To ask for your opinion on faith schools?

[Syrinx89]

That's it, really. In this day and age, it seems strange to me.

I think I’m a society where less than half the people align themselves to a religion, they have no place.

There are lots of threads on this already. They come up with great regularity. If they seem 'strange' to you then you don't need to choose one. Limiting other people's choices because you think something 'strange' is rather authoritarian.

They don’t bother me either way. I like the fact we have lots of different schools available be it faith, private, free, maintained etc.

Actually @KatyCarrCan I would argue that it’s parents that wish for their children to receive a secular education are limited, not the other way around. If you look at the sheer numbers of faith school compared to secular, you’d see why. Most families have no choice but to send their children to a faith school.

@bettylefttentacle I completely agree. Where I live, the 'best' non-grammar secondaries happen to be faith schools, so parents send their children to them knowing they will have to abide by that particular faith etc., even when they aren't religious.

IME it makes not one jot of difference. My DD's went to a very heavy catholic school, came out as complete non-believers, load of old hogwash types. Both their secondary schools are "nominally" CofE but don't actually do anything overtly religious at all. Their RE is in fact Ethics and Philsophy rather than the study of Religions. I think it is fine to have a choice, but in this day and age, I actually think most schools are pretty secular anyway.

State funded education should be secular. Privately paid, you can do what you want. Want your kid to sing hymns? Take them to church.

I think they are a historic anomaly that can lead to ethnic and social divisions.

Most church schools make very little contribution to the cost of education now often capped at a max of 10% of capital costs so all the running costs and at least 90% of the capital costs are funded by the state and yet 50% of the places might be faith based with siblings on top.

I think the right to educate your child within your faith is a pillar of a free society, and have no issue with state funding to also fulfil the state’s obligations to provide an education free at point of need for every child.

If every person in the country was religious, all schools would be faith schools. It’s only because some people aren’t that “secular” education evolved at all.

In addition, with a system that doesn’t allow parents to chose which school their children go to, there really is no choice.

I think they exist to serve the particular communities that established them. I understand the frustration of people who feel they have no option but to use them, but in reality it could be resolved fairly easily with a voucher style educational system. Then people who want faith schools can have them, and people who don't can have secular/atheist as they like schools.

To the people who use them with faith in mind they make perfect sense. To the people who use them because they're outstanding or good or whatever and happen to have a faith I imagine it must seem a bit of an imposition.

DDs went to a C of E faith school for primary, then the local Academy. We chose it because of its caring and nurturing atmosphere, and because it was the closest to home. It was a lovely school, and the girls remember it fondly, but neither DD is religious, and neither are we really, although DH was brought up Catholic.

@katycarrcan, it's a relevant topic, and one that I feel has place to address here. I'm not being authoritarian or telling anyone else what to do, just expressing my opinion that these schools don't celebrate diversity, and if they are accepting non-religious children anyway, then why not just be a secular school?

and if they are accepting non-religious children anyway, then why not just be a secular school?

It’s only people who don’t understand religion (or haven’t taken time to understand it) who would ever say “just be secular”. It’s not a trivial matter for many people, it’s an essential aspect of their whole lives.

@manarays I understand that part.. But then why accept non-religious children? Just seems counterintuitive to me.

The problem is that communities change so the proportion of other faiths in an area increases. What I saw where we used to live is you had a disproportionate number of white Europeans in the faith schools (all Christian) and North and East African Muslims in the community schools.

Note: I am white Christian and DH is North African Muslim

Syrinx89

The faith school I intend to send my child to accepts non-religious children if they are under-subscribed, as they should, and children with EHCPs, as they should. I think anyway. Don’t see the issue there, it’s the law.

For the record my child goes to a fath school because there are so few secular schools in our area (state funded and private) that we had no choice, as in, we are out of catchment. I love her school and she’s thriving however, the need to challenge religious ideas and help her with critical thinking at home so she has the skills to form her own opinions when talking about how they approach some subjects at school, is a bit of a burden and I do end up resenting it somewhat. I’d also love her to see more diversity when learning about different cultures and religions which she just doesn’t get at her faith school.

I think the right to educate your child within your faith is a pillar of a free society, and have no issue with state funding to also fulfil the state’s obligations to provide an education free at point of need for every child.

This. When I have children I would want them to attend a faith school and it’s important to me that they exist.

But this is it @mantarays, when the numbers of faith vs secular schools is so much higher, it really isn’t at all fair that religious children get their places over secular children. And show me a school that’s undersubscribed these days! This often results in secular children being moved out of their communities and puts unnecessary pressure and strain on families. Like I said, when the majority of society are religious, that would all be fine but when they’re not, it’s counterproductive and quite frankly discriminatory.

But this is it @mantarays, when the numbers of faith vs secular schools is so much higher, it really isn’t at all fair that religious children get their places over secular children.

I agree that there should be more strictly secular schools for those who wish to access them, but I cannot agree that faith schools shouldn’t exist.

I don't believe any state school should have any religious affiliation. And people cant chose what school their child goes to in many cases. Our nearest state school was c of e and they reserved half their places for that religion so we didn't get a place, and I know of a number of parents who suddenly started attending church to get their kids in to a particular school, which just isn't right.
There are other places where children can get instruction in their faith - all my Jewish friends went to Hebrew school after school, I (Catholic) went to Sunday school and some others to Saturday school.
I just do not see an argument for it. However I also don't think the majority of faith schools actually do much with their religion - other than chapel every other week and a couple services (carol etc) a year you wouldn't know, it's just some have entrance criteria that seems out of place when funded by the public at large.

My daughter goes to c of e school. Yes they do daily worship, yes they visit church, yes they have in school chapel and prayer spaces but I really respect the values that are being taught to my child. Absolutely love the school and it's ethos

Why should people who follow a faith have priority access to tax payer funded schools? The contribution required by the faith school/community is minuscule as I detailed above.
If you want a faith school then actually pay for it. Faith school’s right to select should be limited to the actual proportion of their financial contribution to the upkeep and running of the school.

To be honest, though, I think faith schools are part of the compromise that gave the Government authority over previously independent, Church-established schools. As far as I understand it, the state started funding them and overseeing them, and they were permitted to retain their religious character.