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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Stop trying to indoctrinate my child!

162 replies

DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 22:59

DD is 4 and started in the nursery class of our catchment school in Sept - it's not a church school. It's a full time place. We knew that there would be assemblies but the head assured us that they didn't follow a strict religious script, more world issues etc. We could live with that.

However, DD's teacher appears to be providing religious instruction to the children throughout the day - prayers on the morning, grace at lunchtime, hymns in the afternoon. I'm beyond furious. We want DD to have a rounded education and learn about all manner of belief and non-belief systems so that she can decide her own beliefs herself. Why the fuck is her teacher trying to indoctrinate 3 and 4 year olds to her beliefs?!

We're away this week but planning on taking this up with the head. Has anyone else tackled this sort of thing before?

OP posts:
pointythings · 15/03/2015 23:03

I haven't, but you are right to raise this. It may well be a maverick teacher who sees her class as a fertile recruiting ground. DD1 had this in Yr8 with her RE teacher who - ahem - 'retired' at the end of last year. I wonder why. RE now back to normal, thank goodness. Have a firm but quiet word.

Allofaflumble · 15/03/2015 23:03

Take her out of the school if you don't like it. You can't expect them to change for you and your views surely?

clam · 15/03/2015 23:04

Where have you got your information from? Not a 4 year old, surely?

(And I'm not sure "taking it up with the Head" straight after having taken a term-time holiday, if that's what you meant by being away this week, is the best plan, even if your child is only in Nursery)

manicinsomniac · 15/03/2015 23:05

This is very strange in a non church school.

In the school where I work parents used to have to accept that we have chapel and prayers every day and if they didn't like that they had to either put up with or choose a different school. But a couple of years ago we got a new head and, although we still have chapel and prayers, he is more flexible about conscientious objectors.

Could the teacher be teaching them prayers and songs of a variety of religions?

SteppeAwayFromTheKeyboard · 15/03/2015 23:05

Before you talk to the head I would ask to see their RE curriculum, or ask if they have any policies or guidelines for teachers to follow.

Schools are usually quite clear in their founding principles, eg church school, not church school.

If ti isn't a church school then she should not be doing prayers, grace, hyms etc randomly

BUT a state school in uk does have a lot of religion in it. There are often visits from the local vicar etc, and re curriculum will go into detail about people's beliefs, and the songs sung in assembly will often be hymns or modern church songs

FatCunt · 15/03/2015 23:05

If this thread goes the way they usually do you will be told YABU, if you don't like the school you chose you're free to take her out, that we're a culturally Christian country and she has a right to learn about her culture, that you can't be secure in your own beliefs if you're not willing to let her decide for herself, that millions of people have had a Christian education and turned out atheist/Muslim/Wiccan/whatever, that you can always take her out of assemblies, that it's the law and therefore right somehow, that it's nice for children to learn a religion, that you're being intolerant, that some Muslims don't mind their children doing Christian stuff at school so why should you…

I think YANBU.

SteppeAwayFromTheKeyboard · 15/03/2015 23:06

sorry, I meant to say that the religion in state schools is usually more confined to assembly time

Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:06

We were given no indication as to the teacher's approach prior to applying/being accepted. Seems unfair as you don't choose a teacher for your child, just the school, which is great. (The other teachers might get off on sacrificing goats under the light of the full moon for all I know.) It's a language school so we have no other options unfortunately.

OP posts:
pookamoo · 15/03/2015 23:07

3 and 4 year olds?

Are you in England, OP?

FatCunt · 15/03/2015 23:08

Oh, and look, in the time it took me to write that, someone's already replied saying "take her out if you don't like it". Bloody ridiculous in a state school, and ignores the fact that many of us have a local state school, that's the school, your kids go to it, that's that. Not everyone has a bouquet of different schools to choose from and IMO anyone should be able to send their kids to the local state school without having this kind of stuff going on.

pookamoo · 15/03/2015 23:09

ah ok, I've just seen that it's a nursery class, not reception.

You can ask them not to, but it might mean withdrawing your child from RE?

Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:09

I know it's only Christian stuff being pushed, and not just because i can translate what DD is singing.

OP posts:
Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:09

I'm in Wales.

OP posts:
OstentatiousBreastfeeder · 15/03/2015 23:10

Do you mean she's in reception?

They're allowed to interpret the law however they see fit, AFAIK. That can be a period of 'quiet time' once a week in the hall or full-on churchy prayers before snacktime.

You're allowed to withdraw her from this if you like, and tbh, if the teacher had to make sure your DD was removed from class before every prayer, she might just stop it Wink. Would be mightily inconvenient if she's having to do it 3+ times a day.

I don't think there should be mandatory Christian worship in schools. I don't feel it reflects modern society at all.

Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:10

This isn't religious EDUCATION, by the way, it's religious INSTRUCTION. I'm find with the former but absolutely not with the latter.

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Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:10

*fine

OP posts:
clam · 15/03/2015 23:11

Is a Language school a state school though?

Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:11

No, not reception. Nursery. She'll move into reception in September.

OP posts:
Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:11

Yes, 100% state school. Not independent.

OP posts:
OstentatiousBreastfeeder · 15/03/2015 23:12

Oh! Yanbu btw.

Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:12

Withdrawing DD would be an absolute last resort. The only person that would impact is DD.

OP posts:
OstentatiousBreastfeeder · 15/03/2015 23:14

Withdrawing a child from collective worship does not withdraw them from R.E. The two are very different things!

ErrolTheDragon · 15/03/2015 23:14

YANBU to be concerned. You need to raise these concerns with the school. Of course, state schools are still supposed to have the anachronistic 'collective worship ' but what you describe sounds like a teacher going way beyond that, not something that should be happening in a nonfaith school.

ItsNotUnusualToBe · 15/03/2015 23:14

If the OP meant a welsh medium school rather than language school, then yes, it's a state school.

Original poster
DisappointedOne · 15/03/2015 23:15

She's already completed all of the nursery curriculum btw and is onto reception stuff now. Head has no problem with the holiday and the school doesn't fine (will authorise a certain amount of absence).

OP posts:
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