Withdrawing child from a subject they don't enjoy

[LittleMissGossip]

I've read parents have the right to withdraw dc from RE lessons, and I'm wondering whether this applies to other subjects (none compulsory subjects). Have dc who has zero interest in music, not gaining anything from the sessions at all, so wondering whether they can do alternative work in that time?
Unable to find exact information on the legalities of it all.
This is year 7 child, and if it makes any difference, at a grammar school.
Thank you!

I doubt very much that a school would do this. Your child does not really get to pick and choose and it would cause issues with staffing .

Who would set extra work? Who would supervise him?

I understand it would probably be impossible with staffing/supervising, but I'm assuming it's a faff when one child is withdrawn from RE too for instance (have no issues with RE- using as example as it's all I could find when trying to Google).

I’ve only come across it for children with ALN needs who have been withdrawn from modern foreign languages. In exceptional cases such as severe ADHD or Autism then music, IT and tech were also withdrawn. However these were children who were borderline for RP provision.

Being withdrawn because you don’t like a lesson is highly unlikely because the school would need to staff study sessions and many children would choose to opt out of lessons!

No. You have no legal right to do that. You can speak to school and see what they say, but most likely it will be ‘no’, because where would he go while the rest of his class did music, and where would the ‘my child doesn’t like…’ requests end?

Can you imagine what would happen if the school allowed one child to not attend lessons in a certain subject? You'd soon have 1,000 requests to do the same for a bunch of subjects.

I don't know why this even occurred to you as a possible option.

This would lead to chaos. There would be children all over the place all of the time.

RE is manageable as it's one subject and most parents don't want their dc to grow up ignorant so they don't withdraw them.

If withdrawn from RE, the child has to be supervised but doesn’t have to be taught during that time. Parents can supply alternative RE materials for the child to complete while supervised.

Apologies for those who are stunned by this question.

When I say dislike, I mean an absolute hatred of the subject, it's difficult to explain how bad the reaction is.

I recall a friend who stated her family was able to request their dc not attend music sessions (had similar reaction) and they were allowed this. However as this was over 15 years ago, I thought I'd check if things were as 'simple' now compared to then!

The reason you're legally allowed to withdraw a child from RE lessons is because you may have religious objections.

Parents do not have the right to withdraw their child from anything else apart from PSHE.

How did they find Music at primary?

Can you be withdrawn fro RE? You can of course be withdrawn from acts of worship, but actual lessons...?

No don’t be ridiculous

What’s causing such a strong reaction, do you think?

@JanglyBeads lots of reasons they did not attend primary school (so home schooled).

There is a child in my daughter school who is Jehovah’s Witness and during music lessons she sits there with headphones on as some of the music is deemed to be against her beliefs so if your DC doesn’t like the lessons I suggest a pair of headphones perhaps, in saying that at seven years old children don’t really know What is good for them Educationally, Re Might be boring but it is a good opportunity for children to learn about the beliefs of others Even if they are contrary to their own. As for music it’s a good way for children to express themselves by might not like it now but it may be of benefit

You could always home school? But you can't unilaterally decide what the school does or doesn't teach. Schools don't provide 1200 different curriculums to cater for each kid.

Ah I see you used to! Well by choosing to outsource his education to a school you effectively choose to let the school / DfE decide what gets taught.

@NoSquirrels I believe it is sensory issues, but don't have a diagnosis to show this.

My daughter hated languages at her grammar school. When she was down to one, German, we managed to withdraw her leaving her with no other language at GCSE level. To this day I'm not sure how we managed it! Never did her any harm! She now has a professional career!

Thing is op school is a good test bed for life.

DC will have to endure things later that they don’t enjoy, sometimes we just have to put up and shut up.
World doesn’t revolve around them I’m afraid.

Talk to learning support about whether he can try wearing noise cancelling headphones when they are playing music.

@Crispynoodle did you withdraw early on (year 7 onwards) or was it later years?

No i doubt it.

And to be honest, in life we all have to experience things we dislike or hate. We suck it up and get on with it. That's life.

He'll be able to drop it in his GCSES.

If it’s causing anxiety or some other sort of issue, then a doctors note may mean the school agrees. I’ve known this happen but the child doesn’t get any other teaching in place of it, just stays in pastoral care for those lessons. Speak to your doctor about it and a possible assessment for sensory issues or anything else that may be going on.