To go to church to broaden my childs choice of school

Sometimes the admission criteria expect several years of attendance at church and baptism. Then there will be other criteria too. No reason why you shouldn’t do what you think is right to get your child into a school. Remember too, that you’re not choosing a school, you’re selecting preferences.

Yeah I would - because she isn’t religious so the faith in question is absolutely irrelevant. Hope you didn’t put your back out with that reach though 😂

We did, openly. It's always been an option for those who can't buy houses.
I went and talked to the vicar about what I did and didn't believe, and what I was seeking. Which was a place in a good school and my Dc to understand what others were taught and believed, and to understand the principles of Christianity as taught by Jesus the man and prophet. What else they did or didn't chose to believe beyond that would be their choice, not his or mine. They would also be exposed to other religions and none.

Our vicar was excellent, supportive and we continued going years after the rest of the year intake group were gone, and still turn up to give a hand occasionally.

@Oblahdeeoblahdoe " Does the vicar actually have to know you and give a reference?"

In many cases, yes.

Unfair to guilt-trip the OP.

This whole thing is just another example of the terrible failures in our education system.

Near me there are no valid options available because all the good schools are rammed to the gills/overflowing/unappealable. So some parents have to fake being religious, to avoid the many issues caused by their DC attending classes with kids who are so violent, abusive, dysfunctional or traumatised they shouldn't be in mainstream school.

There's an RC girls' selective grammar in my area that had 700+ girls competing for 150 places in Y7, because the other local "good" school has extremely problematic intake.

It's just a farce.

The church folks will definitely be able to spot why you are there but they won't mind.

My Mum used to keep the roll in a church and when a very elderly person signed up she used to say "ah, an insurance job" but she just tried even harder to make them welcome, because she knew they were a bit uncertain and needed an extra warm welcome.

My friend did this, schools in their catchment areas are all oversubscribed so to increase their chances of getting 1st choice school they got their DC christened and go to monthly family church. She doesn't see it as a big deal because although she isn't religious she was christened and the DC enjoy going to church so it's not doing them any harm.

I've always quite enjoyed church. It might actually be nice?

I'm a practicing Catholic and enjoy church. YWNBU to attend church to get DC into the right school. You will not be the only one. Might find you like the community.

We are doing it at the moment, 2-3 Sundays a month. I'm not religious at all (although I do appreciate the basic values) and it's been fantastic!

Really worth doing it if you can find a church with a nice family friendly service and Sunday school.

A lot of the families will be in the same boat and it means the kids will know each other when they get to school.

Everyone has been so lovely, they really take an interest in the kids, and we love the community aspect.

I’d have done this if I’d been in your position. It’s been done in my extended family and worked out well for everyone involved. Don’t hate the players, hate the game.

Vicars might be able to tell if people are only there because if the school place, but they are still getting the opportunity to spread God’s word so they should be happy with any reason that brings a family to church. If the admission criteria is about church attendance and you attend church, then I’d trust a vicar not to lie about it when asked, even if they don’t think you’re the right sort of attendee.

Why did you christen him if you're not religious?

Do you actually want figures of authority presenting one mythology as fact to your child? Do you want to further reinforce that messaging by attending a worship service with them on a regular basis?

Is there absolutely no option to move to facilitate access to a better school?

Faith schools can give higher priority to applicants who practice their faith but they are only allowed to do this if the school is oversubscribed – if they’re not then they are not allowed to refuse admission in the basis of your religion practices.

Is the school oversubscribed?

In all seriousness how will the school know if you actually go to church? Does the vicar actually have to know you and give a reference? My DC went to a Catholic primary school as they were baptised in that faith but we didn't go to mass before they started. I actually started taking them once they were at the school as I wanted them to have a sense of belonging. Neither are practising Christians now btw.

I have a vague memory that there were reforms a few years back to make the criteria for CofE schools more objective and to remove some of the "vicar's judgement" aspects or (ironically) criteria that could be discriminatory by demanding loads more time commitment outside services eg points for doing the flowers etc. But it could have been my imagination!

I used to attend church genuinely and so many people started coming around the age of 3 and never attended after they started school.
IMHO having a different religion should not mean that your child gets a worse education so as long as you do not disagree with the ethos of the school then whatever.

If you succeed in getting your child into this school, you may well be denying a place to a child who is a genuine Catholic and for whom the ambience of the faith which pervades an RC school is meaningful. These schools are often oversubscribed so it could happen. And you will not be able to protest faith based lessons and assemblies.

Indeed - locally they ask for far more as they are hugely over subscribed ( I had to deal with them as church warden with the vicar )

Everyone else is doing it!

Not a problem - you do what you have to, to make sure they get the best education. Some pony up for private school, some pay a fortune in mortgages to get into good catchment areas - you have good schools that require you to be bored out of your mind for a few hours every Sunday. They’ll have you at home for balance!

I think the answer to our two vastly different forms is for OP to check the specific SIFs for the schools in question!

Don’t forget it isn’t just attendance, you will need the vicar / priest to fill in an application form and reference for you. It doesn’t just ask about attendance it also asks about the other church activities you / your DC is involved in i.e. choir / Sunday school / youth club / help out at the church fete etc. The Vicar / church wardens are pretty good at sussing out school attendees and they won’t lie on the form for you - even if you do offer to pay to rebuild the bell tower ( well maybe ….🤔) for them

For a lot of CofE schools the criteria are about attendance only.

Given the state is content to fund religious discrimination against children, I don't think there's anything morally worse about working within a discriminatory system to the absolute letter of that system.

I've just checked the supplementary information form for our CofE primary. Parents are asked to confirm (average) fortnightly attendance for the previous two years; the vicar is only asked to confirm that the info is accurate. So there's no question of the vicar "lying" or spotting people who are there for school not genuine worship. They're both statements of objective fact.

This is how schools that select based on faith tend to perform better - they select a disproportionately committed and better-off intake.