I’ve been wanting to get this stuff off my chest for a long time. My eldest daughter goes to Archbishop of York Junior School, which was recently subject to an Ofsted inspection, as well as its Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools. In addition the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, recently visited the school’s Xmas play. In all these events/occasions, public comments were made about the school being good “because it is Christian”. This enrages me, because it’s an insult. It’s an insult to every non-religious person, or person of other religious affiliation, who leads a normal, good and positive life. They get away with it here because the parent community is overwhelmingly WASP. It also enrages me because the good results are used to foster the myth that Christianity is good for kids. On the contrary, I would claim that any kind of religious culture in schools is anti-educational (look at the comments below).  

So, both school inspection reports were very positive, in the sense that the inspectors saw what they wanted. At the Xmas play, commenting on this, John Sentamu said “what more could you want from a school?”

I’ll tell you what one could want: inclusivity and a respect for truth. If I don’t want my kids to get their daily dose of Christian dogma, wrapped up as truth, then I have to exclude my kids from their community every day. That’s a terrible thing to do to a young kid, but, apart from changing schools, that’s the option I have. And, because I wouldn’t inflict that on my kids for love nor money, they sit through the dogma, and I don’t want them to. What would be satisfactory from my perspective would be non-religious daily assemblies, which uphold shared human values, and RE that was teaching “about religion”, rather than taking the kids to church. Could I be a teacher at this school? No; I could not uphold the “values” I would be required to uphold, and what is more, couldn’t do what was required with a clean conscience: I can’t do those things to kids, and I’m glad that as a university lecturer, I’m not asked to do these things. They would either not employ me, or I’d be asked to leave, or I’d leave on my own. It’s not inclusive for pupils and it’s not inclusive for teachers either. As for respect for truth, see below.

So, the Ofsted report says:

“A major strength is pupils’ outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, reflecting the school’s Christian foundation.”

There is the insult again. I actually don’t think that Christianity is moral, but fortunately the kids get a version that is like weak tea. What they get is shared human values dressed up in Christian clothes plus a bit of supernatural dogma to justify it. They all leave believing that Christianity is the best thing on Earth.

Now to the really scary part: the SIAS report. Here are some quotes.

“The acknowledgement of the presence of God and the Christian values seen in action in the practise and policy of this school results in pupils making outstanding academic and personal development”.

There we go again: any positive influence on the kids get the “”God” or “Christian” label. It’s an insult, and it’s, at the least, positive spin.

“Focus for development: ensure that values have a greater explicit link to Christian teachings”. In other words, ensure that the kids know that they anything good comes from the Bible and Jesus. This seems sinister and divisive to me. Will they grow up thinking that non-Christians can’t be good?

“Everyone is recognized as a unique individual created by God”. Unsupported dogma, therefore anti-educational.

“The links between the daily life of the school, collective worship and religious education result in a celebration of faith at the heart of the school “like writing through a stick of rock”.” Faith is and has been the major hindrance to the positive development of human society: to celebrate it is tantamount to celebrating ignorance and theocracy. Kids should not be taught to celebrate faith: they should be taught critical thinking and a healthy skepticism.

“They confidently explain that in RE “we learn about the Christian faith and links with worship allows us the choice to learn how to be a better person””. In other words, they have been successfully indoctrinated, and will spend the rest of their lives trying to escape this early life experience. They have successfully been conditioned to think that Good=Christian. This is probably harmful to society.

“They…understand that their school is unique because “we all learn about and from God””. I’m curious how they learn from God, given that there’s no evidence for his existence. I wish their school was unique in this respect: actually I wish no school was like this at all.

“Pupils understand the need for forgiveness and a fresh start because Christian values underpin the rewards and sanctions policies.” This is very worrying. If they think that forgiveness stems from Christianity, what will they do when they give it up later in life, or how will they expect non-Christians to treat them? This seems socially divisive.

“Although school displays are effectively used to reinforce the distinctiveness of the school and promote pupils’ thinking, they sometimes lack links to specific Christian teachings”. Not enough positive spin then. But to be fair, I think that whenever they see something bad, they should also link that to specific Christian teachings too. It’s not hard to find them in the Bible.

“Worship is central to the life of the school as a time to “come together to learn about God””. A God, for which there is no supporting evidence. Therefore this is anti-educational. Is this statement consistent with the CofE’s own website which claims that its schools do not indoctrinate children? It certainly sounds as if these kids are indoctrinated, and it certainly sounds as if the inspectors want them to be.  

“The atmosphere and quality of worship takes pupils to the threshold of worship, however the interest and deeper thinking of pupils allows them to fully engage with the worship and love of God”. People who think like this should not be allowed to inspect educational establishments.

 “Pupils describe the high profile of prayer in school as “time to talk to God and say thank you or sorry””. They have clearly found their invisible friend.

“They make good use of opportunities to use the prayer corners in each classroom for personal reflection”. What will they do when God does not answer their prayers? Is this good for kids?

“The personal faith of the headteacher ensures that “the love of Jesus is central to the life of this school because God wants us to be the best we can””. Could I become headteacher of this school? I think not.

If I got a report like this I’d be shocked and immediately be putting into action measures to give the kids a real education based on evidence and shared human values. Unfortunately the school is proud of it, and immediately sent a copy to all parents. Hence this rant.

Advertisement