To think that no religious group should be allowed to avoid bits of the national curriculum

[ReallyTired]

Children have a right to a balanced education that prepares them for the adult world. I feel that parents should not be allowed to prevent this.

I feel that sex and relationship lessons should be complusory for every child in a British state school. (Including learning about homosexuality at a suitable age.) All children need to learn what is a healthy and an unhealty relationship.

Parents should not be allowed the right to pull their children out of music or art or swimming lessons for religous reasons. Children should only be excused swimming if they have a medical note.

I would like a religous education curriculum to be revised so that its acceptable to athetists and the main religions in the UK. It is essiential for children not to learn about other faiths or none. However I want RE to be like Geography rather than religious instruction.

I feel that community schools should have non religious assemblies and all children attend.

YANBU

It is essiential for children not to learn about other faiths or none.

Is there an extra "not" in there?

I think it's often the religious communities most against relationship and sexual education that are most desperately in need of it.

Well RE is nothing like religious instruction in state schools

It's about all different issues - we need it to increase tolerance.

The rest of it obviously I agree with but unfortunately you can't interfere in the right to family life so those who don't want their children educated about sexuality can choose to educate them about this in the family instead.

I don't agree with perspective, I DO agree with their right to make it.

I agree. Education should be wholly secular and religion shouldn't be grounds for an opt out.

"It is essiential for children not to learn about other faiths or none."

lol ...

Perhaps if I had done less religion at school I would not make silly grammar mistakes. Anyway you know what I mean.

I feel that a national curriculum should apply to every state school child in the land. The only variation should be to match academic ablity. For example it would be stupid to expect children in a special school to cover the same material as a child in a super selective school.

Every child should have access to a balanced education that matches their academic ablity regardless of creed or colour or social class. Parents should not have the right to stop this happening. I feel that religion should stay at home.

"The rest of it obviously I agree with but unfortunately you can't interfere in the right to family life so those who don't want their children educated about sexuality can choose to educate them about this in the family instead."

Children also have a right to an education. I am sure that other European counties do not allow people to opt out of sex education. In Germany sex education is complusory and Baptists failed to secure the right to remove their children from sex ed classes in the European court.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_education#Germany

I feel we should follow Germany's lead and make sex education complusory for all children regardless of parents wishes.

I actually think understanding religion and the role it plays in people's lives would play a valuable part of thr citizenship and phse curriculums. I am less comfortable when the truth claim of a specific religion is prioritised as in the requirement for a daily act of worship that is broadly Christian.

We have a National Curriculum for a reason. That it be taught. State funded schools should not be allowed to opt out of bits.

YANBU.

I think that RE needs to be made into a humanity and taught in the context of sociology, philosophy and anthropology. I'm an Atheist and went to a CofE senior school (only one in the town, so not a matter of choice) and our O-level RE course had this sort of slant to it and was actually quite interesting.

"I actually think understanding religion and the role it plays in people's lives would play a valuable part of thr citizenship and phse curriculums. "

I would be happy with this. I want my children to learn about other religions and I don't care what the subject is called. I feel its important for children to realise that we don't all share the same beliefs.

"I am less comfortable when the truth claim of a specific religion is prioritised as in the requirement for a daily act of worship that is broadly Christian."

I would find it refreshing to have less hypocrisy in school assemblies where a non christian teacher has to lead a so called christian based assembly. I do like assemblies, but many school already do excellent secular assemblies.

Yanbu. R.E. Should be on a par with Geog/Hist for understanding the world. No withdrawal!!

And I speak as an active Christian (church every week type) and a Geography teacher.

Religion is an issue for the home. It has no place in school.

YANBU. State schools should all follow the NC regardless of their religious affiliation. I also think that all religions should be given equal weight in assemblies, RE lessons etc. Christian festivals etc are focused on far more than those from any other religion in the UK.

I agree with you, but you will have terrible trouble with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

I agree with you, but you're out of date with regards to RE. It does teach world religions, questions about the nature of belief, etc.

Most GCSE & A Level courses cover ethical & philosophical issues, & examine the quality of a student's understanding & argument. No particular beliefs are required.

Religious parents can and do prevent their kids from getting a balanced education by home educating them. This is just a guess on my part, but I think very religious families are more likely to have a SAHM who could HE them. So forcing these things to be taught in state schools could give some kids a much narrow education overall, because then they couldn't even ask their school friends what they learnt.

(I'm not anti home ed btw, not at all. Just thinking you have to take parents' rights to take their kids out of school entirely into account - you cannot force anyone to make their kids learn things they disagree with, not under present laws. And as I've heard of people moving country to home educate just because it was illegal where they were, don't think parents won't take strong steps if they think it's necessary.)

There is no place for collective worship in schools IMO. Bizarre that it is still expected.

"I agree with you, but you will have terrible trouble with the Jehovah's Witnesses."

Enforcing an education is worth the trouble. If religion is taken out of assemblies and RE becomes a subject like Geography then the Jehovah's witnesses shouldn't have a problem.

You're underestimating Jehovah's Witnesses too btw. They literally let their kids die rather than have blood infusions. (My mom was one but I didn't live with her so I didn't have to sit out of assemblies.)

YANBU and similarly evolution.