Funding for private schools in England and the Netherlands. Can the piper call the

Abstract- This paper examines the effects of public funding for religious and private schools in the Netherlands and England over the last century or more. These two countries are chosen because both have religious schools which are fully funded by the state and the Netherlands, in particular, is often seen as providing an ideal environment in which private religious schools can flourish. The paper shows that state funding brings disadvantages as well as advantages, for funding has been associated with considerable, yet variable, state control and regulation over such aspects as curriculum, staffing, admissions criteria, inspection and governance. At various points in the past both governments have effected powerful shocks to the religious schools that have received funding, and there has also been a gradual increase in regulation- especially in the last decade (abstract continues below)