The Trojan Horse affair is largely about the claim that some schools in Birmingham – and Park View school in particular – allowed an undue religious influence over the curriculum and other practices in the schools. The further implication has been that this has undermined an appreciation of diversity and religious tolerance on the part of the children, and, therefore, has been in conflict with ‘British values’. There has also been the claim that segregation of boys and girls has taken place and that this, too, is detrimental to equalities of opportunity, although, as we saw in the last chapter, the guidance to schools is explicit that the separation of girls and boys is good practice for some activities where there are cultural sensitivities about the suitability of mixing.

One of the key themes in reporting on the case is that practices which were alleged to have taken place at Park View school might have been unobjectionable had it been a ‘faith school’, but they were a problem because it was not. The implication of many reports (including, most egregiously, the Clarke Report) is that schools that are not ‘faith schools’ are, therefore, intended to be ‘secular’. As we shall see, this is not the case – all schools, whatever their designation – faith, non-faith, or whether they are LEA maintained, academy or ‘free’ – are required to hold daily acts of collective worship and teach religious education. The main difference between faith and non-faith schools concerns the recruitment of teachers and other staff – for example, whether a particular faith-background can be required – and pupil selection – for example, whether this can be from a particular faith background (though even the latter is regulated). In schools with a religious foundation, religious education and collective worship will reflect the Trust deeds of the school, whereas those schools without a religious foundation will either follow the locally agreed syllabus or, in the case of academies and free schools, a religious education syllabus of their choosing in line with their contract with the EFA.

Before we address the allegations against PVET directly, we want to set out more fully the nature of the obligations concerning religion in schools in England (there are some differences with regard to other devolved jurisdictions in the UK, especially Northern Ireland and Scotland).