Catchment areas - how do you know where they are?

[threefeethighandrising]

How do you find out what the catchment area is for a school?

Is it published online or do you have to ask the school?

TIA

I suppose I should say we're in a town and also moving before we apply to schools, and so we have the luxury of having a number of schools to choose between.

If we lived in a village and the only option was C of E (as is the case out of town round here) then I suppose we'd just have to be pleased if it was a good enough school and just do our best to counteract the marketing of Christ by DS's school, when he was at home

For my DCs school only 6 or so pupils out of 90 in a year, will have got in on faith grounds, and they tend to live quite a long way from school. Similarly at Infants there is a priority for twins, there are also lots of kids who get in because of their SEN. They have 1 Chruch service a term. I know Hindu kids who attend, I'm not sure what the JW's do. I think more Christian kids are pulled out of the visit to a Hindu temple than don't go to the Church service, but it is a school run service, and pretty much like a big assembly.
However at my DCs secondary which is a community school, all of year 7 (except any withdrawn) go to one Church service during the year, which is to commemorate the person the school is named after. They also have a prayer week, in which they have access to, and visit during RE lessons a prayer area in one of the Halls. They are also having their Curriculum week this year with the focus of Spiritual awareness. (But they are probably breaking the law with regard to daily assemblies.)
Actually at primary school I really don't think kids have much idea of how they got into the school they get sent to. They are much more aware of entry criteria for secondary.

Why would parents pull their children out of an educational visit to a temple?

This admissions business is getting more complicated by the minute!

mummytime do you really think that your DC's school doesn't promote Christianity in any way?
Would you mind if I asked what your DC's views on religion are?

I'm just finding it hard to believe that some C of E schools really aren't religious at all, it seems too illogical!

I think it's upsetting my inner pedant ("but it's called a C of E school" )

I will on the basis of this at least look at the ones near us on paper and see what they say about religion, however I am still very skeptical!

CofE schools generally give some priority on admissions to families who attend church regularly. That is not the same as giving priority to Christians. Many families attend church purely to get a place at a church school. There is no requirement for continued attendance so many such families stop attending as soon as their child has a place.

And yes, there are church schools that have no church services and are staffed by people who are, on the whole, not practising Christians. They are by no means uncommon. As for encouraging Christianity or having overt acts of worship, to a degree that depends on your definition.

Remember that all schools are legally required to have a daily act of collective worship. Many schools ignore this but it remains a legal requirement. Even schools which ignore the requirement for a daily act of collective worship tend to have them at less frequently - weekly, for example. The contents of this act of worship vary. For non-faith schools the worship must be mainly or wholly of a Christian nature but faith schools can do whatever they want. Some non-faith schools will sing a hymn, for example, whilst some faith schools won't.

Similarly the syllabus includes RE for all children. The RE syllabus for schools in an area is drawn up by a local conference of teachers, churches, faith groups and the LA, and must reflect the fact that religious traditions in the UK are mainly Christian whilst also taking account of the teaching and practises of other major religions. Non-faith schools are required to follow this syllabus. Faith schools can draw up their own syllabus. Some faith schools use the same RE syllabus as local non-faith schools, some put in additional Christian content and a few choose to have less Christian content than the local syllabus.

As a general rule, church schools are not aggressively evangelical. They see their role as providing a good education, not turning children into Christians.

Hadn't seen your latest post when I wrote that.

The important point to remember is that CofE schools were initially set up when there were no state schools. Most of them were set up in the first half of the 19th Century. They were intended to provide education for the poor, not to spread the faith. As per my last post, they see their role as providing an education for the whole child. They do not see their role as converting children to the Christian faith.

I don't say DCs school doesn't promote Christianity, I'm just saying the C of E primary even though it is overtly Christian (and not all C of E are, especially not to this extent), doesn't promote Christianity that much more than the non-religious secondary.
In any school (certainly C of E and Community) it is not the norm to say that any one faith is right.
The phrase "Christian's believe" btw is why my DD gets into trouble in RE at secondary, as she often contradicts the teacher, as not all Christian (or sometimes even most) do believe what the teacher says.
I really think you need to go and look at some community primary schools, and then decide what you think on the religious ground.