Katharine Birbalsingh – the head teacher of Michaela Community School.

Mollygo

Glorian y you are so funny.

Well, I would say plays Devil's Advocate?

Glorianny

Callistemon21

Pantglas2

Dunno, and I could care less!

Those that care more, devotees to a particular religion, would have had the nous to ask…surely?

As Glorianny knows full well, a small group of girls were praying in the playground in view of the general public.

Passersby saw this which sparked uproar among members of the public and led to the school receiving abuse and harassment.
There was a concerted campaign on social media including a petition and “death threats”, including a bomb hoax, which led to the outright ban.

Which could all have been avoided if the children had been given somewhere to pray.

30 children were praying in the playground. If they had been playing chess, or a game, or saying the rosary would they have been forced to do so in the playground? Or would space have been found for them?

The death threats were against the law. The law should have been used to deal with them. The school should have consulted and mediated with the children and their families not made a knee jerk decision to ban anything.

Or gone to an Islamic school instead of choosing one which made its non-religious stance absolutely plain?

Glorian y you are so funny.

Callistemon21

Pantglas2

Dunno, and I could care less!

Those that care more, devotees to a particular religion, would have had the nous to ask…surely?

As Glorianny knows full well, a small group of girls were praying in the playground in view of the general public.

Passersby saw this which sparked uproar among members of the public and led to the school receiving abuse and harassment.
There was a concerted campaign on social media including a petition and “death threats”, including a bomb hoax, which led to the outright ban.

Which could all have been avoided if the children had been given somewhere to pray.

30 children were praying in the playground. If they had been playing chess, or a game, or saying the rosary would they have been forced to do so in the playground? Or would space have been found for them?

The death threats were against the law. The law should have been used to deal with them. The school should have consulted and mediated with the children and their families not made a knee jerk decision to ban anything.

The discrimination on this thread astounds me. If someone wants to pray or wants their children to pray it is none of my business, As a teacher I am there to provide the child with an education, If the child says grace, Hail Marys or bows to Mecca is none of my business

As a former Head Teacher, would you not make the safety of your pupils a priority?

I'm surprised that you think your pupils attracting such adverse reactions and threats is none of your business.

Pantglas2

Dunno, and I could care less!

Those that care more, devotees to a particular religion, would have had the nous to ask…surely?

As Glorianny knows full well, a small group of girls were praying in the playground in view of the general public.

Passersby saw this which sparked uproar among members of the public and led to the school receiving abuse and harassment.
There was a concerted campaign on social media including a petition and “death threats”, including a bomb hoax, which led to the outright ban.

Glorianny

Pantglas2

I suppose it is Glorianny…if you lived on a desert island with no contact or knowledge of the outside world!

We however are discussing modern day schooling in Britain with information available on t internet and more importantly straight from the horse's mouth.

Devotees to whatever religion are (by definition) more discerning than nominal observers and this is my sticking point with this case.

So does it clearly state in the information about the school "Praying on school premises is strictly forbidden"?

You know what happened and why, Glorianny

Rammy in an empty room.

Pantglas2

I suppose it is Glorianny…if you lived on a desert island with no contact or knowledge of the outside world!

We however are discussing modern day schooling in Britain with information available on t internet and more importantly straight from the horse's mouth.

Devotees to whatever religion are (by definition) more discerning than nominal observers and this is my sticking point with this case.

I suppose it is Glorianny…if you lived on a desert island with no contact or knowledge of the outside world!

Absolutely, Pantglas

I believe Jerusalem is sung at political conferences by ALL political parties -Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
I believe it is sung at sporting events, especially at rugby and cricket matches, and at athletics meetings. It is sung heartily by Muslims on all these occasions. The poem itself wasn't even popular for a century after Blake wrote it. It was Sir Hubert Parry in setting it to rousing music who is responsible for its far reaching popularity, not so much the idealistic imagery.

growstuff

Callistemon21

growstuff

Joseann

Glorianny

tickingbird

For goodness sake it’s quite clear that provision of a prayer room is the tip of the iceberg.

So what is the bit under the water that I can't see??

A tsunami?

My question would be, isn't children's free time (lunch time, play time) on the timetable expressly to learn life skills, to socialise with others, and not to isolate or segregate themselves in prayer rooms? We don't want anything setting one child apart from other children.

Strangely, if a child's parents owe money for school lunch, the punishment is to segregate them and make them eat a sandwich on their own. Why should pupils whose parents have, for whatever reason, not paid, be denied the benefits of socialisation?

Part of "British values" is understanding that others have different needs and tolerating them. We're talking about a few minutes during the day!

That was just one child whose parent consistently failed to pay for school lunches.
It has happened at other schools too.

Whilst I agree that it is wrong and discriminatory to take that action, schools are run on strict budgets.

The problem arises, too, when there is a rule not allowing pupils to bring packed lunches. Paying for school meals for some people just above the threshold for free school meals could be difficult, especially with several children in the family. Buying food to make packed lunches would be cheaper.

Why do the pupils need to be isolated and thus depriving them of opportunities to be socialised?

Why are you arguing?

I said it was one child and that it was discriminatory.

Take religion out of schools completely.

Why on earth is it thought to be a good idea to bring religion into schools. Most troubles in the world boil down to religion.
Even different faction of muslims fight and hate each other. Not to mention the conflict between Protestant and Catholic.

It is not tolerance, it is turning a blind eye to a lot of possible troubles that we just don't need.

School is school and religion needs to be a private concern for families.

A child should be allowed to leave lessons and return to lessons as prayers time requests?

The discrimination on this thread astounds me. If someone wants to pray or wants their children to pray it is none of my business, As a teacher I am there to provide the child with an education, If the child says grace, Hail Marys or bows to Mecca is none of my business.

If a school is truly secular it does not require its pupils to sing God Save the Queen, or Jerusalem which is one of the most religious songs ever written. The fact that most fail to recognise Blake's imagery does not mean it loses its religious meaning.

A school does not have to state in its policies what is permitted but it very much does need to state what is not permitted.

Growstuff, i do not believe them. The school is SECULAR and yhey know that whrn they put thrir children into that school. Let yhem find another school . There is a long waiting list of parents wanting yneit children yo get yhr best education in UK. If the school fails to convince the court then yhe schooll will have lost its unique place. This is just tne tip of the iceberg.

I just hope religion is taken out of schools completely.

If muslims have to pray 5 times a day then maybe they should not live in a more tolerant country that includes other peoples religions.

The muslims are becoming more aggressive in their demands.
It may well end in tears yet.

No child is born religious, wanting to pray five times a day or whatever. This is all to do with the parents and their wish to change a Christian country to something else, for they believe arrogantly that they are right and we must change.

The source of the bullying comes from them, for the children try to outdo each other in terms of their observances.

Imagine as a Christian going to live in other countries and demanding such rights, as has been mentioned upthread.

Glorian y

So does it clearly state in the information about the school "Praying on school premises is strictly forbidden"?

So does it state clearly in the rules that praying in school premises is allowed?

Dunno, and I could care less!

Those that care more, devotees to a particular religion, would have had the nous to ask…surely?

Pantglas2

I suppose it is Glorianny…if you lived on a desert island with no contact or knowledge of the outside world!

We however are discussing modern day schooling in Britain with information available on t internet and more importantly straight from the horse's mouth.

Devotees to whatever religion are (by definition) more discerning than nominal observers and this is my sticking point with this case.

So does it clearly state in the information about the school "Praying on school premises is strictly forbidden"?

I suppose it is Glorianny…if you lived on a desert island with no contact or knowledge of the outside world!

We however are discussing modern day schooling in Britain with information available on t internet and more importantly straight from the horse's mouth.

Devotees to whatever religion are (by definition) more discerning than nominal observers and this is my sticking point with this case.

Isn't this a bit like the woman who when asked to tell a doctor about her day, said she got out of bed and was sick, and when the doctor asked why she hadn't told anyone about that before she said because she'd always done it.

If something is a natural part of your everyday life why would you feel you had to ask anyone if you could do it? Or for that matter if your children could do it.

Exactly this Pantglas.
We look forward to welcoming prospective parents at our Year 7 Open Events held in September/October 2024. During our Open Day, guests will hear from our Headmistress and have a tour of the school. Our Open Evening provides an opportunity for you to speak with teachers.
ie. Ask questions.
Admissions Michaela School.

“The parents are not aware that their children aren't allowed to pray.”

If true, and personally I doubt it, it begs the question of why?

Either they weren’t told or they didn’t ask to see the arrangements for their child’s religious devotions. Surely if, as has been suggested, they were such devout Muslims, the latter would have happened?

I have no religion so none of the five rules I mentioned in my previous post would have remotely bothered me but if I had been, those questions would have needed answering BEFORE I sent my child to a school, not after!

"Tolerance is a British value" - I agree. My question is, is that not a Norwegian value, or a Dutch value, or??

I wonder if Birbalsingh spoke to a local imam.