AIBU to ask NI parents to read this?

[IAmSoFuckingAngry]

Last month Parents for Inclusive Education released a report called ‘On a Mission’.

It demonstrated that Christianity is being foisted upon children in their primary schools, often by external visitors with unknown access ni status, and in 53% of cases, without the school making parents aware of the visits in advance.

This isn’t a select few schools, This is controlled and integrated schools.
It isn’t religious education, it is evangelism and indoctrination.

In many cases the opt out process is unclear (38% fail to meet the legal requirement to publish their opt out process in the syllabus). And where it is made possible, the alternative is often directly exclusionary to the withdrawn child.

Most schools in NI are religious and attached to a church. Parents tend not to get advance notice of visiting clergy.

Never ever heard that in an integrated school

I thought that would t happen In an integrated school? But I have no experience of integrated schools.

Most NI catholic schools are associated with a church but controlled and integrated ones are not. Either way this isn’t associated visiting clergy. It’s evangelical organisations such as Christian evangelical fund or scripture union.

I didn’t think it would happen in integrated schools either but my children are at one. Thankfully we’re informed and I can withdraw them.

If you want to check it out go to the website ’whatdotheyknow’ and type in the name of a school. It’ll tell you how they responded to an foi request. Or to this site https://parentsforinclusiveeducationni.org/ni-primary-school-visitors where there’s a map of schools.

Neighbours children attend an integrated school and this absolutely does not happen there.

The school my DC attend is not integrated and has a strong Christian influence, but they announce who is visiting in advance so everyone is aware. No one has a bad thing to say about the school at all, it's heavily oversubscribed every year and fairly balanced in terms of religious and non religious as far as I am aware.

We send our girl to a controlled school - we are not a Christian family (dh atheist and me pagan)

She was coming home telling us about Jesus and god as if it was a definite truth despite us having asked that she was excluded from worship

We doubled down and have made sure she is now removed from all religious visits, assemblies, visits and so on.

We don't want her not to learn about religion - quite the opposite - we try to impress upon her that people believe many different things, but school was clearly representing it in such a one sided way that my 5 year old genuinely thought it was a truth

She is the only one in her class that gets removed and spends it on the tablet or helping to set up the next class activity. I wish it wasn't so othering for her.

Even integrated schools have a very Christian ethos so we didn't send her to integrated. This school works OK but only after a fair bit of pushing.

I do wish we didn't have to push so hard for them to be exposed to multiple belief systems other than just Catholic / protestant Christian

That’s great! Sounds like they’re pretty much the gold standard. Unfortunately more than half of the country’s schools are not like this.

This has pretty much been our experience. I was genuinely shocked to discover how much access evangelising groups are being given to children of an age where magical thinking is still prominent. And astonished to discover that so many schools aren’t telling the parents it’s happening.

Adding a post here in the hope it might reach more people.
Attempting to enact change is challenging everywhere. But I do think we’re especially accepting of ‘it’s always been like this’ in NI

My child's school is definitely one of those schools. Regular visits from a particular evangelical that espouses the "world is 6000 years old" theory, dinosaurs didn't exist and you will spend a fiery afterlife in eternal damnation if you don't Believe. It's awful but after 6 years they have finally accepted DC doesn't want to attend and that we support that choice and they have stopped calling to double check. But there are still 'accidental' instances of "oh sorry we didn't realise, sure you're already here now, why not stay?"

sorry to go off topic but try living in the south of Ireland the hypocrisy is just unbelievable. If living in rural Ireland you have no choice but to send your child to a catholic school (educate together could be 30-60mins drive). I would love to send my child to an educate together but I can’t travel that far and the local catholic school is a 5 min walk. My sister lives in a mixed area in Belfast and her child is attending a nice mixed school. I actually envy that situation. In the south it’s just assumed you are following the catholic faith and all our taxes go on the catholic schools yet your child is made to feel like the odd one out if they don’t participate. I will now have to navigate the situation of families who make first communion and have big parties and bouncy castles yet never go to mass and explain this to my son.

This is utterly disgraceful. I’m sorry it’s been so hard. A lot of people seem to assume decisions not to participate in this sort of stuff are passive rather than a very intentional rejection of their faith.

I feel like I say this a lot, but if any one of the very Christian families, who support these groups discovered that their child was being preached to by a member of another religion. There would be an outcry.

I can’t really comment on the south, I don’t have enough experience of the system there, but I’ve certainly heard things like this from others.
In 2024, in a multicultural society, it should not be the default that people belong to one religion let alone one branch of it.

Was this discussed on Nolan or talkback a few weeks ago?

This happened in my children's school....an assembly from a visiting minister and youth group, activity booklets handed out. Return visits.
Drives me mad when they teach the bible as fact. I've no problem with kids learning about world religions but bringing group prayer into the school day is ridiculous.

Yes! it was on talkback. Just after the report was released.

There’s a parents webinar happening this month too
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/parentsforinclusiveeducationni/1283077

This was one of the reasons I moved to England. I went to an assembly at my son's school and there was an evangelical ex paramilitary prisoner preacher there telling the kids they didn't need science to cure their diseases, as long as they had jesus, he'd do it, and so on. I complained to the school and was made to feel like a total dose, because "he's a wonderful man" and no one else had a problem.
It's too much.

Bloody hell!! That’s mental.

Yeah my childrens controlled school is like this. In the prospectus it was all fully integrated with visits from leaders of multiple faiths. In reality nearly all of the parents are Baptist/free Presbyterian/evangelist Protestants, kids come home with invitations to bible meetings and Christian themed colouring in books, and they only seem to get visits from faith mission type preachers. DH's family are very devout Catholics and I'm disappointed that my kids aren't getting the balanced religious education I expected.

integrated parent here. its v clear that ingetrated schools follow christian teaching. i use it as an opportunity to discuss with my children that some people believe this. to be honest theres not enough money in 24/25 budget to cover staff wages. this is the least of my worries as much as i agree that religion should be taken out of schools

controlled schools are protestant schools (in the main). for a balance you would need an integrated school. have you spoke to principal?

I get your point about the budget issue. and I’m not dismissing that. But it would cost nothing for the school to stop bringing these groups in during school hours (my ideal would be to make it an opt in out of key hours but I accept that involves staff).
At the very bare minimum I expect them to make it clear to parents who is coming, when, and how to opt out. This option doesn’t cost anything.

Protestant because of who makes up their BOG and the status quo.
Only 58% of children in controlled schools are actually Protestant (no. taken from the controlled schools support council today) . The religious education should reflect that.

Looking at the data in that report integrated schools are on average no more balanced in who they have in.

There’s a map that allows you to look at specific schools.

Untrue.
Catholic schools are generally attached to a church but this doesn’t apply to the state sector.

All controlled schools in NI have a link/origin in the Presbyterian or Church of I churches. There is representation on the board of governors for this reason. Many teachers in Controlled schools are from a Christian background/practising Christians.

You might be happier in the integrated soctor.
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I wouldn’t personally get my water heated over it.

Are you from outside Northern Ireland originally?