10 Page School Newsletter and Religion Overload

[HenBob]

The kids school (C of E) have a new headteacher, and has introduced lots of good changes. But there are some things that a really bothering us.

First of all he is very religious and talks about God in every conversation. I know that schools are mostly linked to the church and I don't have a problem with hymns or learning the teachings of Christianity, but the language is starting to become alienating and, as atheists, it sometimes feels like we are talking to a rambling mad man - I don't drop into every conversation that I don't believe in God, why do some people need to reference him with every point they make? We are not in a highly religious area, but I know that many members of the PTA and governors are Catholic church goers so it feels like it's getting more extreme.

The second part that bothers us is, instead the small newsletter sent at the end of the week, with celebrations of success and notes for the following week, we are getting nothing until Sunday night and it's a 10 page PDF, covering every single thing that happened in school, interspersed with preachings of the church and stories from the bible.

Key dates are buried within the text, so it's not just bullet points "Here's what you need to know", but like a novel to read and pull information out. As a result we have missed non uniform days, charity collections and a couple of bits this year as I simply don't have time to read a huge document on a Sunday night. It's like he thinks he is Carrie from SATC writing a blog we are all eagerly waiting for!

I raised concerns with a member of the PTA and the response I received was - "if you don't like it you are welcome to move your kids to another school"! It seems like feedback is NOT welcomed via this channel 😂 they also told me it's sent on Sunday mow as he spends all weekend writing it so we should be grateful he is so dedicated (!)

I feel like the communication needs improving and I was interested if my experience was normal for a primary school. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much and make more effort to read everything. Maybe there is a better tool than PDF that could allow him to write his blog but also get the key information out. If you have any suggestions or thoughts I'd love to hear. He is a nice guy, so I reckon if I came in with a - look at this tool you can use to make your life easier - approach it might be welcomed more than just complaining.

Could be worse.

Could be a 10 minute YouTube video. Again, with important information that isn't available in any written form, so you have to watch the entire bloody thing just to pick up anything that might apply to your child. Sometimes ending with a song the HT thinks is relevant. The only positive is that the HT is not actually singing the song although give it time

I take it that there wasn't an alternative, non-religious school that you could have chosen?

Shock horror; Church of England school has religious headteacher!

I'm a bit confused:

• Why did you choose a religious school for your child if you are an atheist?
• If it's a C of E school, why are the parents Catholic?
• Why are you bringing up school issues with the PTA (in my experience they are there to fund raise)?

I think your point about the newsletter is valid but it's got lost in your whining about religion in a religious school. Just tell the Head that you need a summary of events coming up as you don't have time on Sunday evening to read it all. It should be easy for him to make topline info accessible but perhaps some people like the rest of the letter so no reason to bin off the whole thing because it's too religious for you.

I would focus on that one constructive request re newsletter (directly with the HT) and if the rest of school life is bothering you then move your child.

This was what I was going to type 😂

Why did you choose a religious school for your child if you are an atheist?

In many areas of the Uk you really don't get to choose your child's school. You express a preference and for most families that is the local school that you are able to travel to easily. In many areas, especially rural areas ALL of the schools are C of E so there is no choice.

I don't know why people always say "why didn't you send your child to a non-religious school then" on these posts. In my home town there's one single non-church-linked primary school. Two Catholic primaries and two CofE. And in the surrounding villages the only option is a church school. I don't think it's that easy! Anyway OP hopefully he will be open to putting a front page with key information. Although he might be doing it on purpose to evangelise, as you're forced to read all of it, especially if he knows he doesn't have majority CofE parents.

In many areas of the UK people choose the religious school because it's the 'better' school. They even lie about church attendance to get in!

@PrawnGoDookaDooka okay yes - that does sound worse!! Sorry for you!

And yes, @Comefromaway and @colouringfoxes are right, you don't get to choose non religious a lot of the time, most schools are CofE or Catholic (I went to Catholic as it was the only option in my village). You would think people would understand that about this country, the system is a bit of a nightmare but perhaps those criticising have more options than I do.

I can move my children to a new school but it would be travelling several miles a day to the next village and then leaving their friends behind. I always had the view that if you don't like something try to make it better rather than run away! Also as mentioned the tone has changed with the new more religious teacher, whereas previously the HT was religious but not quite so pushy with it - as there are children from different cultures and backgrounds.

I think it is better to be more inclusive in this day and age which is why I think the religious aspect is relevant. But perhaps I should have focused on one point in this post.

As you said in your post there is a school nearby that is not CofE so send your children there.

Could you ask if he could add a key dates section to the start or end of the newsletter?
When I was in school and they sent home long rambling stuff with imbedded information, my mum asked for a condensed version as she was dyslexic and was struggling with the wealth of information and was worried I would miss out on school events as a result.
She was dyslexic but could read it fine it was just long and boring, but they sent me home with a key dates sheet once a month instead of the bi-weekly newsletter

No, there is a non c of e school several miles away involving travelling (presumably by car) which is not ideal for a primary school child.

As a result we have missed non uniform days, charity collections and a couple of bits this year as I simply don't have time to read a huge document on a Sunday night

Sorry, but this is your fault. And 10 pages is hardly a huge document!

Start a WhatsApp group with other parents and take it in turns to extract the relevant information for each week?

I always had the view that if you don't like something try to make it better rather than run away

That's a good mindset but unfortunately in this case your 'better' doesn't seem to fit other parents' idea of better. It surprises me that parents are getting more religious if it's a 'no choice' school but I would focus on sorting things out which affect your daily life such as the newsletter and don't worry about the rest (conversations etc). It's unlikely to do any harm. I'd much prefer an effective HT who is a different religion to me but has similar ideas on children with SEN, broadening the curriculum etc, than someone useless who holds similar religious beliefs to me. There is no way a religious HT can convert your child (most Christian parents struggle to influence their kids in the long term!) so you can treat it as an opportunity to learn what other people believe and leave it there.

Yes!

This is great!

In my kids' school the teachers sometimes think 5/6 yo are super reliable at sending information 🤦🏻‍♀️ the whatsapp group has saved us a lot of grief

Thanks you are spot on with your point and I take it on board. I will move on from worrying about the religious preachings and let them carry on. I didn't want to change them necessarily but I think I just found it unusual to be getting more religious when less than 1% of our population are church goers. Feels odd to bend over backwards for them. But it's a societal and cultural issue that I'm not going to change so I'll just accept what I can control.

@MerryMarigold and you are right, they have made positive improvements where it counts.

I’m a practicing Catholic and also a primary school teacher. We have headteacher (in the school in which I work) who is also a religious fanatic. Nothing is more important than daily worship, religious displays in classrooms and peppering every concert with God and the bible. Even for me, I find it very strange and off putting so I really sympathise with you

@Ilikecheeseontoast my catholic school was exactly like this. As it should be! Mass on feast days, daily prayers. I'd not be impressed with church school that didn't do that TBH!

@Ilikecheeseontoast yes thank you for your understanding. I went to a Catholic school and had three HT in the time - one of them went completely overboard with it and I think that might be why I am oversensitive to the religious talk.

I want my children to go to school to learn - there is church and Sunday school available for anyone (the 1%) who wants more religious education for their children. In our secular society it's no appropriate for it to be this much and it does feel extreme.

When you can't even talk to the HT without them quoting lines from the bible it feels like they are talking in riddles and skirting around true issues, whereas I value straightforwardness and transparency.

It's messed up that some people have no choice but to end their children to a school that pushes religion like this.

It sounds to me that your main gripe (i.e. key dates/information being lost amongst pages of text) has somewhat ironically been missed because of your long post, OP!

I don't think you are being unreasonable to ask for a list of bullet points or school calendar with important information clearly marked.

The way the information is currently presented is a barrier to parents/carers who may be dyslexic/have low levels of literacy/English not their first language.

I'd try to focus on those points, rather than the religious aspect in order to get your point across to the school.