'Distrust' of school cohesion law

Since the autumn schools have been required to promote "cohesion"

The requirement for schools in England to promote "community cohesion" is being treated with "a strong element of distrust" in some areas, says a report.

A study by the Runnymede Trust examined community responses to how faith schools are now expected to bridge different cultures.

But the report highlights doubts and "suspicions" from community workers about such responsibilities.

It was "yet another requirement" with no extra funding, said one interviewee.

Another suggested that it would be an "indirect way of placing additional pressure on Muslim communities".

'Fragmented' city

This initial report, Faith Schools and Community Cohesion - Observations on Community Consultations, examined attitudes in a number of different areas of England to the legal requirement for state schools to promote community cohesion.

In a number of London boroughs there appeared to be a broad acceptance of the policy, with schools and community groups seeing it as formalising what was already taking place.

But outside of the capital, researchers found a much more divergent set of responses - with suspicions over the intentions and practical value of the policy.

This distrust was expressed by "education professionals and community workers" interviewed for the study.

In Leicester, there were doubts about the value of the extra work involved in such regulations.

Community cohesion was seen as a "vague term, not necessarily connected to the everyday challenges that form part of people's lived experiences".

In Liverpool, there were concerns that a focus on community cohesion was a "move away from the very real problems of racism, disadvantage and structural inequalities". The belief that this policy was really targeting Muslim schools was voiced in interviews in Blackburn.

The obligation for all state schools to promote community cohesion came into force in September 2007.

The intention was to promote links between different ethnic, cultural and faith groups - and to prevent insularity and segregation.

This included making sure that faith schools made pupils aware of other faiths and cultures in their local communities.

But the responses in this report highlight how many other cross currents there are in worries about education, cutting across the specific requirements for community cohesion.

The negative impact of poverty and racism, the use of wealth to move away from undesirable schools, the segregation of schools along ethnic lines, housing policy and the lack of employment opportunities are all mentioned as concerns that affect education.

The report also shows that non-faith, comprehensive school systems can have high levels of segregation.

Leicester is one of the most multicultural cities in England - and up until 2007 the secondary sector only included one faith school. But the report says that 80% of secondary schools in Leicester are classified as "monocultural".

"Despite Leicester being a multicultural city, some white young people in the wider catchment area of Leicester city schools have little if any experience of fellow students from black and ethnic minority communities."

This is a school experience that reflects a "fragmented" social mix, with divisions of wealth and race.

"Middle class and aspiring white families ... often move out of the city altogether," says the report.