Education Bill — No requirements of attendance at a place of religious worship — rejected — 6 Feb 2002 at 21:30

The majority No voters rejected a new clause^[1] to the Education Bill. This would have required religious state schools to accept a minimum of 25% of non-religious applicants. It also states that pupils admitted to state schools, and their parents and guardians, do not have to attend a place of worship or belong to a particular faith. However, the amendment was defeated.

The main aims of the Education Bill were to^[2]:

• Allow schools to exempt themselves from laws which prevented them from innovating. However, this is dependent on the Secretary of State's approval.
• Give good schools the option of qualifying for greater flexibility in the National Curriculum and teachers' pay.
• Allow schools to join together in a federation under a single governing body.
• Further regulate school admissions, exclusions and attendance policies.
• Give the Secretary of State further powers to intervene in failing schools.
• Introduce a new regulatory regime for independent schools.

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• [1] Frank Dobson MP, House of Commons, 6 February 2002
• [2] TeacherNet Summary, 17 September 2002

Debate in Parliament | Historical Hansard | Source |