To apply DC to a religious school although we aren't religious at all

[Playdoughy]

First off, we are not from UK, but have been living in London for a long time, DC born here.
Can't afford private school, as many I guess.
The free school (the only one we'd get in 100,% if based on catchment area) is a Catholic one, curriculum includes daily prayer etc...
We are not religious, not practicing. Looking at our background we are closely related to several major religions.
While we've heard that some people start going to church ahead of school age for their kids, just to get a spot at school - I thought that is sort of optional. Especially because all these schools also point out importance of diversity etc...
But looking at their curriculums - there is a portion of time that is actually dedicated to bible, praying etc... Does everyone attend? Is it mandatory?
I know I can go to an open day and find out about all that, but at this point I feel that we've grossly misjudged this - that it may be even considered rude to ask 😐

I am a Governor at a Catholic High School.

We have about 40% non-Catholics. We have a Hijab as part of the uniform policy, we have Pride Week, we have information about all other major world religions posted round school. Mass is not mandatory, everyone has to take RE GCSE, but it’s more rounded than you think. We have allsorts of family units, and nobody is excluded due to Race / Religion / Sexuality.

Yes we get funding from the LA, on a par with other school in the area, plus we get funding from the Diocese, which allows us to keep our buildings in good order.

Nobody is expected to partake in the Catholic life of the school, if they do not wish to.

I mean, I AM Catholic and did the bare minimum to bring my kids up in the Catholic faith! I do regret it now really as I feel its a part of me ( and them) that I've let wither away a bit. My culture is very deeply ingrained in Catholicism.

You have to be prepared for all the prayers and religious activities your child will do. I enquired at our local Catholic school. Your child will not sit out, they'll be a part of everything. My niece went to one and became so indoctrinated that she asked to have a confirmation and her first holy communion. Because school encouraged her to. They encourage them to go to Sunday mass which are also linked to house points.

That's how it is at your school .... but it seems that this is not the case with the school the OP is referring to, hence her problem.

Are there places where the only school in Catholic? I can believe areas where the only school is C of E as its the State religion but it would be very odd ( and remiss of the LA) to only have a Catholic school in an area.

And what was the terrifying result of her taking her First Holy Communion?

The terrifying result is that a child has been conned into believing what is an untruth. We owe a duty to children to treat their innocent minds with respect and not to manipulate this blank sheet into the beliefs of one religion.

Well it's a belief, and others have different beliefs
Also give children some credit they will make their own minds up about Wether they belive or not ,I certainly did as did my son.

Meh I was baptised ,had my first holy communion ,was confirmed. etc I'm an extremely lapsed Catholic
My son was also baptised and took his first holy communion ,went to Catholic schools and decided he was atheist from around 12.

campaign then for all religion to be taken out of all state schools? I’ve seen people choose private religious schools and disagree with the religion part so I’m not sure that would solve OPs issue. Plus I rarely see this concern about COE schools which leads me to believe it might be type of religion rather than religion itself that is the issue to many people.

I do campaign .....
And I have the same objection of principle with all religious schools, not just catholic.
No state institution should be plugging one religion.

Daily worship that is 'Christian or broadly Christian in nature' is compulsory at all English schools unless the school has an official exemption. The ones that get exemptions are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc.

You do have a right to remove your children from this worship and from RE.

But if you are sending your child to a religious school the school can make it a condition of going to that school that your child attends the prayers and the RE lessons.

Do not underestimate how much religion can be put in to a school. Art - draw a picture of Mary and Joseph. English lets read a psalm. Geography this is where Jesus lived. History wasn't Mary I fantastic bringing the country back to Catholicism?

There are some schools that don't do that at all so you do need to ask questions.

Personally I don't like the idea of a depiction of roman torture on the wall in each classroom.

That’s great that you do - I did say many people, not all! No problem with religion being taken out of schools at all - would be for the best. I just find it funny when people cross a city (literally!) to come to my kids school as it’s highly rated and then campaign to make changes to the religion side. Why not go to the school closest to you and campaign to make it better?

“Daily worship that is 'Christian or broadly Christian in nature' is compulsory at all English schools unless the school has an official exemption. The ones that get exemptions are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc.”

The truly outrageous thing about this is that it means that there is literally no school in which you can be guaranteed a totally secular education - despite the fact that non religious people are the biggest percentage of the population!

Diluting them is a great idea!

Some schools do ignore the law, particularly at secondary. Some head teachers have advised parents of their right to withdraw their child.

Our DCs went to a CoE primary school and they seemed to be in church every other week, and in between the vicar came to them. RC schools are probably the same.

As a PP said - have a think about why religion affiliated schools seem to do better. Kids from religious families aren’t born more intelligent, more caring etc.

Usually it's mandatory and you may well need a letter from your local priest to say you all attend mass to even be considered. It's a faith school for Catholic Christians. I know people who did start going to church (CofE) to get their children into a very good faith school, they had to lie a lot to get their children in!

Ring the school up and ask what the entrance requirements are?

well, quite apart from the fact that a state funded school should be accessible to all, 1. The parent/child shouldn’t have to travel further than necessary 2. By dint of the fact school a is closest, it suggests that there will be a whole bunch of people closer to school b so, assuming over subscription, OP would be behind them. Then consider this, school b may be another religious school, maybe another Catholic school, or Cof E, or a Jewish school, or maybe even (heavens to Betsy and let’s see how pleased Catholics supporting religious affiliation would be with this one) a Muslim school. And for the ‘non-believers’ who can’t comprehend being unable to readily access a school without religious affiliation, have a look here: www.mumsnet.com/talk/primary/3520241-Can-you-refuse-a-school-place-catchment-if-it-is-a-church-school

I’ve already said I would support all state schools being non religious - if you had read the full thread you’ll see I’ve already made the point that this type of outrage tends not to be towards COE schools but other types of religious schools - often catholic because people want them for their academic reputation. This is a country where marrying a catholic, let alone being one yourself eliminates you from some positions of power so let’s not pretend that all religions are equal. As for an Islamic school, I wouldn’t send my child there and ask them not to discuss Islam - that would be idiotic on my behalf.

In terms of choices, being the easiest option does not mean it’s the only option - I’ve referenced that already. Many people travel for schools for a variety of reasons.

The C of E schools near us requires a letter from a minister or religious leader to confirm you have attended for a period of time. Im pretty sure its 6 months for the primary and 2 years for the senior school. A lot of people start attending at the point they will need to, in order to apply.
The students have to attend the school chapel on a Sunday , for a certain number of weeks per term, I believe.

There are other highly regarded non religious schools in the town but I think the Christian one looks more fancy Is probably more popular

I have been on this thread from the start thank you! In England -and Wales I can’t identify with the anti-catholic sentiment that you mention at all. How would anyone even know who you were married to? NI is different. I can accept that there is a religious hierarchy in the Uk with those of no religion being at the bottom of the pile (no religion = no values in some peoples heads), Cof E at the top as it is intrinsically part of the state, other Christian faiths coming in next, then other religions coming in next. Re: no one complaining about Cof E schools - when a local high was taken over by a c of e academy, there were complaints a plenty.

You don’t say if it’s primary or secondary. If it’s primary I would also check the admissions of the attached RC feeder high school. You might end up sending your child to a primary who won’t be able to get into the secondary school with their friends.

I'm an atheist working in a CofE school. I join in singing hymns because I enjoy singing, but just sit respectfully silent during prayers (and usually zone out a bit during collective worship). I have a few colleagues who are the same, and there is a Muslim child in my class who has clearly been told by her parents to be respectful but not participate in prayers. We don't have any pupils who are actively withdrawn from CW by their parents and they would just be sent to sit outside the hall/ classroom with a book if they were.

Re not being a Christian but working at a CofE school, I needed a job, this one sounded good and the pay was more than my last job...

I previously worked in 3 non-religious schools and assemblies were based on teaching good values like respect, being kind to others etc, or an 'Achievement assembly' every week where awards were given out or the teacher in charge talked about someone in the news who had achieved something worthwhile. God wasn't mentioned once and any songs sung were secular (S Club 7 Reach for The Stars was repeatedly sung).

OFSTED doesn't actually look at collective worship as part of their inspection framework so non-religious schools don't bother bringing Christianity into it especially when, like my previous schools, they have a very diverse intake in terms of religious and cultural backgrounds.

@Psychologymam So, in short I would agree with you that there is C of E privilege in this country but there is also religious privilege more generally to the detriment of access to education and social cohesion.