Oppose the new Bluecoat Church of England faith school, Nuneaton

What's happening?

Inspire Education Trust have proposed a Christian (secondary) faith school in the new Top Farm development in Weddington, Warwickshire, as part of wave 14 of the government's free school programme. Faith-based free schools can select up to half of the pupils based on faith.

It is rival bid to Finham Park Multi Academy Trust and that of Nuneaton-based secondary school Higham Lane, who have both already unveiled a desire to run the new school. Rugby-based Lawrence Sherrif School's proposal for the site was rejected in July 2019. There are two competing proposals for the same site in wave 14 of the programme, Top Farm Community School and a proposal from Higham Lane School.

Limited information is currently available, and we are working with volunteers and supporters to find out more, and to update this campaign page. The Council have informed us that they are not supporting this application and it is possible that it was rejected in this wave, but may reappear in future application waves.

We have approached Warwickshire County Council, seeking the local authority's view, and have contacted the West Midlands regional school commissioner (as well as the DfE) seeking copies of the proposal, so we can properly scrutinise it.

Update 10 July 2020: The Department for Education has refused to publish the application forms for 19 faith schools proposed in wave 14 of the free school programme. They have confirmed that an unspecified number of these applications have been rejected, though they may reappear in a future round. The Department's justification includes that application should be "free from speculation and lobbying until the final decision is made". We regard this as an unacceptable attempt to restrict criticism from civil society and are considering an appeal against the decision.

Update 14 April 2021: This proposal was not appear to have been supported under Wave 14 of the free school programme. The lack of details from the DfE mean the status of applications are not always clear and they may be resubmitted in future waves.

What's our view?

The secretary of state should not support this proposal. If there is a need for more school places in Weddington, then all relevant parties (the local authority, Department for Education, regional school commissioner and local education providers) should work together to develop a community ethos alternative.

Who are we?

No More Faith Schools is a national campaign coordinated by the National Secular Society and with supporters from a broad social, political and religious spectrum. We're dedicated to an end to state funded faith schools. We would like all schools to have an inclusive community ethos, free from any religious discrimination, privilege or control.

We help people challenge new faith schools, particularly where they have discriminatory admissions rules and where there are proposals for inclusive alternatives.

When do you get a say?

This application is part of wave 14 of the government's free school programme. The application may also reappear in future waves. Dates of this wave may be subject to change as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and opportunities for consultation are extremely limited. Interviews with wave 14 applicants may take place from spring 2020, with decisions by the DfE from the summer.

We're seeking further information and will update supporters as soon as we know more about any consultations or a chance to have your say. Please sign and share the petition below, ideally with a comment, to contribute to our challenge against the proposal.

Oppose the new Bluecoat Church of England faith school, Nuneaton

Petition: Warwickshire County Council, and the Department for Education

A Christian faith school shouldn't be opened in Nuneaton without consultation or scrutiny. Any new school should have an inclusive community ethos, not an exclusive faith based one.

Oppose the new Bluecoat Church of England faith school, Nuneaton

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A Christian faith school shouldn't be opened in Nuneaton without consultation or scrutiny. Any new school should have an inclusive community ethos, not an exclusive faith based one.
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