It is a religious imperative to allow your children to mix with people of all faiths and backgrounds whilst at school, according to the chair of the Accord Coalition.

Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain was speaking at the Accord Coalition’s fringe event at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, ‘Should we have faith in faith schools?’ run in partnership with the British Humanist Association.

Coming from a religious perspective the Rabbi told the fringe “schools should be about education, not indoctrination”.

He spoke of his belief that we “should not divide children”.

“Ignorance can lead to prejudice, and that can lead to inter-communal hostility,” he said.

John Banks, former head of education at the National Union of Teachers and now a visiting professor at the Institute of Education, although not against faith schools, asked the question: “Would we need faith schools if all schools catered effectively for different faith groups?”

Agreeing with the concerns of the Rabbi, Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association spoke of his three top fears with faith schools; admissions policies, religious education syllabus and employment.

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