HUMANISTS UK, and its Somerset and Taunton branch, has criticised the latest plans from The Church of England.

THE Church of England is planning to utilise its state-funded schools to “double the number of children and young people who are active Christian disciples by 2030.”

A spokesperson from Humanists UK said: "In what should be inclusive, unbiased education, this is a clear statement of intent to use state-funded schools as a means to indoctrinate school children into church Christianity, very contrary to principles of a pluralistic society.

"Education must uphold the values of neutrality, diversity, and the promotion of critical thinking, enabling children to make informed decisions about their own beliefs and respecting the diversity of faiths and non-religious world views within our society.

"We regularly hear from parents who strongly object to evangelising and biased material being used in their children’s schools, resulting in our readily available “Guide for Non-Religious Parents on Religion in Schools.”

The spokesperson finished by saying: "The state should make sure all schools are inclusive  for all pupils – we will be raising this matter with Government ministers.”