School asking daughter to remove small cross despite religious symbols policy

[FanFckingTastic]

I'm looking for some advice and thoughts!

DD is 15 and at secondary school. She has always worn a small silver cross - at primary school this was never an issue (it was a church school) Up until this point it's not been an issue at secondary school either. The cross is very small and is tucked into her shirt so you would have to be really looking for it in order to see it. She always removes it for PE etc.

Last Monday her head of year saw the cross and asked her to remove it. My daughter replied that it was her cross, and that she didn't want to. She was then approached and asked to remove it every day for the remainder of the week, with increasing threats of sanctions if she didn't comply with the schools 'no jewelry' rule. My daughter kept reiterating that this was her cross, and asked the teacher to speak with me. Finally on Friday I received an email to tell me that my daughter needed to take her cross off.

I completely understand the new jewelry rule but wonder how this sits alongside the responsibility that the school has under the equalities act 2010. In their uniform policy it states that it will 'allow pupils to wear headscarves and other religious or cultural symbols' I would interpret this to include a cross too?

My daughter wears her cross as a sign of her faith and really wants to continue to do this.

Has anyone come across this situation before? If so, what was the solution?

Send a letter from your vicar/priest to say she is a practising Christian and the necklace is part of her faith.

It is not compulsory for Christians to wear jewellery depicting a cross unlike th requirement to ear head coverings etc. She's just trying to fid a way to flout the no jewellery rule. If she was that devout she would carry a small cross in her pencil case or something.

I think you will have to approach this based on the jewellery rule rather than what the necklace represents. If it is a blanket ban on all jewelry on health and safety grounds it can't be argued as comparable to a headscarf. Would she be allowed to pin it to her jumper?

I'm guessing she can display a cross or carry one in another way that isn't attached to a piece of jewellery? If her Christian faith is so important.

If she wears jewellery with crosses then others will do the same, earrings, chains, nose rings as long as they have a religious symbol on them. Thus breaking the no jewellery rule which isn't what they want.

It's not compulsory for Muslims to wear a headscarf either.

Get her to put it on a longer chain so it really is invisible as it would hang lower.

She's not trying to flout the rules - if anything she wants to be compliant and hates getting into trouble.

Just because wearing a cross is not compulsory does not mean that she doesn't want to do it. It's her faith and I want to be supportive of her views.

I've asked here to see if anyone has experienced something similar - and what the solution was.

YANBU, they’d not dare tell a Muslim student to remove her hijab or a Jewish one to remove his kippah!

In their uniform policy it states that it will 'allow pupils to wear headscarves and other religious or cultural symbols'

I'm surprised you haven't asked them to clarify what 'other religious or cultural symbols' means.

Don't tell me you haven't, because what's the point of the thread otherwise?

No. But my daughter wears one under her shirt so it's not visible. It's very small. I wouldn't have got in a fight with school about it. It's not essential to her faith, she just likes to wear it. Your DD can put it on when she gets home. No biggie I think.

I would have to ask the school if a small broach would be acceptable instead. I'm presuming that this might also fall under the 'no jewelry' ban however.

Yes, OP. Christians are discriminated against in the UK. We’ll be an Islamic State before we know it. (Is that what you wanted to hear?)

I haven't responded to the school yet so can ask them to clarify.

She's not trying to flout the rules - if anything she wants to be compliant and hates getting into trouble.

Nah because she would've removed it on the first day and then asked you to help sort it when she got home.

That's not someone who's compliant and hates getting into trouble.

Why doesn’t she wear it under her shirt so it’s not visible.
It’s unfair but not worth hassle imo.

In that case, I’m not sure what advice or solution you want. The uniform policy says they allow religious symbols, so obviously the next step would be for you to quote that and ask them to clarify which items are covered by this and why.

They are probably aware that she is compliant so think nothing pf hounding her over a non issue (if it really is out of sight as you say)
As PP have said, ask a young sikh boy to remove a turban or a muslim girl a head scarf and they would have hell to pay (literally)

Why doesn’t she just pin it to the inside of her jumper or something if she wants to wear it? Clearly, it can be seen if they know she’s wearing it. You’re tying yourself up in knots over nothing.

If the cross is tucked into her shirt how are the school staff seeing it? Is it the chain around her neck that is visible? I am a Christian and wear a cross but it is worn under my clothes on a long enough chain that it is impossible for anyone to see it unless I am wearing an open neck top. Your daughter is clearly wearing hers in a way that is visible.

It is entirely legitimate for her to wear a cross, if it is an important part of her faith. Unless there's valid Health and Safety reasons to ban all jewellery which applies equally to all religions, it's religious discrimination to prevent her from following her understanding of religious practice in ways that don't affect or disadvantage any other pupils. I hope you stand by her and fight this with her @FanFckingTastic

It is entirely legitimate for her to wear a cross, if it is an important part of her faith.

It's not 'entirely legitimate' in a school with a no jewellery rule.

If the school allows jewelry for followers of other religions (eg a bracelet for Sikhs) then it is. OP says the policy states that they make an exception for religious or cultural symbols. Why would this not qualify?

You need to clarify what 'allow pupils to wear headscarves and other religious or cultural symbols' means in practice for Christian pupils. “Headscarves” aren’t compulsory under any faith - they are an outward expression of culture - what outward expression of faith are Christians permitted? Find out what it is and do that.
I don’t believe in wearing rosary beads as jewellery but “prison” rosary’s are available as a safe alternative.

It's flouting the jewellery rule. If it's important to her to have a cross on her body, get her to pin it inside her bra or at the top of her knickers. I'm not a Christian but I doubt if any god would care if it was on a chain round a neck or not.