To go to church to broaden my childs choice of school

I would.
I think church is quite good for setting children on the right path and giving them broadly good values until they are old enough to think critically and decide their own.
I wouldn’t go to a fire-and-brimstone-you-are-a-sinner-if-you-are-gay church, but a moderate and open minded CofE is pretty harmless in my opinion.

Positively Jesuitical, some posters on here are!

Not ime there were loads of single mothers when ds1 was at his Catholic primary
Apparently my RE teacher did ask my mum if she was a single parent when she went to my parents evening alone ,she wasn't my Dad worked shifts, but I'm 50 now so this was in the 80,s

As a Christian, I also agree that admission dependent on a priests form should be abolished. A school can have a broad ethos connected to a faith, and parents can choose whether they want that environment for their child, but admission based solely on religion should be stopped. It's archaic in our diverse society.

I am confused though OP, why did you have your child baptised when you state you are not religious? As in the ceremony you have to state your commitment to God and to raise your child in line with religious principles.

Yes. Why not. It might be beneficial to you in ways you hadnt imagined too

Yes. Why not. It might be beneficial to you in ways you hadnt imagined too

Thanks Katiesaidthat, it was an issue I had with thinking of sending my son to a Catholic school.

Definitely not common, it is 2024 not 1924!
Being single, divorced, separated etc etc is quite common. Poor woman, she didn´t get the memo.

There's also the very simple maths of it being either their local school or a school miles away that happens to have places.

Our nearest three schools are faith schools, the nearest non-faith school generally has a very tiny catchment.

If one of the local CofE schools hadn't had a rubbish Ofsted two years before DS1 started primary there was a decent chance we would have got a school in the next county that would have been a 30 minute drive each way at peak hour. Because the faith schools were gummed up with kids who lived much further away, and the pressure on the non-faith schools was exacerbated.

As it was, lots of parents who previously thought a faith education was non-negotiable for their children suddenly found they had other priorities when the school was suddenly less outwardly desirable.

There was much outcry when the updated Ofsted restored the Good rating shortly after admissions closed....

It's also not lying. Most of them have a points system on attending church. You don't have to declare yourself to the religion. You just need to be respectful and turn up regularly

Had a bizarre experience at a local Catholic school where a teacher who knew I had a son kept questioning me over the fact that I was a 'Miss' rather than a 'Mrs.' It was only later that I twigged that she clearly had an issue with my having a child out of wedlock. Is this kind of thing common in Catholic schools?

Absolutely do this. Check the criteria properly first. School near us you don't have to be christened but do need to have scored enough points , so basically have to attend church once a month from reception to year 6. And lots of families think this is totally worth it for the incredible school

That’s interesting. How would you interpret “commitment to the worshipping life of the church”? Would regular attendance be sufficient or would the parents need to volunteer for something at the church?

My faith is a private matter. I am quite uncomfortable with the idea that someone would need to demonstrate faith beyond attending and putting their hand up to help out.

Ours happily signs the letter for everyone. She privately disagrees with the system and wants to ensure that children can attend their village school rather than be allocated a place somewhere miles away. It's also bums on seats at the church which helps with funding.

It's exactly the same in my local area. The faith schools, especially Catholic ones are the ones with the lowest admissions. The only reason the Catholic high school is over subscribed is because it's the only one in the area.

And to be honest I am a bit sceptical that a school which wastes time bringing God and Jesus into everything really can be delivering outstanding teaching. There must be better ways to use that time!

@x2boys I agree the system is wrong. All schools should be good .There should be no failing schools. All children should simply go to their nearest school - except for very specialist secondary schools that start at 14 (like the Brit School).
It's all a bit depressing really.

I object to the idea that religion is needed as way to frame the teaching of the moral principles you list.

C of E primary near me has this on their curriculum page. There is a massive crucifix with Christ on it in their assembly hall (saw it when I went in for a craft fair). Lots of reference to Jesus and the Bible on their displays in the corridors. Kids have enough to think about at that age without the extra complication of getting their heads round who Jesus allegedly was and why we need to look to him to teach us how to live.

Well yes because they are doing it for their own child to get a place in an already outstanding school ,not one that could be outstanding in five years time don't blame the parents blame the system

@x2boys but those parents can manage to join a church and attend the services?

In an ideal world yes but most parents are not altruistic and only have the energy for their own child

@x2boys if a local school is failing wouldn't it be better for parents to try and improve it (through PTAs etc) rather than faking being religious?

@CruCru different schools have different forms. I’ve seen ones which just ask for attendance through to ones which ask for ‘commitment to the worshipping life of the church.’

You can find it as distasteful as you want ,but if the choice is between a failing school, and an outstanding church school. ,than parents are going to try and get their child into the better school principles don't come into it
The quality of schools vary massively in this country

Me too I went to Catholic schools in fact my primary school was a convant school i sincerely doubt many of us,are regular church goers now
My son also went to Catholic schools and is,atheist so they don't appear to do a very good job of indoctrination.