, new government proposals aim to increase good school places by allowing faith-based academies more freedom, alongside unveiling data that shows more than half of schools are now academies.
These proposals build on the government’s success in raising school standards, with 90% of schools now rated good or outstanding, up from just 68% in 2010. Pupils in England are now ‘best in the West’ at reading and have risen to 11th in the global maths rankings, up from only 27th in 2009, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study.
The proposals mean high performing faith school providers will be able to create more good school places and create strong multi-academy trusts around the country where there is demand.
The Church of England, Catholic Church and other faith school providers have a track record in delivering high quality education and run some of the highest performing schools across the country.
New data also published today shows that there are almost 11,000 academies in England, representing over half of state-funded schools, marking a major milestone in the government’s progress towards the vast majority of schools being part of strong trusts by 2030.
The 50% faith cap means that if a new free school with religious character is oversubscribed, it can only prioritise pupils based on faith for 50% of places. At least half of the school’s available places must be allocated without reference to faith-based admissions criteria.
As a result, some faith groups have felt unable to open new free schools and felt discouraged about bringing existing schools into academy trusts.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:
Read also: Schools swap Christian worship for mindfulness from Schools Week
‘Scrapping the cap’ on faith schools is good news for everyone, not just Catholics by James Somerville-Meikle, Premier
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