Faith school for SEN

[nancyoliver]

We're moving house soon and we are struggling to find a suitable school for our son.

Asked the new LA for help, (he has a statement) and they have suggested a few schools.

One they have suggested is a faith school.

I don't want to sound prejudiced - I believe very much in respecting everyone for their own beliefs and cultural traditions - I have nothing against any one's religion - but we don't follow any faith at home.

I am not sure about sending my son to a school where there is a very, very strong religious element (looked up their website and it is not a nominal faith school - it has a very strong faith identity, links with the local faith community and it seems to be a really important part of the school day. )

I know we need to find the right school due to his special needs but can we say no to a faith school, even if they will accept him, because we are not of this (or any) faith?

Hope I haven't offended anyone - I really have no problem with other people's religion - but it's just not for me.

A family not sharing the faith which a school teaches to the dc is a perfectly good reason to decline any place. That said, you might want a look first

I think this is entirely reasonable. For me it would be a dealbreaker and I have ruled out a school for the same reason.

My DS13 recently told his teacher that RE was boring and irrelevant and he asked school to excuse him from studying it. In light of this, I would give the faith school a wide berth.

I don't know if the SEN element makes a difference, but I know in our area just for the general mainstream school allocations, religion is NOT a reason to appeal a placement. The reason being you can 'opt out' of the religious bits.

I completely disagree with the policy, but that is how it stands in our area and is clearly stated in their policy.

As I say, might be the SEN element makes a difference in this instance but might be worth checking their website for general info to get an idea of how they stand.

A v Barnet 2003. Upper Tier appeal succeeded because decisions regarding which school to name in a Statement should take into account how well it meets educational needs related to a child's religious denomination.

Should still apply if your 'denomination' is atheist/agnostic/secular/humanist

Sorry, link won't work. It's in a pdf on sossen website. Information sheet section, "challenging a tribunal decision". Scroll down to top of page 7