Atheist sending kids to a church school?

alinwales

Me and the missus are looking at schools to send our son to. He won't start until 2014, but best to start early!

We have two choices.
-The most local school, which has been in a bad way in the past, but according to the last inspection (2011) has made good improvements. They still suffer from disruptive kids there though with emotional and behavioural problems.
-The school in the next village (but still within supervised walking distance), which is a Church-In-Wales school. It has excellent standards, excellent inspection reports, well behaved kids and is above average for learning across the board. The action points from the last inspection (admittedly 2009) were minor.

So my problem is that the CIW school would be an absolute no-brainer if it wasn't for the religious element. I'm all for using religion as a tool to teach morals and the like, but to have it ingrained in every subject seems a bit ott to me. They do learn about other religions too, so it's not as cultified as it could be!

I was brought up christian, and went to church etc when I was a kid (not often though), but now I think I know better (in my own opinion... - everyone's allowed one). I don't know how I would handle a situation if my son comes home from school with beliefs that I don't believe in. I almost put 'ideas and beliefs' there, but I reckon that as I put before, the moral teachings would hopefully bring my son up in a well rounded and smart boy (just like me when I was ickle).

On the other hand, it's a primary school, and I would imagine that religious understanding at that age is abstract at best, so for instance, reading parables from the bible is no different to reading from any other book. And so what if the maths test was '12 disciples get on a bus, 5 get off, 2 get on, 3 go to heaven...' etc.

He would go on to our local secondary school, which is not a church school. I know that there are other schools in the region that some of these kids go to, meaning their parents presumably take them to wherever the church school is.

The missus is going to the school today, armed with a massive list of questions.

If you were not religious, would you put children in a religious school (i.e. more than a hymn and a prayer in morning assembly) for 6 (or is it 7) years?
I'm assuming that there will be no over-subscriptions (which the missus checked from previous years), and that the huch school takes on all applications - though we have read that the governors (led at least by a vicar or somesuch) approves each applicant individually!

(oh, and it's MSE because with good morals and understandings, my son will be better prepared for the world and how money works and will obviously be more savvy. Or something like that anyway).

divadee

Most church schools require a letter from your church vicar/minister etc.. Saying that you go to church on a regular basis.

You could of course start going to church a year before you apply (most people do it round here, I don't agree with it personally). And then get the letter written, then leave once your child starts at the school.

I personally find it very hypocritical that people who are atheists want their children to go to a church school.

sulkisu

It would depend if I was an 'atheist' or just 'not particularly religious'. There is a difference and you need to figure out where you and your wife sit. If I was a true atheist, e.g. did not believe in the existence of a higher power, believe that the bible is a complete work of fiction and that when you die it's just you and the worms, then no I would not send my child to a church school. I can only imagine that if you are a true atheist, being in a church school would only confuse the child. It may also be very hard for him to keep up the pretence on a daily basis - kids have a habit of saying what they hear/know and I suspect it will only be matter of time before 'Daddy doesn't believe in God' flies out of his mouth.

I know one true atheist -she does not acknowledge any Religious dates including Christmas and Easter. Her child has never celebrated Christmas or had an Easter egg, and is excused from RE and morning prayers (not a church school). Depends how strongly you feel really. But if you are really concerned about your child learning strong moral values, teaching him a first class lesson in hypocracy is probably not a good idea.

seven-day-weekend

At the church school my son attended, the Head teacher told parents not to bother applying if they disagreed with the religious ethos of the school as they would not get a place. The school was vastly oversubscribed and they did take children of other faiths (but they still had to agree with the ethos of the school).

If you did not subscribe to this ethos, there were plenty more schools to send your child to.

Dasa

I'd put my kids in the best possible school but then I would be prepared to play by their rules and leave my kids to decide for themselves what they want to believe or not as the case may be.I would not lie to the school though.

silvercar

Send your child to the school that will give them the best education.

You can always adjust for the school's indoctrination at home. Even religious people sending their children to a faith school of their religion (and I was one) will adjust for the bits they don't agree with at home.

busiscoming2

I'd go with the church school if it meets all your requirements.

I like you, know they teach the right set of moral codes. I am not a believer, went to a Church school and my children's school was linked to the local Church (although not a church school). When my kids came home and spoke about God etc, I let them and didn't pass my thoughts onto them until they were old enough to question.

Our local Church school has other religions amongst their numbers, all you have to do is tick the box.

alinwales

divadee wrote: »

You could of course start going to church a year before you apply (most people do it round here, I don't agree with it personally).

This is not something we are prepared to do. What will be will be from that perspective. We wouldn't consider a school that will only take the 'right' pupils, but I don't think this school is that sort.

To confirm, the admissions policy for schools is covered by the county council, and covers all county schools and voluntary aided schools (of which this school is one). So there should be no additional criteria that has to be met to get into any particular school.

jackyann

You don't say if you have gone to look at the schools. I always recommend walking in to make an appointment. Some schools will show you round without an appointment, but most small schools don't have the staff available.
However, turning up in person in order to make one gives you a real "feel" for the school, and so does a walk round even by appointment (kids won't behave to order!
If you can, go both on your own and with your child, see how they react. "results" and "gossip" will give you their own picture: go and get your own.

valk_scot

I wouldn't send my kids to a church school under any circumstances. I really dislike the whole concept of education being bound up with religion, just on principle. How can they teach a balanced view of the world in general? And I'm a Christian and member of my local church, you understand. But I think religion should be taught at church and home and schools should stick to a straight forwards unbiased education. I also firmly belive that access to a good quality education should be a level playing field, irrespective of income and social class, but I realise I'm on a hiding to nothing here!

Anyway if I were you I'd go and visit the local school too, armed with a similar list of questions. I do feel that mixing with kids from a wide range of social backgrounds, not just the clean and shiney ones, is good for kids. It will prepare him for secondary school anyway! Also I think that it's useful to have all the school friends and school parents local to you, it's very helpful for social activities outside the school, emergency childcare and such. If you're still concerned about how the school is run, get involved in the PTA or whatever other parent-school groups there are open to you and put your (very articulate and well reasoned) mind behind improving the local school for everyone.

Hermia

I think you need to find out how religious this church school is. Don't just find out what the school says, try to find some other sources. There are a lot of church schools near me and some are quite liberal. But, there are some that remind me of the religious right in America. A colleague supplies library books to the schools in the county and two schools have said they don't want any books on evolution or dinosaurs as they will contradict the teachings of the bible. I wouldn't want to send my child to a school that is not going to teach proper science. The thing is their websites just make them look like ordinary CofE schools, but they do seem to be influenced by some dodgy ideas.