Ofsted-ing Sunday School?

Keeping a watchful eye on what the Government is up to is painstaking work.

Government departments are constantly holding consultations on a range of issues, from landlord contracts, to public health issues, to home education. Now there are some that are of interest to us at CARE. If there is a consultation on anything to do with the sanctity of life, or problem gambling, online harm and so on, then we’ll be busy preparing a response. But we are also interested in any moves that, intentionally or otherwise, could threaten the freedom of Christians to preach the gospel and live out their faith (or some similar phrase), free of State interference.

Previous powers

You may remember four years ago, the government of the day wanted to empower Ofsted to inspect out-of-school educational settings (OOSS).

What qualifies as an OOSS, you immediately ask? Well, back then the definition was troublingly vague. Any institution or place that provided children up to the age of 19 with six hours or more education in a week would be included.

Given the amount of children’s and youth work in our churches, it raised the horrifying prospect of Ofsted being given the power to inspect church youth groups and Sunday schools and assess the content of what was being taught to ensure it was in line with so-called British values.

This represented a massive infringement on the rights and freedoms of Christians in society. It also represented a shift in the established dynamic between the church and the State. As CARE’s Chief Executive Nola Leach said at the time: ‘The plans were more big brother than big society.’ Christian organisations like the Christian Institute, Christian Concern, the Evangelical Alliance and CARE came together to oppose the plans. After two years of delays, the proposition was quietly dropped.

Back on the agenda?

Except now, it seems to be rearing its ugly head again. On 24 June, the Children not in school consultation closed. It follows a previous consultation and call for evidence on elective home education held by the Department for Education in December 2018. It sought the views of the public on proposals to establish a register maintained by local authorities of children not attending mainstream schools, together with associated duties on parents and proprietors of certain education settings.

According to the Government’s proposal, ‘proprietors’ must take, maintain and store registers of attendance at the setting for State inspection upon request and with sanctions for any failure to do so. Now at this point, you might be thinking to yourself, what is the big deal? Is this not all a bit overly alarmist? Surely there are bigger issues to worry about.

This is where paying attention to the detail of policy really matters, because that is how you spot potential problems. Let me stress: the issue here is theoretical at the moment. It remains to be seen what happens. But the point is that, if you create legislation with ambiguous definitions, you leave the door open to the laws being reinterpreted by future governments in ways you never intended.

A foot in the door

So, what is the issue? Firstly, it is all to do with what the Government means by a ‘setting’ and whether it could apply to churches? What about anywhere that provides some form of youth work in the community? Secondly, what exactly does the Government mean by proprietors? Again, could it be interpreted to mean churches? At the moment, there is no attempt whatsoever at a definition in the consultation – you suspect, because the Government does not yet have one.

Yet vague definitions are the root of a lot of evil. Without clarity, the proposals could be open to abuse by those with an agenda. Worth bearing in mind that Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted has not exactly hidden her antagonism towards elements of Christianity. The Department for Education has so far insisted that the proposals will not include Sunday Schools. But, as things stand, there is a chance that these new plans could mean churches being forced to join a State register. That is the kind of thing you’d expect in a totalitarian state.