Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications of the Education Policy Institute report, entitled Faith Schools, pupil performance and social selection, published on 2 December 2016, for the proposal to remove the 50 per cent cap on religious selection in faith schools.

The Education Policy Institute report does not recognise the fact that the government’s proposals are focused on creating more good school places, and therefore creating more choice for parents when selecting a school. Our proposals to expand the number of these good school places available to parents will benefit more young people and give them the chance to go as far as their talents will take them.

Faith schools make up a third of all schools in England, and are among the highest performing schools in the country. More primary and secondary faith schools are judged good or outstanding than their non-faith counterparts[1] and consistently achieve higher performance in exam results. Faith schools are popular with parents and so the removal of the 50% faith cap will enable the establishment of even more good schools and places.

[1]Ofsted official statistics: Maintained schools and academies inspections and outcomes as at 31 March 2016 shows faith schools are more likely to be good or outstanding as compared to non-faith schools (89% as compared to 86% at primary; 81% as compared to 75% at secondary).