What religion related questions typically get asked on CofE primary supplementary application forms?

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

Lifelong commitment to God & Jesus/ churchgoing or just a willingness to be part of the school's community and participate in assemblies/ carol service etc?

[islandofsodor]

I think its which church do you attend and in which parish, how often and your priest/vicar etc. has to sign to say you go every week.

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

Oh blimey. We don't attend, aren't religious etc. However ds has got into the nursery of the school concerned so hopefully that will help.

I think they've split the process now though and there's no advantage to being in the nursery.

[pinkteddy]

Also whether they have been baptised, and any church activities you, any siblings or they attend eg: sunday school, choir, beavers, rainbows etc

[islandofsodor]

Nursery is often less competitive due to the fact that some parents choose not to send their child to nursery, espeically if they are in daycare.

You need to look at the schools admissions criteria. Teh supplemantary form will basically be asking you to prove how you meet those criteria with things like baptismal certificates/proof of church attendance etc. It all depends on what the criteria is.

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

Oh we are buggered if all this stuff applies and there's no longer a link to the nursery places....not baptised, atheist household, never set foot in a church apart from when forced by duty of attending weddings etc.

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

Had to Google transubstantiation....we really are not very good with this religion thing in our house.

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

Dh is Richard Dawkins-esque in his views. Church school and DH probably not a wise mix imho, but he naively thinks it could be fine.

[islandofsodor]

At most primary schools there is no link to nursery.

You are only "buggered" if there are more applications than places.

To be honest if you applying to schools for reception places you NEED to get hold of the admissions criteria for the schools you are interested in. I'm only saying the most common criteria for C of E schools but they are allowed to set their own so its best to check.

[chipmunkswhereareyou]

I know that they give priority to churchgoers from the borough's information but that's all it says. Will find out more when he starts at the nursery this week.

[MollieO]

For our local CofE school you have to show you have been to church 2x a month for at least a year. The vicar must sign the form and it is about your attendance rather than that of your child(ie Sunday school). However where we live the denominational category is below social care, catchment, siblings. This year not even all siblings got in so they never got as far as denominational. I know people who are staunch churchgoers who appealed and still didn't get in. Our council publishs the annual admissions statistics on their website which is useful.

[MadBadandDangeroustoKnow]

The CofE at which I'm a governor asks

• what church you attend
  
• whether you attend as a family (so granny taking the child to church wouldn't qualify)
  
• whether you are involved in parish life in any other way (in the choir/running Sunday school etc)
  
  The vicar/priest/minister then has to countersign this and say whether you attend weekly/fortnightly/monthly/less often. Our admissions criterion is (from memory) regular attendance - which means twice a month - for two years at the date of applciation. But our school also sets aside a third of its places as community places for people with no religious affiliation. In our borough, having a place at a nursery attached to a school gives no preference at all when it comes to places in reception.
  
  You need to check your school's admissions criteria, as they do vary.

[MadBadandDangeroustoKnow]

Am governor of C of E school not of entire CofE.

[IzzyWizzyletsgetbusy]

Our local CofE school gives out first seven places to the seven applicants who live closest, regardless of religion. Then it's SN, then children whose parents regularly attend the church actually attached to the school, then siblings (those two might be wrong way round), then children whose parents regularly attend another Christian church, then other local children (probably with a requirement for you to be willing to suppose the "full Christian life of the school" or similar IIRC).

Regular attendance means (I think) 3 times a month for previous six months and they DO check with your vicar.

They vary so widely you really have to check with the school, and obviously if it's not over-subscribed then it doesn't matter, everyone gets in anyway.