Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

Can you refuse a school place/catchment if it is a church school?

72 replies

flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:07

We are moving to an area where the two nearest primary schools are C of E and Catholic (it's a rural area). We will be out of catchment for the closest non faith school and it is also 4 miles away (although we would be willing to drive this far).

We are not religious and, although I have nothing against church schools, I do not want my DC to attend one. When placing my DC (8 and 10) in a school in the new area, the council will automatically offer places at these two schools. Can we refuse these offers on the grounds of atheism? Is it possible to stipulate a non faith school? Anybody else had this experience? They are currently in non-faith schools so I have never had this problem...

Thanks all!

OP posts:
SweepTheHalls · 28/02/2019 12:09

You can refuse, but they have no obligation to offer you a different school place. At that point you are on waiting lists for schools you prefer and home educating.

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:12

Thanks for your reply. It's a difficult situation because the nearest non-church school is oversubscribed. Argh. We might have to go back to the drawing board on the area we have chosen! Do other people send their kids to C of E schools if they are not religious? I have no experience of these types of school.

OP posts:
Hollowvictory · 28/02/2019 12:13

Why would you move there if the schools don't suit?

LIZS · 28/02/2019 12:14

LA only has to offer you a place, usually at nearest one with a vacancy regardless of any religious affiliation. If you turn it down you may be left without a place, join waiting lists for preferred schools or be prepared to travel further.

DaphneduM · 28/02/2019 12:16

I worked in a C of E primary school for a while. It was an absolutely excellent school that parents were keen to send their children to - although it was under the C of E 'umbrella' i.e. overseen by the Diocese, the religion bit was totally light touch i.e. the vicar came in once in a blue moon to attend assembly and the carol service was held in the local church. Honestly I wouldn't let the religion bit put you off, the kids will hardly notice it.

gnarlington · 28/02/2019 12:20

I am not religious in the slightest. My DS goes to a C of E school because it's a good school.
When he tells me the stories about god and Jesus I just tell him it's a nice story, but that's all it is.
I also went to a C of E school and my mother was certainly not religious!

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:20

We have to move there for some very unique reasons....We aren't fixed on that exact area, however most of the primary schools within a ten mile radius are church schools. The only one that isn't is oversubscribed. So even if we move next door to it we would not get in as we will be applying mid-year IYSWIM.

We would be willing to travel further but most of the schools are C of E. It's a very rural area.

OP posts:
Penguinandbear · 28/02/2019 12:20

You can refuse but then LA are under no obligation to offer you a replacement. Plenty of non-religious kids in CoE schools and often other religions than CoE. I would happily send mine - why don't you look round? If you are adamantly against then you do need to reconsider areas - much better for children to be by their school so they can play with friends and easier for pick-ups too.

Penguinandbear · 28/02/2019 12:22

We are in a very rural area and we got into an outstanding oversubscribed school end of term - people do move but to be top of list you need to be right outside in and no guarantees.

JassyRadlett · 28/02/2019 12:23

Thanks for your reply. It's a difficult situation because the nearest non-church school is oversubscribed. Argh. We might have to go back to the drawing board on the area we have chosen! Do other people send their kids to C of E schools if they are not religious? I have no experience of these types of school.

My eldest is at a CofE school. We are urban, but our nearest schools are all faith schools and distort catchments so much by taking kids from quite a distance that the local community schools are all oversubscribed. In addition there is an overall shortage of places in our borough.

We were offered a place at the CofE school near us. Had we refused, the only school with places was on the other side of the borough and a (failing) CofE school itself.

Honestly, it’s ok. The faith stuff grates and we are careful at home to support the school (some people believe x - we are careful not to say we disagree).

They seem to have turned my son into an atheist anyway by telling them the Genesis stories were true in Reception.

It’s a very nice school. I would love it if they were more even handed about different faiths and none, and if they didn’t waste so much of the allegedly precious curriculum time doing church things, particularly around Easter. But it’s not as bad as I’d expected.

That said, the system is totally outrageous.

ChakiraChakra · 28/02/2019 12:24

Definitely go for a look around. Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised!

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:26

To be clear we have nothing against church schools/religion at all or my children learning about religion etc. I am not of the mind that they will be indoctrinated and our children have an open environment at home where what they believe is their choice. I'm not rabidly anti-religion but I am an atheist, haven't been Christened, never been to church, didn't get married in church etc.

We just have no experience of them, not having been to one ourselves. I need to learn more! I have been told that you have to state that you are 'open to Christianity' by someone who has their kids in a church run school.

OP posts:
NoahsArks · 28/02/2019 12:28

Be very careful. We chose the worst performing school in our county purely because it had no church affiliation. Our DC were totally indoctrinated with OT beliefs and we had to remove them. About 50% of the staff were evangelical Christians.

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 28/02/2019 12:30

Is this an in year application then?

You can apply for any schools that have places available.

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:34

Thanks for your experiences and yes I do agree that it's better to be next to the school than 10 miles away....I am hoping that even though we are applying mid-year the non faith school might be able to rustle up two places. Wishful thinking maybe....!

OP posts:
Penguinandbear · 28/02/2019 12:35

I would go and look round - also have schools got websites - check them out and Ofsted etc, talk to any parents of kids who go there. The ones in our old area had completely non-religious children there, had excellent results and was a lovely school.

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 28/02/2019 12:35

Also with the ages your children are at, I would look at the secondary schools feeder schools, and factor that in to any decision.

You need to ring the LEA and ask for a list of schools that have places. It isn't the case that they will offer you the nearest school - they will offer you the nearest school to which you are eligible. Your choices will be limited, but you can go on waiting lists for as many schools as you wish.

Many church schools are oversubscribed and have faith criteria for entry so you may have a moot point anyway

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:35

We are hoping to move over the summer so the DC would start in Sept. However I have missed the deadlines for applications obviously so we would be at the mercy of places available/not available. It's very difficult cos we are trying to choose a house!

OP posts:
teenybean · 28/02/2019 12:37

I think you should go for a look around, dp & I are atheist, but our nearest school is CofE, it is an outstanding school & there isn't actually very much religious stuff (vicar goes in one morning a week to do an assembly & like every other school, they do R.E once a week that looks at all religions-that is pretty much it!)

we went to look around before ds started as I was worried about the same as you, but we were very pleasantly surprised. It is oversubscribed every year & people travel for miles to get there (people have rented houses nearby to get a place, even though they own their own home elsewhere, then when their children get in, they've moved back, quite a few families did this, but they seem to be clamping down on it now!)

Ds has definitely not become religious through it, they did an R.E session (as they would in any school) on how the earth was created & when they'd said about god creating the world in 7 days, ds replied that was untrue because the Big Bang & evolution! He was 5! But the teachers were very impressed & said to him that different people believe different things.

caughtinanet · 28/02/2019 12:39

We just have no experience of them, not having been to one ourselves

So you need to go and see the schools and actually find out how Christian the ethos is, in the C of E school it is very unlikely to be a bible thumping religious college. They teach all religions, I believe all schools do, ime nothing is overt or rammed down anyone's throat, personally I think you'd be making your life unnecessarily difficult by discounting a school you know nothing about.

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:39

Thanks - there is only one secondary school within miles and it is a non-church school so they would definitely go there. So yes, it would only be for three years for the youngest and one for the oldest....at any primary school....

I don't think we would meet any faith criteria as neither of us have been christened etc. Also, it would be difficult to do the 'open to it' aspect for me!

OP posts:
LIZS · 28/02/2019 12:41

If your dc are both still primary age you would make an in year application even if you had moved earlier. Deadline is only relevant for Reception , year 3 in some areas with infant/junior schools or for secondary entry.

Original poster
flightlessbird1 · 28/02/2019 12:41

We will definitely go and have a look round all the schools - I just wanted to know what the logistics are. We are having to move very quickly so finding somewhere to live and schools to boot is proving stressful.

OP posts:
Penguinandbear · 28/02/2019 12:42

Its worth phoning the schools and LA and asking about how often places come up - sometimes they won't say a rough guide (obviously never any guarantees) but sometimes you get someone more helpful. Our school actually tipped us off when places came up and then helped us get them when LA was trying to give them to someone else. We live 0.4 miles away from a rural school and were number 1 on list mid year and its rated outstanding but will vary by area.

In our primary around 60 per year around 2 left a year. End of terms are most common. You can also go on waiting list from current home - know it sounds crazy but one time one of the schools had expanded and suddenly had an extra 12 places available so we got offered a place from an hour away. In the end we didn't do that move.

Penguinandbear · 28/02/2019 12:44

If you ask on MN local board you might get lucky and someone know the schools. I did for ours. Name change if you don't want to be identified and name change back after.