Vent about primary school ds is due to start in sept :(

shadowknightz

gwendipops wrote: »

My son goes to a Catholic school and we're not catholic at all.

Interesting. Was this a calculated decision, in that you deliberately placed your son in a Catholic school to reap the benefits this provides (Catholic schools having a good track record for producing students with good grades), and deprived an honest Catholic child of a place he requires? Because, if so, I'd say you are inconsiderate, and also underhanded for lying by pretending you were Catholic in order to get a place. Both traits your son would do well not to be taught as acceptable.

roosterpotatoes

The catholic school requires their kids to of all been christened catholic, i will voice my concerns where my kids are involved but thats just me
poet123, thanks, thats what i needed to hear:)
Im going to give the cofe a call in the morning and they dont require ds to be christened, the schools are down the road from each other and are both feeder schools into the same high school which is a bonus.
As for the ofsted reports for our current school, these were very poor, level 3 for everything which is a considerable drop on past years :-(
I dont want to be in the position where say in three years time things get worse and find myself wishing id done this at the start.
Thanks everyone

poet123

I am a Governor at a Catholic school, and if there are places anyone is eligible to apply, obviously there is a pecking order For the criteria, but we have a lot of non catholic children, who of course are not required to be christened. It is always worth applying.

andyrules

To the op -
1. If the information in your DS's bag is muddled, be sure that he is bringing it all home at the correct time and not leaving it in his tray to bring in random dribs and drabs. This is very common. If the newsletters are not regular or badly written, why not offer to help prepare them? This would give you chance to get a clearer perspective.
2. As Takoda said, teachers can be away from the class for a number of legitimate reasons. Not many would leave a class alone, with no work set. :eek: Are sure that classes are 'abandoned'?
3. Have you enquired about the delay with the uniform?
4. If OFSTED reports are that bad, and the C of E is better, then I wouldn't hesitate, especially as your children are so young. Not all parents are in such an enviable position to be able to choose between local schools.

gwendipops

shadowknightz wrote: »

Interesting. Was this a calculated decision, in that you deliberately placed your son in a Catholic school to reap the benefits this provides (Catholic schools having a good track record for producing students with good grades), and deprived an honest Catholic child of a place he requires? Because, if so, I'd say you are inconsiderate, and also underhanded for lying by pretending you were Catholic in order to get a place. Both traits your son would do well not to be taught as acceptable.

We did not need to lie, the school knows very well we are not Catholic they give first priority to Catholic children. It just so happens we are in the catchment area. If another child from 10 miles away who is Catholic applied they would have had it over my son.

iamana1ias

roosterpotatoes wrote: »

The catholic school requires their kids to of all been christened catholic,

Did you mean to say "the catholic school requires all pupils to have been christened as catholic"?

I didn't bother reading the rest. Perhaps seeing if they can fit you in as well as your son would be a good idea

Morty_007

iamana1ias wrote: »

Did you mean to say "the catholic school requires all pupils to have been christened as catholic"?

I didn't bother reading the rest. Perhaps seeing if they can fit you in as well as your son would be a good idea

:eek::eek::eek:...oh hang on...I see, this is funny rather than downright rude because there is a wink smilie...that's ok then.

I second what others have said about getting involved and being new blood to show others the way...if you have time. We have a similar, but to me less concerning, situation at the school my DS is due to go to. I plan to get as involved as I can both with school activities and my son's educaton to make sure he isn't falling behind. Good luck and trust your instincts.

nzmegs

it is a shame that the only good schools in an area are associated with a particular religion. I am an atheist and would never allow my child to go to any school with a religous based education. it is bad enough that so called secular schools must teach this nonsense. problem is that the decent school in my area is also catholic. I had to choose the next best. it seems very unfair.

trumpton

RE isn't taught in an indoctrinating way in schools nowadays, even in C of E schools. Catholic schools ok, they do put more emphasis on the Catholic ethos, but generally kids go through any kind of school and make their own minds up in the end.

DCodd

Don't look at it as RS look at it as Social History. The fundamental basis of all civilised societies are based on religious teachings, they may not be so relevant today but they are a valuable reference to social history, the reformation, persecution etc etc.

If the Religious schools are performing better then I would say that they are doing something right and be aware that just as they may "teach" religion, to base your school choice on whether the school is associated to a religion or not is equally akin to a form of athiest indoctrination. Your kids will make their own minds up, just as you did so concentrate of the academic not the religious achievements of the schools.