Quotes from Study

  1. “We have a number of children who have different faiths and none. We work with each family on a case by case basis and make accommodations as much as we can…Families are encouraged to come and discuss their concerns with us and we will work with them.”
  2. “We would like to develop a policy. We are forward-thinking in our approach to RE. We are a special school and the parents cannot collect the pupils. Feel at a loss to know what to put in admission policy….”
  3. “In a small 2 teacher school, a big problem is supervision, if parents wish the child/ren to be removed from the RE class – there are simply no staff available! A bigger problem though is the fact that ‘faith’ permeates all we do… it’s not just RE class… we’ll mention saints, Christmas, Easter, parables, miracles etc in the course of other lessons too, and it is not reasonable to expect otherwise. Our distinct ethos is part of what we are… all day… and if a parent enrolls their child in a faith-based school they must understand this.”
  4. “We are a small staff of 5 teachers of varying Christian faiths. It is difficult to offer alternative activities to children of families who wish to opt out of religion. We try to accommodate people.”
  5. “Principal, parents, class teacher, and the child work closely together to work out what would be best for the child to do during religion, within the confines of our school setting. We aim to be as inclusive as we possibly can. We welcome the involvement of other faiths in sacramental celebrations.”
  6. “We are happy to accept children of any faith or none & to work with families to accommodate them as best we can. We don’t have an opting-out policy published as of yet..”
  7. “What I know is that there isn’t any resource while they practice religion. There will be visits to the church and mostly during December months.”
  8. “Our school has not really had that staff opting out discussion.. We’re always up front with parents saying we do not aim to proselytise pupils against parents wishes and there is an issue of trust necessary here. Space for pupils and Supervision for pupils opting out are an issue. we are respectful in our school of opting out for pupils and need to discuss the role of teacher which is in process. Thank you great idea this questionnaire and website.”
  9. “This is a very religious school, with prayers first thing in the morning, grace before lunch and prayers again before home time.”
  10. “There is no religious component to assemblies, apart from Christmas Carols once a year.”
  11. “There is a school policy for opting out. In practice they can’t accommodate children leaving the class. If you want your children to opt out you will have to discuss with their teacher as the school does not bring up the topic of their own volition.”
  12. “School very understanding. Will make accommodations as best they can. Never try to push matters, never questioned parents decision. Fabulous staff”
  13. “Our daughter chose not to make her Communion. She informed the teacher and we emailed to set up a meeting. To be honest, I was afraid of what the school would say. I received a call from one of the secretaries and she was absolutely fabulous…But it is not a known thing that you can opt your child out.”