Muslim school prayer ban

Why nowhere near court risky?

The school's rights v the pupil's right seems like a perfect thing for a court to decide upon 

I'm not sure how I feel myself 

If someone wants to pray then that's their business 

But equally if the school wants to stop them (bizarrely) then that's their business 

They didn't 'automatically' hear it 

A party referred it to the court

As is their right 

Did you mum not teach you that in her law firm??? Or just left you photocopying IDs 

 

LOL

Why on Earth would a Court not hear this case?

It's an important principle that a school like this can be entirely secular.  If you don't like that, don't apply for that fvcking school.

I'd have some sympathy if state schools weren't allowed to exclude my kids because of what religion I don't have, but they do, so schools should also be able to exclude people who want to pray. 

It’s a Free School ribaldry, as pink sale observed, its rules are there for all to see, and iirc the child and parent knew full well what the rules were. They were just trying to buck them. The Head may well be full of herself but the rules are clear. We need more secular spaces in education, safe from mumbo jumbo sky pixies.

It’s a Free School ribaldry

Every school I've ever encountered allows kids to gather in groups of more than 4 you ridiculous boomer. Have you ever heard of football and did you read what I wrote or just jump to racist conclusions like a prize winning khunt as per?

Genuine question. 

It’s a Free School ribaldry, as pink sale observed, its rules are there for all to see, and iirc the child and parent knew full well what the rules were. They were just trying to buck them. 

The school changed the rules during last year.  The child applied to the school and indeed attended the school before the new rule re praying was introduced.  Do you expect children and parents to be able to tell the future?

I'd have some sympathy if state schools weren't allowed to exclude my kids because of what religion I don't have, but they do, so schools should also be able to exclude people who want to pray. 

Fake news. What faith schools can do is give priority in admissions to schools of similar faith. What they cannot do is exclude children because of their religion. If a CoE school has surplus places it has to offer it to a child even if the child and its parents are professed Satan-worshippers.

“"She herself says that, long before the prayer ritual policy was introduced, she and her friends believed that prayer was not permitted at school and she therefore made up for missed prayers when she got home."

“The key determination was about whether banning prayers compromised a child's freedom to express their religious beliefs under European human rights legislation, which the High Court decided it did not.”

Michaela School: Muslim student loses prayer ban challenge https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68731366

 

Fake news. What faith schools can do is give priority in admissions to schools of similar faith. What they cannot do is exclude children because of their religion. If a CoE school has surplus places it has to offer it to a child even if the child and its parents are professed Satan-worshippers.

What a ridiculous rebuttal.  A state school which I fund through my taxes can prefer a child of a parent who believes in a particular sky pixie to my child. 

she therefore made up for missed prayers when she got home."

Any word on the Allah VAR ruling on whether this saves her from eternal damnation?  I’m on the edge of my seat here 

What a ridiculous rebuttal.  A state school which I fund through my taxes can prefer a child of a parent who believes in a particular sky pixie to my child. 

Maybe you should have said that in your first post, rather than something that wasn't correct.  If you don't like the law, get it changed.  Although kind of weird that you don't see keen on organised religion but are aggrieved that your child cannot attend a religious school.  

I'm really enjoying YWTF and cookie having a sweaty pegging session with the wrong end of the stick. I don't think schools should stop kids gathering in groups of more than 4 and Birbalsingh is a tool. That's it. 

Although kind of weird that you don't see keen on organised religion but are aggrieved that your child cannot attend a religious school.  

No, I’d never sent my child to a school which selects children based on which sky pixie their parents believe in or pretend to.  I don’t like funding a school my child is excluded from (as they are in my local schools where no leftover places for the atheist parents kids are available)

YWTF, you seem stressed. People can believe in whatever the heck they like. You need to chill.

True, they can believe what they like. I just don’t like funding schools which have such arbitrary entry preferences in the state sector.

You didn’t seem too keen on me believing Gaza isn’t really a big issue tho

‘Is this that frightful attention grabber head teacher who's likely angling to get on I'm a z lister get me out of here?‘

I think she’s one of the trans cat people litter trays in classrooms moral panic loons yeah. In fact, the original one.

I don’t like funding a school my child is excluded from (as they are in my local schools where no leftover places for the atheist parents kids are available)

If you don't want a place for your child in a religious school what's the issue with not being able to access one?

There's a pluralism point here, e.g. are you really saying that you want the UK to stop funding state Jewish schools?   

There's also a social order point.  We know that the UK government/establishment has deliberately tried to avoid approving Muslim state schools.  As a result there is a meaningful portion of Muslims that are attending independent Muslim schools where there is less state oversight.  Is that a good thing?  

The UK isn't some sort of outlier.  For example, in France and Australia all state schools are non-religious but religious schools are massively subsidised by the state, e.g. in Australia annual fees in a Catholic school averages equivalent of £1,500 and in France annual fees in a Catholic school are similar.  And because these are fee charging schools they end up with an element of social selection and in turn become more attractive to parents.   

I guess the US school system is entirely secular but is it one that any country would want to adopt?

I think just get back to paedos teaching religion, but make it optional with video gaming or sthing the alternative. Would probably discourage most parents demanding religious indoctrination and then schools can just educate and parents could fook up their kids with their chosen made up fooking nonsense at the weekend. 

Jelly's post is an example of how some people see their own views as normative.  

UK longitudinal studies show that children raised in religion have materially higher educational achievement than those who are not.  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2018.1481378

That's perhaps one of the reasons that for many years now the demographic exhibiting the lowest education attainment has been white British children, who are also the demographic least likely to be raised in religion: https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/ethnicityandreligionbyage

If you don't want a place for your child in a religious school what's the issue with not being able to access one?

I don't think schools should be able to select children based on what sky pixie their parent believes or pretends to believe

There's a pluralism point here, e.g. are you really saying that you want the UK to stop funding state Jewish schools?   

Yes.

There's also a social order point.  We know that the UK government/establishment has deliberately tried to avoid approving Muslim state schools.  As a result there is a meaningful portion of Muslims that are attending independent Muslim schools where there is less state oversight.  Is that a good thing?  

No.

The UK isn't some sort of outlier.  

I didn't say it was.

I guess the US school system is entirely secular but is it one that any country would want to adopt?

No.

I'm a member of the National Secular Society, and fully support their campaign on this https://www.nomorefaithschools.org/

Faith schools have a negative impact on social cohesion, foster segregation of children on social, ethnic and religious lines, and undermine choice and equality. They also enable religious groups to use public money to evangelise to children.  That last part is key.

UK longitudinal studies show that children raised in religion have materially higher educational achievement than those who are not.  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2018.1481378

Title of study:

was there an advantage to attending faith, private, and selective schools for pupils in the 1980s

Of course, selection by faith also allows a degree of selection out of trouble children.  Generally speaking, parents who will comply with the requirement to go to church for 6 months if they haven't already done so will also have a degree of structure at home.  Faith schools weed out the worst pupils in terms of meeting their targets, albeit to a lesser degree that fully selective and independent schools.

I think this thread probably explains the mental health thread;

Students are expected to adhere to strict rules including focusing on teachers extensively during lessons and remaining silent in corridors, as well as observing restrictions on uniforms. The school is rated as outstanding by Ofsted.

In March 2023, up to 30 students began praying in the school's yard, using blazers to kneel on, the High Court heard.

Pupils are not allowed to gather in groups of more than four, including in the school yard.

it's weird how often Dalek sides with the state over individuals and families these days

Rob does children raised in religion include all my peers who went to a school founded by a bishop with compulsory chapel every day but who had no interest in religion outside that?

“physical mutilation” 

someone had to bring transism in didn’t they? I’m not sure belief in a gendered soul is technically religious but it has all the hallmarks. 
NB for National Secular Society- humans crave a shared belief group to belong to, if it’s not the historic religions then the risk is that the feeble minded will drift into trans ideology, flat earth, Q Anon, Scientology, anything else 

If YWTF had read more than the title of the research I linked, the research shows that children do better in faith schools principally because they are raised in religion, not because they attend a faith school.  

the religion of upbringing predicts academic outcomes, especially in the longer term, beyond compulsory schooling. Compared to a non-religious upbringing, only ‘other Christian’ and non-Christian faiths predicted positive outcomes at age 16, but the main denominations, C of E and Catholic, were associated with academic success at 18 and in terms of the highest qualification achieved. In both instances, the Catholic advantage was somewhat larger than the C of E advantage, and controlling for faith of upbringing was important in reducing what could otherwise be seen as a distinctive Catholic school advantage.

We can speculate that the academic advantage of a religious upbringing may be due to cultural differences, such as stricter parenting practices or due to the protective influence of being part of a particular faith community.

So WFTF's claim that faith school performance is due to social selection is flawed.  There are numerous other studies that support that.  It's weird that the secularists are the ones that don't seem interested in empiricial data but make unsupported (unsupportable) claims such as "faith schools have a negative impact on social cohesion, foster segregation of children on social, ethnic and religious lines, and undermine choice and equality."  I don't know how choice is improved by eliminating one group of state schools and reducing the diversity of choice.

Wot the Pinkster said - no objection from me to state funding religious schools, but those schools shouldn't be allowed to select (or give any preferential treatment) based on the parents' religious beliefs or how much they sucked up to their local parish priest.

Also wot RR said about the batshit crazy attention seeker Birbalsingh and her mad skool roolz. She does deliver good academic results though, which is presumably why parents still want to send their kids to her school. If you aren't prepared to tolerate her insane regime, then send your kid somewhere else.

Stick this phrase and your religious nutbaggery all the way up your fundament. 

The irony of the white English chav who seems his spawn to a soccer academy saying this to anyone.

Yes YWTF one of mine is at an academy. I'd like to see what relevance gob gammon thinks one of my kids being decent at football has to do with his obsession with indoctrinating school kids into ancient oppressive rituals. 

Yes YWTF one of mine is at an academy. I'd like to see what relevance gob gammon thinks one of my kids being decent at football has to do with his obsession with indoctrinating school kids into ancient oppressive rituals. 

Congrats!  And indeed.  Rob should also perhaps be aware that kids aren't "sent" to an academy, they are invited if they are good enough.  The ultimate in selective development, but based solely on aptitude and attitude.

The parents seem to be aging this battle through their kids. Which feels abusive 

Like indoctrinating them into the hocus-pocus in the first place, instead of letting them make up their own mind when they're an adult.

https://humanistlife.org.uk/2015/11/11/football-religion-for-humanists/ (note the source - sympathetic to the secularists)

Supporting a football club has a lot in common with adopting a religious faith. As with religion, once you have chosen a football club you instantly become a part of that community; a community which may more accurately be described as a tribe. I wager any person who doubts this comparison ought to attend a football match and witness the fervour, the chants and the rivalry, not between opposing football teams but between opposing fans. To witness the shared, very public grief felt by football fans whose team has just been relegated or that has just lost in the cup final, is comparable only to the faithful on St. Peters Square upon the death of a Pope. In the face of oppression, as with religion, football can bring a community together. Often the most fundamental of football fans are those who have suffered the most because of their emotional attachment to their clubs. This suffering, like all suffering, can inspire hope in even the darkest of times.

The irony of YWTH saying this:

I don’t like funding a school my child is excluded from

and then admitting that, like RofR their progeny attends a soccer academy.  YWTH is fine with exclusion - so long as the criteria work for them/their child.

haahahahhahahhahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Everyone who isn't in the top 0.1% of ability at the relevant sport is excluded, d1ckhead.

Just like the Olympics isn't a bunch of fat khvnts huffing and puffing and stopping to have a sausage roll every 20 seconds.

Christ you're thick.

I wish this thread hadn’t diverted off onto this stupid tangent

Oh come off it risky, you live for watching someone other than you make a total fool of themselves on rof. 

Everyone who isn't in the top 0.1% of ability at the relevant sport is excluded

YWTH is fine with exclusion - so long as the criteria work for them/their child.

YWTH then exhibits as an abusive sweary chav.  Sadly conforming to the stereotype.  

I might be a bit out of date but I was always under the impression that football acadamies were something you did outside of school time and even if you were in one, you just went to "normal" school during the day

YWTH is fine with exclusion

Of course I am fine with exclusion.

I'm fine with excluding murderers from free society, excluding men from women's spaces, excluding people with no academic aptitude from University, excluding drunk and violent people from bars, excluding people with no medical qualifications from practicing medicine.

Of course exclusion in principle in certain circumstances is not only fine, but sometimes desirable and often very fvcking necessary.

As for being a sweary chav - fine with me, you thunderous, massive Nimitz-class khvnt.

I might be a bit out of date but I was always under the impression that football acadamies were something you did outside of school time and even if you were in one, you just went to "normal" school during the day

Up to a particular age this is correct, then Acadamies will usually have an arrangement with a local school for continuing education.

Chinorder is correct, at a certain age they can be schooled by the academy but mine is much too young for all that. It's lots of training and matches against other academies for a few more years and very few kids will make it to the full on stage. I enjoy watching and obviously it is great for the nippers confidence building and fitness. The mind boggles at what snob gammon thinks goes on at chavvy football academies. 

Thanks for the info Tom, Face and Royalty. 

As an aside, I played rugby at St Bede's a few times when at school. Nice school and buildings from what I can remember but, at risk of channelling Chambers, they weren't particularly good at rugby. 

I suspect they probably were mainly a football school Tom. 

My school was a state school which seemed to only play rugby (and so were crap at football). The fixture list for rugby matches was basically most of the private schools in Manchester, Cheshire, Wirral (with occasional trips up to Lytham St Annes). 

Shouldn’t we just be tolerant and accepting of the fact that some parents prefer to send their kids to a faith based school? We live in a diverse society, where everyone is free to believe and practice what they like. I would hate to be like the French with their version of secularism which encroaches on basic freedoms to practice religion- that’s just the other side of the coin really isn’t it.

If a Muslim doctor was attending a patient who was going into crisis, but it was also nearing the time when prayers should be done... does he attend to the patient or his prayers? Prayers can be delayed until later in the day. 

This case was nothing more than an opportunity for Islamists to try and get their way and for a chancer lawyer to make a fast buck.

Being in school is not an emergency situation that requires a prayer to be delayed. A prayer takes five mins max. 

Wanting to be able to practice the fundamentals of one’s religion freely is not Muslims trying to “get their way”. It wouldn’t even be an issue if this silly headteacher hadn’t made it one in the first place.

So you’d rather take the two options at both extremes of the spectrum, rather than the moderate view of just allowing people the individual freedom to do what they like? Nice.

people can believe what they like. Adherence to a religion is something that should be a conscious and informed decision, not something that parents enforce on their children.  There are plenty of dedicated spaces for people to pray if they want to use such a place.  Schools should not be such a place.  

Glad to see someone else getting it from Rob for a change...

Hun bun - No, we should not. The state should not be funding religion at all and yes that does include the CoE. 

Want to teach your kids fairy tales? Fine, but do it in your own time on your own dime.  The teachings of many even very mainstream religions are, at their heart, fundamentally at odds with the principles that underpin modern secular Britain. I don't see why the taxpayer should be to further their teaching. 

The 2021 national census figures indicate that just over half of the UK population identifies as belonging to a particular religion. So to say Britain is secular is not quite accurate is it? 

And doesn’t the UK pride itself (in theory anyway) on diversity and tolerance? This should by definition mean that if a student needs to pray during school time because they feel it is important to them as part of their religious beliefs and identity, then who on earth is the school to dictate otherwise? The next logical step is to ban girls from wearing headscarves at school, is it not? Where does it end then?

We all pay taxes for things we don’t like or necessarily agree with, that’s part and parcel of living in pluralist Britain. 

FAOD I don’t agree on a personal level with sending children to a faith school but I certainly wouldn’t be be stand in the way of anyone’s right to do so.