What does 'Children whose parents are committed for over a year to the life and work of local church' mean?

[reastie]

Looking at prospectuses for local schools, this school is in the village next to ours and will most likely be our top choice. As we don't live in the village itself the only way to be higher in the pecking order of admissions is for us to meet this point (it would get us to admission point 6 of 8 where admission point 1 is the most important, so not exactly securing a place in any case). DH and I have been married in our local church and DD has been baptised there too, and we've donated money to the church when they've needed new heating system etc, but we never go to church.

Does this sentence just mean go regularly to church or does it mean get involved with churchy activities/organise things within the church? If it just means regularly go to church - how regularly is regular?

It also says there must be documented proof that we have been committed to our local church - what form does this take? It's not like there's a register like school to prove we've been at the church

Documentted proof? Your signatures on a few cheques made out to the church maybe?

I think that the one thing they don't want is people throwing money it it- they want time and commitment. If you think money solves everything you clearly don't understand the ethos of the school!

Having said that they would like money too but rather as a fundraiser.

Flogging - I may not be making myself clear. If a policy states 'both parents must attend mass' that disadvantages the single parent. I've just looked at my ds's school and their policy has actually changed since I applied (they are now in year 8). When I applied, our priest had to confirm that they attended mass on a weekly basis and 1 parent. For admission to 2012 onwards, it only asks for proof for the DC. The school that they go to is over-subscribed so what happens is that only those boys who fit the top criteria (weekly mass attendance for 3 years and baptism within a year) get in. If there are more than PAN, it goes down to distance. It's a transparent policy - in OPs case she would be disadvantaged but at least the policy has clarity for her to make an informed decision as to whether to apply.

'Can't believe the hard time you have been given. Not very Christian! '

I'm not Christian, HTH.

It is all a pointless thread anyway. Go to your LEA and they will have maps and catchment areas and criteria for schools. You will be able to find out how many places there were for each year, how many applications, how many appeals and how many were successful. It is all there. You can then base your application on likelihood. If there were 20 spaces, 40 applications, 10 appeals and only 4 got places you will have to be very active in the church. If there are 20 spaces and 18 applications you don't have to bother!
Supply and demand - as I keep saying.

Angeleyes is quite right - it is a transparent policy.
Any school choice is a myth. What new parents find out is that it means 'school choice IF spaces'. The same for any type of school.

"personally I don't feel the need to go every week to church to show how religious I am and what my beliefs are" - absolutely right. But you do need to go to church every week (or frequently) to get a place in the school.

Regardless of whether you agree with the admissions criteria you have a choice:

-become a committed part of the church community and apply for the school
-don't - apply to a different school instead

But I think the point is that the OP was just trying to get clarity regarding what the admission criteria meant. She didn't suggest she was looking for a cosy answer or indeed a debate about the rights and wrongs of such criteria. From what I can tell she is trying to find out what she needs to do to get her child into this school because the criteria is not clear. If she is clear about the criteria then she can decide if meeting this criteria is right for her family or not. They have not defined 'committed' and unless they have done so elsewhere in the criteria this is not clear.

I should have thought that the title of the post told you that
a -they had to be physically in church most Sundays-at least enough for the regulars to see them as regulars.
b-being there isn't enough-they need to be doing some of the work-even if it is only the coffee rota.

I keep saying-supply and demand-probably it is not clear because you don't know who is applying.If not many, the coffee rota may be enough, but if it is massively over subscribed you may need to teach in Sunday school, chair a fund raising committee etc.
Committed is like a piece of string-depends on the applications. Also they don't want someone who is going to find out the minimum criteria and just do enough to get by.
Basically-to be sure of a place-OP needs to throw herself into church life with enthusiasm-if she doesn't then I would advise a different school.

I just wanted to pop back so that you didn't think I was ignoring everyone. I'm not going to answer every single question here as I'll be here all day and tbh it's a bit unnecessary. If I really wanted to work the system as well as I could I would go to church at my neighbouring parish (where said school is) as then that would bring me a point higher in the entry criteria making me more likely to get a place but I'm not.

My point about the PTA was just such that there seems to be many comments saying if I don't want to fully get involved in the church community in many ways then obviously I'm not worthy of having a place at a school where apparently I won't be wanted as I won't get involved . It's not that I refuse to get involved with my local church community, indeed I've done volunteering for the church in the past, it's more that if I do volunteer for jobs and help I want to do it because I want to help and do the job not because I feel like I have to or my daughter won't get a place at a school.

As for the not going to church thing - all I can say is in my mind if you have someone who reads the bible, prays regularly and lives their life in a very christian way but doesn't regularly attend church to me that's better than someone who does go to church regularly but leads a sinful life as it were, and going by religious teachings God loves everyone so why would he not love someone who believes in him and follows his beliefs just because they don't go to church regularly.Although I realise this would be a hopeless argument as regards to a school entrance criteria as how could you prove anything. I do go to church regularly through being a teacher where we attend a service weekly at the local church to my school but it's not the local church to me.

You're a teacher, Reastie?.

Yes flogging although not primary. Why the ?

I understand what you are saying exoticfruits. I just don't agree. School admissions criteria need to be explicit and this is not. You say 'comitted' means attending church 'most' sundays which imo is also not explicit enough. What is most? - every week? Three in four weeks? We will have to agree to disagree.

The simplest thing is to go and ask them. The point that I am trying to make is that they are not looking for someone to do the bare minimum to get a place-they want someone who is going to make it a 'living' church and be actively involved. Someone that any regular would recognise as part of the congregation.

Even if they say 'it means coming to church once a month and helping at the summer fete' -it doesn't mean much if it is oversubscribed, because someone who goes twice a month and does the fete and the cleaning rota will come first. A church warden or the treasurer will come before either.