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** December 2019 update

Hello,

Our best chance of success - of stopping new faith schools and transitioning to a fully inclusive community ethos system - is a strong national campaign working with diverse local campaigns and activists across the country. Supporters like you are crucial to both.

We need your help to spread the campaign. And we want to help you in your local communities. Over the past few months I've visited six groups across the country and supported the launch of three new local campaigns. More is coming and we want you on board. I already have two events <[link removed]> booked in the New Year and want to book more over the spring and summer. So please get in contact if you'd like to put something together.

We want every proposed new faith school to face opposition and pressure for inclusive alternatives. Details on local supporters, many of whom first get in contact through the national petition <[link removed]>, are crucial. Our new template letters for Northern Irish MLAs, Scottish MSPs and Welsh AMs are helping to ensure we reach every part of the country.

At the moment our campaign in Hampton Water (Peterborough) is our highest profile one. We're working with local parents, helping to make a strong case against a new discriminatory Catholic school and for an alternative with a community ethos.

In other news this month, a state funded Jewish faith school has been criticised for its restricted curriculum and we've highlighted research from our friends at the Accord Coalition showing how much capital funding for discriminatory faith schools owned by religious bodies comes from taxpayers.

As academic research shows some intolerant attitudes are widespread among Catholic school pupils in Scotland, I've called on politicians to end the taboo on criticising denominational schools. And with the election ahead, Stephen Evans has called on politicians to end their fetishisation of faith schools and face the fact that a religiously divided education system is unfit for the future.

Best wishes,

Alastair Lichten
Campaign coordinator - NMFS

** Latest news & opinion

* Why the blind spot when it comes to faith schools? <[link removed]>

Politicians need to end their fetishisation of faith schools and face the fact that a religiously divided education system is unfit for the future, argues Stephen Evans.

* If we want a tolerant Scotland, let’s educate children together <[link removed]>

As academic research shows some intolerant attitudes are widespread among Catholic school pupils in Scotland, Alastair Lichten says rolling back denominational education is essential to promoting cohesion and equality.

* NMFS campaign opposes plans for new faith schools in Inverclyde <[link removed]>

The No More Faith Schools campaign is supporting residents to oppose plans to convert a village school into a Catholic faith school, along with other changes.

* Council opens consultation over new discriminatory faith school <[link removed]>

The NMFS campaign is urging supporters to respond to a consultation over plans to open a discriminatory Catholic school in Peterborough.

* Taxpayers fund vast majority of discriminatory faith schools’ costs <[link removed]>

Taxpayers are funding a larger proportion of discriminatory voluntary aided faith schools' building costs than they were a decade ago.

* Jewish girls’ school criticised for restricting curriculum <[link removed]>

A Jewish school has been criticised for restricting its curriculum and failing to prepare its pupils fully for life in modern Britain.

** Can you give the campaign a quick boost?

If you're on Twitter, then you can help draw attention to the campaign with one of our template tweets.

Tweet 1

Tweet 2

** Help the campaign - share your story

• Have you been assigned a faith school against your wishes, like John from Plymouth? • Were you unable to send your child to your local school because of religious discrimination, like Stephen from Newcastle Upon Tyne? • Have you had to deal with unwanted evangelism at your or your child's school, like Helen from York? • Have you been affected by faith schools' discriminatory relationships teaching, like Catherine from County Durham? • Are you a teacher who's been turned down for a job because you're the 'wrong' religion, like Rachel from Sussex, or dealing with growing evangelism at a CofE faith school, like another of our contributors? • You can help the campaign by showing the people behind
the facts, figures and principled arguments against faith schools.

Share your story <[link removed]>

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