Over 1,000 people call on Education Secretary to 'scrap the cap'

Gillian Keegan MP and Sir Edward Leigh

Source: Catholic Union

More than 1,000 people have signed the Catholic Union's open letter to the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, calling on her to lift the cap on faith-based admissions to new free schools.

The letter was delivered to Ms Keegan at the Department for Education by Catholic Union President, Sir Edward Leigh MP, and Deputy Director, James Somerville-Meikle.

The Catholic Union launched the 'scrap the cap' campaign earlier in the summer. The current policy has made it impossible for new Catholic free schools to open in England as it would lead to pupils being turned away on the basis of their Catholic faith.

The campaign received the backing of Bishop Marcus Stock, Chairman of the Catholic Education Service, and the former Labour and Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly.

Amongst the 1,000 names on the letter there are several Catholic Bishops, parliamentarians, and teachers and lay Catholics from every part of the country.

The 50 percent cap on faith-based admissions applies to oversubscribed free schools with a religious character in England. Introduced by the Coalition Government in 2010, the cap has made it impossible for new Catholic free schools to open as the policy is incompatible with Church law. The 2017 Conservative Party Manifesto committed to reverse the policy, but this was never achieved.

The Catholic Union has said it will use the time left before the next General Election to do everything possible to get the policy changed.

Catholic Union President, Sir Edward Leigh MP, commented: "The 50 percent cap is a source of huge frustration to Catholics in this country. There has never been any justification for the policy or any evidence to support keeping it in place. I was pleased to present this letter to the Secretary of State to demonstrate the strength of feeling amongst the Catholic community about this policy. With a General Election not far off, we may never get a better opportunity to finally lift the cap. Lifting the cap would be a huge vote of confidence in Catholic schools in this country and I know would be welcome by people from other faiths."

Catholic Union Director, Nigel Parker, said: "This campaign has been a huge undertaking by the Catholic Union. Thank you to everyone who has signed the letter and helped to promote it. Thanks to the support we have received, we have been able to put forward a strong case to the Secretary of State for lifting the cap. There is still more work to do and I encourage everyone who supported us to join the Catholic Union or make a donation so we can build on this campaign. We will continue to do everything we can to get this policy changed before the next General Election."

The full text of the letter follows:

The Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP
Secretary of State
Department for Education
20 Great Smith Street
London, SW1P 3BT

Delivered by hand.

18 September 2023

Dear Secretary of State

We are writing to ask you to support our Catholic schools by finally lifting the faith-based admissions cap on new free schools.

Catholic schools, academies and colleges in England and Wales educate just under 850,000 pupils, with Catholic schools making up 9 per cent of the national total of maintained schools.

Our schools are extremely popular with parents and pupils, not only because of their academic performance - five percentage points higher than national GCSE Maths and English scores - but because of the care and quality of the teaching.

While Catholic schools are some of the best performing in the country, there are barriers preventing them from achieving further success. This includes the admissions cap, which the Catholic Union and others have been calling to be scrapped.

The policy has had the effect of making it impossible for new Catholic free schools to open, putting pressure on existing Catholics schools. This is a particular problem for parents of SEND children as it limits their choice.

There has never been any evidence to justify the cap. Our schools are already extremely diverse in terms of background and religion of pupils. Nearly half are from an ethnic minority background, compared to a third in the state sector. Our schools also educate more pupils from the most deprived backgrounds.

There are many other challenges facing Catholic schools, including pay and conditions for staff and the pressure of inspections, which we urge you to address. Lifting the cap would help boost morale for those involved in Catholic education as well as making a real difference to pupils and parents.

We hope that you will use your time as Secretary of State to back Catholic schools and scrap the cap.

Rt Hon Sir Edward Leigh MP
President, the Catholic Union of Great Britain

LINKS

Sign up to the Catholic Union's Weekly Briefing here: https://catholicunion.org.uk/weekly-briefings/
Find out ways you can support the Catholic Union here: https://catholicunion.org.uk/support-us/
More information about the Catholic Union's campaign to "scrap the cap" can be found here: https://catholicunion.org.uk/2023/06/catholic-union-launches-campaign-to-scrap-the-cap/