Faith schools produce pupils with wide social responsibility
The opinion often voiced ( September 16) that educating children of different backgrounds alongside each other will automatically result in more cohesion (often referred to by academics as the “contact hypothesis”) is by no means universally accepted. On the contrary, many believe that having a strong and confident self-identity will facilitate tolerance and respect for others, and many faith schools are multiracial and draw pupils from a wide catchment area and a broad socio-economic range.
There is a popular misconception that pupils in statemaintained faith schools study in “splendid isolation” and are unaware of the real world around them. This is not the case for a number of reasons. First of all, most of these schools contain members of staff who are of another or no faith. Secondly, pupils in faith schools often attend sports clubs and other activities out of school with other children. Thirdly, faith schools take their civic and communal responsibilities extremely seriously.
In Jewish schools in which I have worked over the past 35 years, in addition to supporting Jewish charities and events, we have raised funds for many national good causes such as the Poppy Appeal, Barnado’s, and Jeans for Genes as well as international causes such as the Tsunami appeal.
What is important, surely, is that all schools promote respect and courtesy towards others. In my own research with 450 headteachers of voluntary-aided faith schools across the country (10 per cent of all such schools at the time), the special ethos of such schools was particularly evident as a result of faith, shared values between home and school, and being part of, and contributing to, the wider community. In an increasingly secularised society in which RE is being marginalised, state-maintained faith schools give pupils self-esteem and confidence in their own beliefs so that they can face the world with tolerance and strength and play a full part in wider society. Dr Alan Shaw, Head Teacher, Hasmonean Primary School London NW4