Is Labour Attempting to Remove Your Right to Teach and Parent Your Own Children?

“If Labour succeeds in passing this amendment, the instruction of your child will no longer be your decision; it will be dictated entirely by government control.“

In 1780, Robert Raikes, the owner of a publishing business he had inherited from his father, was moved by his Christian conscience to tackle a huge social problem plaguing British society.

Sundays were the only day the working class did not work; it was a day of rest.

For several decades, John Wesley and his brother Charles had led a religious revival across Britain. Methodism, with its open-air preaching and outreach beyond church walls, had swept through the nation, reaching ordinary people in a way not seen before.

Yet Sundays created problems of their own. Large numbers of children, released from the factories for the day, spilled out of their cramped homes and roamed the streets, often getting into mischief. With virtually no alcohol laws, widespread gin consumption, high levels of crime, and no police force in place, society struggled to preserve order.

Robert Raikes responded by founding Sunday Schools. The idea had first been attempted by a woman named Hannah Ball in Nottingham, a city filled with lace factories and framework knitters. Raikes expanded the concept, offering children not just a place of safety but also instruction in the Gospels and the stories of the Bible, such as those of Noah, Joshua, Jacob, and King David.

The results were remarkable. Within five years, over half a million children were attending Sunday School, and crime rates fell significantly. Among those who assisted Raikes was Elizabeth Fry, and many of the children educated in those Sunday Schools went on to become pioneers of social reform. William Wilberforce himself attended Sunday School throughout his childhood.

One thing must be understood for the purposes of this article: Britain is, by law, a Christian country. We do not have a separation of Church and State. The King is the head of both the Church of England and the State; the elected Prime Minister is neither. This arrangement is the product of centuries of reform, from the Reformation to the English Civil War. It is not illegal to teach the Christian faith. On the contrary, it is an integral part of our democracy.

Yet the government is now seeking to control Christian teaching in the UK. Not since the Puritan movement of the 1640s has such interference been attempted. Cromwell’s New Model Army enforced the policing of Christian practice across the land, while Oliver Cromwell, the self-appointed head of both State and Church, dictated what form of Christianity was permitted. It was vast overreach by the State.

The Labour government is now attempting once again, through a call for evidence on Out of School Settings (OOSS), first proposed in 2018, to bring Sunday Schools, Christian groups, Scouts, Brownies, and even home educators under state control. If enacted, there would be no area of children’s education free from government oversight.

Such a move would strip away a fundamental right of every British citizen: that parents have the authority to educate their own children and instruct them in matters of faith without state interference.

Proponents claim this is about “safeguarding.” Yet safeguarding already exists. Britain has a vast network of social workers, inspectors, foster systems, and state curricula. Every area of child protection is already covered. To attempt to regulate Christian teaching is effectively to police the reading of the Gospels. Why should any government—least of all the government of a nation built on Christian philosophy, not trust its own citizens to teach Scripture, the very foundation of our constitution and democracy?

The Puritans justified their overreach by claiming religious superiority in their understanding of the Bible. Today, the Labour government makes no profession of belief in God, let alone in Jesus Christ. From where, then, does it claim superior knowledge of Scripture? How could it possibly be better placed to instruct children than parents or Sunday School teachers—who already undergo safeguarding and security checks?

The government’s attempt to police Christian teaching and parental instruction is nothing short of authoritarian. Added to this is the controversial behaviour of state schools, where court cases are already being fought, and won, over the teaching of gender ideology and politically partisan material. It is not legal to impose political bias in the classroom, but it is legal to bring Christian philosophy into education. It is certainly legal for parents to choose Sunday School or any Christian organisation for their children, because parents, not the State, hold that authority.

If Labour succeeds in passing this amendment, you will not. The instruction of your child will no longer be your decision; it will be dictated entirely by government control.

If this is not what you want, then you must make your voice heard. For more information, visit Christian Concern and read “Spectre of Sunday School Inspection Returns.”