Clergy form

[Frogusha]

Not an education topic really but related - for secondary schools where a clergy form is required is it customary to give something to the priest? Do you give at the time you give the form or pick up the signed form? How much? Wouldn't want to offed with too little / too much so that it looks like a bribe. I presume one should give, as you'd give for any other service like baptism / communion / mass.

Then they probably have a laid back attitude to signing forms - it is only necessary to keep a register if priests are inclined to put their foot down and say "I won't sign your form because I don't think you have been here as often as you say".

I know of a church that definitely had an attendance sheet - one year there were 2 families that started attending within a week of each other, child of the first family got a place, child of the second family didn't. It goes on length of attending and when it hits the cut off mark it doesn't matter if you've attended, there is no place for your child at the school.

They’re not laid back at all. You need to attend min twice a week for a year or they won’t sign the form. They don’t need a register because they know their congregation. The churches aren’t exactly overflowing so it’s easy enough to remember.

There's a lot of pronouncements on here about how it always works. I've had children at two VA schools. Neither has ever asked for a parental contribution. We also have a vicar who's laid back to the point of horizontal. In fact, he actively objects to the whole concept of getting a school place by proving you go to church (education is for all, faith is a private thing etc), so he makes a point of signing the form for anyone. Not all schools/churches are the same.

Garbled, there are vicars like that in my area too, so if your social networks enable you to find out about them you can use them in that way. But it would be good if those vicars also used their influence to persuade dioceses and schools to change their admissions criteria to make the schools open to anyone who wants a faith school education, whether or not they regularly attend church. Some members of the CE clergy are actively campaigning for fairer admissions.

If a vicar signs the form for anyone who asks regardless of attendance, they are laying the school wide open to lots of successful appeals. Similarly, if the church does not keep an attendance record, this could lead to successful appeals.

Many schools of all types ask for voluntary donations. Indeed, a significant number of schools break the rules every year, effectively making the donation compulsory.

To answer the OP's question, no, you should not give the priest anything for signing the form. It is not customary at all.

I would say no, OP just because I think even the Catholic Church could see the optics would look bad. It’s difficult not to make it look like you are paying for a school place rather than paying the priest for their time. I suspect it would end up in a horrible mess if people started claiming they hadn’t got a school place because they only gave £5 and the family down the road gave £20 and did get a place.

A gift would be incredibly inappropriate. If there is genuine evidence of your commitment to the faith through regular worship, baptism, confirmation, contribution to the wider life of the church etc, then the priest will say as much in their letter.

Thank you all. I could see all conflict of interest points but it did feel mean not to give thanks for signing the form. The form is now signed and I'm wondering whether I should maybe send a hamper but hampers are hard to work out for a priest - alcohol? Cheese? Sweet things?

Donations to church are a matter of course, it was a question of personal thanks to priest as I'm sure he gets hundreds of forms to sign.

Sorry OP. No knowledge here but it has made me chuckle at the thought of you bribing the priest.

Just make sure the notes are used and aren't consecutively numbered 😂

No! No hamper. Just say thank you. It is part of the job.

He gets hundreds of forms because church schools exist.
Do you think you should send hampers to the people who handle all the rest of the admissions process?

Tbf I suspect most of the rest of the people handling the admissions process get paid for it.

i wouldn’t do a hamper either, OP. I’d just put this down to one of the very few occasions where it wouldn’t be customary to give what you can afford to the priest. Perhaps stick what you would have given in a collection or second collection if you feel you need to.

Every priest I know (and I know quite a few) would immediately put the contents of a hamper in the food bank that they all have to run these days. OP may as well cut out the middleman and make a donation directly to the food bank.

I wasn't suggesting that what our local vicar does is a good idea, just pointing out that not all churches are strict. My kids aren't at a faith school (nor would I ever lie on the form, with or without the vicar's blessing), so I've got no skin in this game.