To feel so unsure about primary school

[Feelinghawt]

Our closest schools are on the same road as us. One Catholic one church of England.

I was brought up Catholic.

The nearest secular school is a good 15 min drive.

The catholic school is best Ofsted rated in area.

I am so unsure of of a young child being confused about god even though traditionally I was brought up this way. I struggle with imposing this ideologically without their consent. But going to the catholic school for location and for standard of education has it merits.

Has anyone faced this dilemma and what choice did you make? Did you regret it?

I don’t know what you’re talking about @yohawex318

Which secondary would they go to?

I am against religion in school....but even so called secular schools are supposed to be "broadly Christian" and at the end of the day is the education and welfare that is important. Lots of children go to schools that don't align with whatever religion they do or don't practice.
Being located close to school has lots of benefits.

But think about secondary. The local comprehensive will normally be based on distance or catchment area, but the Catholic and cofe secondary may be based on feeder schools. If either of those is a good option for high school go with the linked primary.

My friends daughter went to a CofE primary school despite not being religious because it was the only one with spaces (not very popular) but the CofE High school is great, and over subscribed. She got priority to that school over others because she attends a linked feeder school.

We are Jewish and my son goes to a Catholic school as the ofsted is better than the state school. I hate it. It's awful and the way they speak to the children is appalling.

Catholic schools across our whole council area are over subscribed which seems common in Scotland at least. Even those baptised & with families attending mass regularly are balloted for places so may be out with your control.

That sounds stupid and not something I would say

One of my mum friends pulled her son out of the local catholic school into our school

his year 2 school report said he was behind on reading and writing but was a soldier of christ and could confidently spread the word of god.

She yeeted him out of there

That isn’t me saying what you said

I sent my DC to the local primary. It was CofE we are Catholic. The nearest RC school was miles away. I wanted them to have local friends. We are lucky enough to live in a lovely area and all primary schools are very good. They feed into an Outstanding Secondary School in the town.
The local CofE vicar visited each primary school weekly, this include the none CofE schools.
My DC had their preparation for Holy Communion and Confirmation at our Church from a group of parents.
After my youngest started school, I returned to teaching. I was originally a High School teacher. I retrained in Primary Education. I taught for several years in a delightful Catholic school. They had less contact with the Parish priest than my DC school had with the Vicar. We taught world religions at a basic level. We had special days for other people's religions like Divali etc just like Christmas and Easter.
It reminded me of my own RC school where tolerance, respect for one another and society were taught. This was decades ago.
I was brought up in a city and we had many nationalities and religions at my RC High School. My High School was all girls so many people of faith and no faith were keen to get there children in to the school.

I think some of you have very outdated ideas about Catholic schools.
Saying that if you don't believe in the values taught at such establishments don't send them to the school.
Just in the same way if you don't agree with a schools discipline, uniform policy choose somewhere else that you can support the school, staff and policies

@yohawex318 i don’t know what more you want me to say about this. You can read what I said again if you want. Anyway why would you remember my username from that long ago ?

I’m a cradle catholic, but essentially lapsed now. My kids have all been baptised, the first two because I wasn’t lapsed then. We’ve move around a bit and they’ve been to a variety of schools, but all but one have been Catholic. Originally because I chose it and later because they were good options locally. All but one of them have gone through the pious stage in the infants, but it’s worn off. One has been a self-confessed atheist since he was about 7. And he’s been in catholic schools throughout and a) felt perfectly comfortable to be an atheist and b) perfectly comfortable being in a catholic school. Because it’s not reinforced at home and I don’t take them to Mass (Catholic guilt kicking in as a type that) none have any real attachment/ interest in it all. My younger kids have chosen not to make their first communion when others at school were doing it.

i have to concede that the Catholic ritual and traditional is comfortable to me, so none of that in school feels jarring to me, but what I’m trying to say, is that the kids will take their lead from you and if the school is good, the fact it is Catholic needn’t be a reason not to use it.

@yohawex318 i don’t think that. I think society as a whole is doing that

being at a catholic school from reception probably would make someone catholic

My kids went to catholic school. It was the best school. I was brought up catholic and was very against them being brought up in any church. However despite the prayers, church and assemblies, my line was always "people believe in different things. When you get older you can decide what to believe" neither of my children believe in god, and they both loved their primary school.

I don’t think being gay is influencable but being bisexual is. I’ve seen it happen in my family. She said everyone does it and I know she isn’t really but experimenting.

One of our closest schools is a very good school but very religious (catholic i believe). It was a bit of a dilemma for us as I am agnostic and my husband is atheist. We eventually just couldn't get past the religious aspect being taught as 'fact' and went with a non-denominational school instead. We are so incredibly happy with the school we chose, and when my daughter was learning phonics in her first weeks, my friends child who went to the religious school was learning the Lords prayer.
We definitely made the right decision.

Yes, this is exactly how I feel

We're atheists but there are very few non-church schools in our area so all three kids have been to church primary and now church secondary.

They've all had their questions but we've been completely open and honest with them, that we don't believe but other's do, and it's completely up to them what they want to do. They have to attend some churchy things as part of the school, but that doesn't mean anything really.

One layer of brainwashed won't harm them I dint think... You will be very surprised at how much they work it out for t them sleeve... Mine is in very catholic school and said they didn't believe from an early age.
If we had also believed that's where the brainwashing starts.
We always said... What do you think.

Children honestly don't believe in it as readily as some of think.