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?

This.

It's notable that so much of the pushback on the OP isn't about the jewellery rule at all.

Unless the HoY has gone completely rogue here, it seems very clear that necklaces are not allowed.

You can decide to kick up a fuss, but the most likely outcome is that they re-word the policy to make it more explicit that even religious necklaces are not permitted.

Why don't you suggest to your daughter that she swap to a bracelet that's fairly snug fitting and well up inside her shirt cuff so that there's no chance of it being seen.
If it's just for her own personal faith it does not need to be seen so if focus on her wearing it somewhere it can't be seen eg ankle well underneath her trousers.

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this! Mythreewords has articulated exactly what is wrong with the arguments on this thread.

What a load of fuss over nothing!! Just tell her to leave it at home. If it’s for her faith she can keep a cross elsewhere. If they bend this rule what is to stop all students wearing religious jewellery or jewellery with any meaning behind it. There would be no rule at all. I honestly despair at what schools have to put up with.

Yes it is.

No it isn’t.

Before you do, check the uniform policy again and see if it mentions exceptions for religious reasons. If they do, they don’t have a leg to stand on. If it’s strictly “no jewellery “ with no exemptions , then that is the new rule, and she will have to follow it.

I have carried a prayer bead in my pocket ever since my Alpha course, but then I am a man and my clothes have pockets. Good luck OP.

This happened to me at school when I was 15 as well. I had a crucifix with Jesus on it. I remember trying to argue that if Muslim students were permitted to wear the hijab then I should be able to wear the cross. To no avail. It is a total double standard but one of those things we need to accept unfortunately.

come on, you know that’s not true.

Have you considered writing to journalists about this? A lot of people will be very angry at the school, and I really suspect they'll cave, once the outcry is sufficiently large. Reply to the school to push them to make ridiculous claims first.

Rather proving the point ...

Look up Eweida v British Airways (2013) was a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case where Nadia Eweida, a Coptic Christian check-in staff member, won her claim against BA for banning her from wearing a visible silver cross necklace, violating her right to freedom of religion. The ruling found that BA's uniform policy wrongly prioritized corporate image over religious expression, prompting policy changes
School needs to take note
So many uniform policies lack common senses

stop responding. What are they going to do- lift her dress up or remove clothes from her body to see what’s under her dress? They have no power. Tell her to keep wearing her cross.

wrong. end of discussion.

There is no requirement in the Christian faith to wear a cross and so the OP is being unreasonable. She is not being discriminated against and this is not a hill to die on.

This is blatant discrimination under the Equalities Act 2010 being allowed to practice her faith. In the same way are they going to ask a Sikh pupil to remove their silver bangle. Of course not. Hold your ground, the cross stays. Or threaten them with legal action. 2 Tier justice.

So you're a Christian family and she's always worn this cross, throughout primary school and into secondary. Just like not all Muslims wear head scarves, not all Christians wear a cross; but many do and it's an important expression of their faith for those that do. A cross on her uniform would still be jewellery and any other cross on her clothing would be defacing it. Usually these bans (not in schools!) exclude things like wedding rings, a small cross and a small pair of studs in the ears, don't they? Like others have said, contact the school and discuss it.

which is all very well. However, if this believer wanted an MRI scan, then it wouldn't matter what sky fairy they have hitched their conscience to, it comes off, or they don't get one.

Weirdly, despite God being all powerful and that malarkey, the laws of nature do not comply.

As someone else has suggested switch to small cross stud earrings, she’d still be wearing a sign of her faith but within the schools policy.
Primary schools tend to be less strict about things, I nag at mine to wear the correct colour socks but apparently I’m the only one that is bothered but if my eldest went in wearing orange socks visibly then someone would definitely say something so that could be why she could wear it in primary school.
Im surprised anyone noticed her wearing it, by the time they have shirts/ties and blazers on I wouldn’t have a clue if my son was wearing one of his thin chains underneath.
It depends how much you want to dig your heels in tbh if you kick up enough fuss they may exempt her but it would make life a little uncomfortable so I would switch to earrings. My son has both ears pierced and as long as they are tiny he wears all different shapes incl dragons, despite me saying he would probably be told to remove them.

I find this a really silly thing for the school to focus on , especially as it sounds like it is small and hidden. I get a no jewellery policy , for safety reasons especially with chains , but it does sound more like a ‘ principle ‘ thing.

I don’t think you can really use the point other religions wearing headscarves, as - for example a pakta for a young Sikh boy is essential to maintain long hair which is a fundamental aspect of their faith , wearing a cross necklace is not.

I would firstly review the uniform policy as it’s likely you signed a home school agreement where you agreed to abide by school policies . Ultimately, if it’s a health and safety reason, I don’t think there will really be much you can do. It depends on the school . But if you push hard enough , they’re likely to back down.

I used to teach in Primary and one day a little girl ( year 1 , so she was 7 ) came in with really long beads on her neck . My first thought was that this was a strangulation hazard , we had PE that day but I was also thinking about play time. I spoke to SLT about it and they said no she cannot wear them - ask her to give them to you and hand them to the parent at the end of the day. I did just that and explained to the mother who was fine. The next day , the father came to pick her up and he approached me about them and said that they were religious - they belonged to him and he had passed them on to her and he wanted her to wear them and was not happy they had been taken and asked if I had lifted them off her neck , I said I had not I had asked her if I could look after them until home time and explained what SLT had told me. I was wearing a small bracelet, that was beaded crystals ( not expensive but I think it was labradorite or something - it was a phase ) and he pointed at it and said “ nice bracelet , is it religious ? “ I told him it was not and he said why can you wear it . I explained that I understood where he was coming from but that I was an adult and there was no risk from them , so he asked why she couldn’t wear the beads at other times. I simply said I would speak to SLT and get back to him. When I spoke to SLT they said they would call him and then came back to me saying that she could wear them as they were religious and to make sure I am watching her during PE to make sure she was safe . So , I looked like a nit picking teacher and then had the responsibility to keep her safe .

I work in the NHS and one of the senior nurses tried to get a junior to remove her cross because of the no jewelry rule and basically lost because a cross necklace is protected as a religious symbol

Personally without being rude I think this is a mountain out of a mole hill. Remove it for school and wear it out of school. Her beliefs will be the same with or without a cross round her neck