Only Christian kids given a prize

[IDontWantRealism]

Can someone help me see reason with this? My kids are atheist but Jewish by ancestry. They go to a non-denominational school but in a very traditional rural area with lots of Christian students. They ran a competition which involved making a profession of faith over Easter. Obviously my kids didn’t enter but many others did. We were told there would be a prize but today at school all children who entered were given a prize leaving out the few non-Christian children and the few other children who didn’t enter. That’s not ok is it? I need some help navigating this as the school have form. We’ve previously had to moan about them being taught other problematic views.

@Hobbi hardly hateful.

@Andanotherone01 We don’t have Ofsted and the last time the school was inspected is over 10 years ago…

As has been mentioned many times, the school is in Scotland. No Ofsted there.

The OP is in Scotland. OFsted has no remit in Scotland

I'd be really concerned op.

It's not the not getting the prize thats the problem, its the entire competition.

And your kids should absolutely have had some lessons on other religions by p4.

Scottish schools are either Catholic or non dom but in practice this often just means COS as they are linked to a church.

It's ridiculous

And @slowquickstep Christians are absolutely a minority.

All schools should be secular.

If the DC couldn't colour a poster with an Easter message, I would assume as the teacher that their would be objections to an easter egg tbh. The DC chose not to do an activity, the DPs did not raise an issue there is no issue.

Sorry. Missed that about Scotland. Can’t help you then - I know nothing about their education system

This is my experience as well, other religions are very lightly touched upon but RE is heavily based on Christianity, I’m an atheist (Jewish by birth) but I’ve taught my children a mixture of religions at home including paganism and they both can’t stand RE, my son came home very upset once after being told he was wrong when he said he didn’t believe in god.
I know I have the right to withdraw them, my parents withdrew me from RE but I still think it’s important for them to learn as much as they can about it all, I just wish it was taught differently.

Non-denominational isn't the same as secular. But it does mean you should have links with more than one religious organization.
I would push for a wider range of organizations to be involved and not just whatever the local linked church is.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Why would a school in Scotland be a church of England school?

PipinwasAuntieMabelsdog, there's a difference between colouring in an easter egg and the words "Jesus lives". But you know that.

I’m not disappearing, I have to pick kids up from a club now. Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts, I will read them when I’m home.

I take it it was like an RE lesson?

If a school is secular there shouldn't be special events for particular faiths only. It's not inclusive. Why should religion have any place in a secular place at all.

@BlackSwan

There are no secular schools in the uk

"You genuinely think non-Christian children should have to profess faith in Jesus in order to be included in a school competition?"

They have to to take a full part in the life of all schools in England and Wales. It's outrageous.

Today my daughter was learning about Eid and part of that wrote in Arabic, when I did an image search on the image it came up as an Arabic symbol meaning something like god is great, god is all around us - might have that wrong.

Her school is in England and has a basis with catholism. There is 1 Muslim child in her year. As far as I know no parents have been offended by it.

So on that basis I think you are being unreasonable yo expect your kids to win an Easter egg for a competition they excluded themselves from. I have no affiliation with a religion but surely aethiest means your kids writing whatever it was is meaningless to them and therefore pretty easy to do. I don't believe in Santa but cN quite happily write I love Santa isn't it the same?

It wouldn't. I was replying to the poster who hadn't noticed this is a Scottish school and who said that perhaps it was a C of E school as so many village schools are C of E, but as they are the local school she thought people might not have realised.

You need to get out more if this makes you “incandescent” or anything other than “ticked off”. It’s not a big deal

I’d have massive issues with this to be honest. I’d move them.

if it’s supposed to be non-denominational then it should be.

i wouldn’t be happy about the faith based competition either

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Ah, OK.

What you mean is it was a "make a poster " competition.

The poster was about Jesus Lives and everyone who put the effort into making a poster and colouring it in, got a prize.

Your kids could have made a poster if they wanted to.
You are being ingenious saying it's a profession of faith, not even a catholic or Christian school would make a competition out of a profession of faith.

It's colouring competition with words about a religion that you don't believe in but other do. They learn about other religions too so next year they might make a Passover poster.

Mumsnet is such an eye opener to me as to how other people think. In my wildest dreams It wouldn't enter my head to worry about an issue like this. I would have bought my son a egg to make up and let that be that.

I think I'm slightly envious that people have the head space to worry and go to the trouble of contacting head teachers about stuff like this.

They didn’t enter.
How could anyone get a prize for not joining in.

The curriculum requires the teaching of other religions

What are you talking about