Need Help with Preschool Application

[Alda090989]

Hi ladies,

I'm trying to deal with the application of my son to preschool.
He's supposed to start in September.
I am having some difficulties understanding what are the differences between Church of England Schools and normal schools.
I am Catholic, but moved in England few years back from Italy.
My son is not yet baptised, but I have always wanted to have the christening done.
I have noticed that lots of CoE schools require baptism of the child and mandatory Church Attendance, has anyone any advice?
Are Catholic Church the best option for children?

Thank you very much in advance

Era

They would usually need to be baptised by 6 months for a catholic school. But the rules vary by school.
Which borough fo you live in OP?

It is unusual for CofE schools to require baptism.

A school cannot require church attendance as a condition of entry but it can prioritise applicants who attend church regularly.

There are three types of CofE schools - academies, voluntary controlled schools and voluntary aided schools. All three types are funded by the state.

In a VC school, the land and buildings are typically owned by the church, but the school is controlled by the local authority.

In a VA school or academy, the land and buildings are typically owned by the church which also controls the school. VA schools follow the National Curriculum. Academies can set their own curriculum which must be "broad based and balanced".

Religious education is compulsory at all schools. All CofE schools can set their own curriculum for RE.

Some CofE schools are more religious than community schools but many are not. Indeed, some community schools are more religious than any faith school.

You need to look at the admissions policies for the schools you are interested in - and the local school(s) that you are most likely to get a place at if you apply, if these are not the same thing. State schools (and that is all state schools, whatever their 'label') must admit all applicants, if less than or equal to the number of places available make an effective apication - that is, naming the school on their Common Apllication Form above any other school for which they also qualify - and if they have more applicants than places, must rank them in the way that they say they will, that is, according to the school's published oversubscription criteria. You have only got 3 weeks until the closing date for primary applications, so however much you may fancy a CofE school for your DC, you need to make sure that you don't use all your preferences on schools prioritising e.g. residence within a certain parish that you don't live in and / or attendance for upwards of 18 months at the parish church that you have never set foot in (oversubscription criteria picked at random from those of some VA schools I have come across).

Eta oops, sorry, missed that you said preschool, not primary, but the same applies, that each must say how it ranks DC if oversubscribed, if it's state.

CofE don't normally require a baptism/christening certificate but a Roman Catholic/Catholic one definitely will otherwise you'll be at the bottom of the priority list. They also don't usually accept "late" baptees as it just looks suspicious that you've done it solely to get your child into that school

Also - Catholic (and some CofE) preschools will often operate a different admissions process for nurseries/preschools - you apply directly to the school not via the Local Authority common application form. Certainly this happens where I am (London borough where all schools have their own pre-school attached)

And - there is, often, no link between applications for the pre-school and the main one. Every year a few people at our school are disappointed because they don’t get into reception from the pre-school, generally because the pre-school is under subscribed (hence those not baptised or with patchy church attendance records get in) but the main school is over subscribed

@underneaththeash

They would usually need to be baptised by 6 months for a catholic school. But the rules vary by school. Which borough fo you live in OP?

Hi, I live in Enfield Borough.

@prh47bridge

It is unusual for CofE schools to require baptism.

A school cannot require church attendance as a condition of entry but it can prioritise applicants who attend church regularly.

There are three types of CofE schools - academies, voluntary controlled schools and voluntary aided schools. All three types are funded by the state.

In a VC school, the land and buildings are typically owned by the church, but the school is controlled by the local authority.

In a VA school or academy, the land and buildings are typically owned by the church which also controls the school. VA schools follow the National Curriculum. Academies can set their own curriculum which must be "broad based and balanced".

Religious education is compulsory at all schools. All CofE schools can set their own curriculum for RE.

Some CofE schools are more religious than community schools but many are not. Indeed, some community schools are more religious than any faith school.

Thank you very much for your reply