What do primary schools teach about Hallowe'en?

[JudyJulie]

Our DGS, who is 4.5 started reception in September. They had a Hallowe'en party at school last week with everyone in fancy dress. He was dressed as a skeleton. They made potions, basically a pop bottle full of green liquid with bits in it.

Outside of school, he has been to a pumpkin patch, he has done a pumpkin trail, and he has been trick or treating. He has spent most of the last week going from one Hallowe'en based activity to another, usually in his skeleton costume.

He is not able to tell us what it is all about, although he's clearly looking forward to the various activities, so I just wondered what he will have been told at school.

Thank you

I would imagine very little other than 'its halloween'.

Dc attend a CofE school so don't teach or do anything for Halloween. The PTA wanted to do a Halloween disco to raise money or a Halloween movie night and were not allowed.

Halloween teaches children to knock on stranger’s front doors and ask for sweets. There’s something there that just doesn’t sit well with me.

They don't generally teach anything.

Some schools don't mention it at all. Some schools will do a fundraising disco etc.

Echo the above - I work in a C of E school and Halloween is not talked about.
Also, when I first started teaching (aaaages ago) I was told in another school that Halloween wasn't something that the primary schools in the county were allowed to teach, regardless of whether they were a Church school or not.

No idea if that still applies across the county!

I remember in the 1960s infants making witches hats and painting Halloween pictures and singing Halloween songs . We did Apple bobbing at school too . but there was no trick or treat , decorations in the shops and no one carved a pumpkin . I remember seeing a lit pumpkin occasionally on someone's doorstep and thought it was eerie.

We are a CofE school, so as far as I know, nothing. We tell children about All Souls Day, but that is a religious day and only close to Halloween in the calendar.

Nothing. It’s not on the curriculum, plus people have very different opinions about it so it’s not a great one to ‘celebrate’ as a school community.

DC will usually want to talk about their costumes, what they got trick or treating, light parties they’ve been to etc. So maybe a bit of class chat time. That’s it.

In terms of explicit teaching, the only thing I teach my Reception class is how to trick or treat safely and respectfully, if they plan to partake with their families. We just discuss it during circle time and they like to discuss costumes. I make sure they understand it's not something everyone celebrates and that they must stay with their grown up and only knock on decorated houses, if their grown up says it's ok. We talk about road safety, and pumpkin safety (both carving and candles). I don't go into origins at all. I don't see the need.

We do lots of halloween based crafts in the week building up to it, because they're fun and relevant right now. We read lots of stories about witches, pumpkins, monsters etc in the build up, because they're fun and relevant. We don't 'celebrate' Halloween, we simply cover it as something which falls in the autumn. Nothing more, nothing less.

I think it’s a brilliant learning opportunity. I had a spare moment with my class (I’m a TA and class teacher had been called out for behaviour) I pulled up a reading comprehension and we sat and chatted about the history. They had so many questions.

My school isn't CofE by the way. I understand that anything Halloween related can be a big no no in some CofE and Catholic schools.

Ours is C of E and doesn’t appear to have taught anything Halloween related in Reception. All the crafts, artwork etc that I’ve seen and that DD has talked about is autumn related, how animals hibernate, collecting fallen leaves etc.

Surely this is something you'd 'teach' (obviously not in a formal way) as a family? Like table manners etc

When I taught Early Years, including the years I was at a CofE school, we’d ’cover it’ in as much as it was something many of the children were interested in at the time. We might talk about what they’d been up to, read some vaguely related stories (Pumpkin Soup, Room on the Broom, Funny Bones) etc. I’d often bring in pumpkins - but more as part of Autumn than specifically tied to Halloween - and allow the children to have fun scooping them out as a sensory experience. Or use them for size ordering/ decorating/ pumpkin related crafts.

But no actual teaching about Halloween.

Nothing.
It's not on the national curriculum.

I'd say every Catholic school in Ireland teaches about Halloween and the history, both Samhain and the modern links will All Souls.

DC goes to a state (i.e. Protestant) school here in NI, they had a Halloween disco and did Halloween themed art activities and such (she's 6) but I don't think they've learned about the history yet as she would've come home full of info.

Same here. We celebrated the Autumn Fayre, Harvest Festival, and then All Saints/All Souls. All Saints always gives a great opportunity to learn some cracking hymns.

One of my best friends is the vicar of the parish affiliated to the school too so my kids know her really well when she comes in for assemblies etc. This year it was half term but last my son piped up in a massive voice Rev XXX came round to ours last night on Halloween because she told my mummy she was scared 🤣🤣🤣 thanks DS. bless her, that did actually happen. The previous year some teenagers had been targeting her house knowing who she was on Halloween so she came to mine so we could ignore it together 🤣

Hallowe'en is a contraction of All Hallow's Eve, the old name for All saints, so they aren't just close to eachother in the calendar, they are the same festival.
Hallowe'en is the eve before All saints day on the first of November and All souls is on the second.

Same

Holiday/wrap around club not allowed to do Halloween crafts or activities etc either.

I've noticed that autumn half term tends to be a week later than it used to be. DS2's birthday was in half term when he was at primary school 20+ years ago. Now it's usually in the week before. I wondered whether this was so that schools could avoid the topic as much as possible. Also so they didn't have to deal with tired pupils dealing with sugar slumps after a busy evening trick or treating!

nothing at all is done at my kids school it’s ignored. not a cofe school also noticed it’s now in the half term as before use to be during the term time as would often get parents on my local fb group asking if it’s ok to trick or treat on the weekend before as halloween falls on a school night 🙄

It didn't apply to my (CofE, VA) primary school in the 1960s, so I don't think it can ever have been a blanket policy.

I don't really remember what we were taught about it (but I suspect it included Satan's influence being at its greatest, because the power of the saints was at its lowest on the eve of All Hallows Day, before it burst forth again in renewed strength on All Saints (Hallows) Day)

I do remember Hallowe'en themed art activities, and singing Monster Mash

We don’t teach them anything about Halloween at our school - what’s to teach? We do some autumn activities around that time (leaf painting, autumn wreaths etc) We talk a little about the 5th November and fireworks night. There might be a Halloween disco. That’s about it!