When children ask...

I have a host of 'assembly' stories. One of my favourites was when the head was leading an a 'daily act of worship' on Shrove Tuesday. Had all the ingredients and portable stove. Talked about Lent and focussing on thoughtful prayer and God etc etc. All quite serious and probably beyond most of the kids and the staff were all daydreaming away! Anyway she then started to make a pancake, with me as her assistant. All was going well and then she got to the bit when she needed to toss the pancake.

'Oh children' she said, 'I hope I catch it. I am not much of a tosser'

Well all of us staff collapsed trying to suppress our laughter. Afterwards she came to ask me what she had said that so amused the staff.

I used to teach singing at the local primary until the head insisted that, as the singing was in the weekly singing assembly slot, all the songs had to be religious and had to follow the "value of the month." I parted company from that job!

I love the photo of him sitting on the naughty stool! Does he ever think of consulting teachers about his proposed changes in education?

But then, Gove isn't renowned for doing anything sensible!

Greatnan some of your posts have brought a tear to my eye, heart-rendering.

I can't speak from experience, so won't. Only what I know from friends and family.
I think things have improved, and the right processes are in place but they are often not always followed. Hence the multitude of groups such as parents in partnership and IPSEA. There are still terrible stories out there.

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I can't believe that a daily collective act of worship is still written into legislation. I would have thought that Gove would have knocked that on the head by now for wasting time.

The most commonly ignored law in the education world jen. As governors we collectively agreed that we were not going to do it and would take the inevitable but very minor ticking off from OFSTED (a line in their report) on the chin. I remember when a PGCE student witnessing a primary school (very) Christian assembly in which every single child was Asian and probably Muslim.

It is extremely difficult to have a collective anything with a student population of up to 2,000! Space alone is a problem. I have heard of schools doing a "thought for the day" over the communication system though.

I did always object to being coerced into participating in these assemblies, which the majority of students and staff ( of all beliefs, or none) hated, no matter how well they were presented. And as for having to conduct them, well...I am a good motivational speaker, and could usually keep 4 - 500 students entertained and interested, and tried to comply with the law by injecting something about our human responsibilities to one another etc.

It is yet another reason for disestablishment, so that there would be no imperative for such rulings.

All maintained schools in England must provide a daily act of collective worship. This must reflect the traditions of this country which are, in the main, broadly Christian.

This is from the 2012 Education Act. Answered my own question.
It does not apply to academies, although many of them have religious affiliations. Most primary schools are still maintained, despite Gove's wishes.

This is the Dept of Education's information:

General articleUpdated: 26 April 2012

All maintained schools in England must provide a daily act of collective worship. This must reflect the traditions of this country which are, in the main, broadly Christian.

Parents have the right to withdraw their child from the daily act of collective worship and sixth-formers can decide for themselves whether or not to attend, without giving a reason for doing so. Schools must comply with this wish and must ensure a duty of care for pupils who are withdrawn from collective worship.

Collective worship guidance is contained in Circular 1/94. Circular 1/94 has been replaced, so far as it relates to religious education, by guidance published on 29 January 2010. However, the guidance on collective worship contained within Circular 1/94 remains current. The updated non-statutory guidance on RE is available online.

Don't all schools still have to have religious gatherings daily, although in secondary schools it was usually in year groups rather than the whole school?
Difficult to have religious gatherings, or however it was phrased in the 1944 Education Act, without mentioning God.

I agree with you Libmoggy , some people DO think him real !

I would agree, but point out that some people think that he is real

I wish I could say you are right, Micelf, but my pupils suffered from so many disadvantages, the most I could hope for was to give them a pleasant experience during the school day, and the knowledge that they were valued and respected. There were children who had suffered mild brain damage during a difficult birth, some had been abused by parents or carers, some had missed a lot of school through medical or social problems, some had attended very poor primary schools, some were undernourished or over-tired, some had dyslexia or Asperger's - and some had been told throughout their life that they were worthless and would never amount to anything. Some parents would tell me this at parents' nights, in front of their children. I used to lie in my teeth and tell the parents how well behaved their children were and how proud they should be of them! Oddly enough, their behaviour would improve dramatically for a few weeks.
I had to fight the academic establishment in my schools and the lack of funding from a Conservative council.
I was invited to give a term's lectures at Chester College to trainee teachers and I was appalled to find that my talks were the only information they were given on children with learning difficulties.
I think and hope that things have improved - certainly when one of my grandsons was statemented because of his dyslexia he received a good deal of help and encouragement.

feetlebaum - the answer is the local village school. Only one school in the village and god was part of the package. Hence my concern about state schools having religious affiliations. What can you do? - drive 20 miles to another shcool? Hopeless.

Ceesnan - give enough rope......

Greatnan I would bet a pound to a penny that by the time those children had finished their course with you they would have been in need of no remedies at all!

I was incensed by a teaching colleague who had to cover for me when I was on a course, and told my lovely class that he had not done a degree in maths in order to teach 'thickies' like them. I was asked by another young teacher if I taught the bottom streams because I couldn't get a better job. As I was much more highly qualified than she was, I was able to put her in her place. I chose to work with children who suffered from various disadvantages because I felt an affinity with them and hoped I could make a difference, however small, in their lives.
I was Head of the Wirral Schools Remedial Service - I am not sure how I can change that name without re-writing history, but as only Aka took exception to the term, I am not unduly worried.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isXNVdguI8

Sorry forgot to tick the box!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isXNVdguI8

I think there is a movement amongst some disabled people to reclaim the language that has been used as abuse. A kind of redressing of power.

As a parent helping in my DDs class I was horrified to hear the 'support' teacher ask the class teacher if she should take the 'thickies' or the 'chinkies' (who were in fact Korean children learning EAL)first. I made an appointment to speak to the HT and express my concerns about the quality of the staff being employed.

Re religion and children: If my DGC ask me I say that I do not believe but that a lot of people do and they need to decide for themselves when they have read and talked about it. We have both secular and religious Muslim & Christian close family members as well as secular and religious Jewish friends so they are aware that a variety of perspectives exist.

I would never, in a community school, think it right for an adult to promote a particular belief /faith/philosophy. It is the job of a school to educate not indoctrinate.

%Mishap - 'Try a very sick 4 year old in the middle of the night - suffering from severe whooping cough complicated by chicken pox - "Mummy, why doesn't god make me better?"'

Question is - who's been telling him stories about a god? They don't think these things up by themselves...

Re: the word "remedial". There is another ongoing thread about the use of "historical" language, and whether it should be rewritten to suit modern thinking. To my mind, the use of the word "remedial" refers to a specific time in the past where it was in common use and part of an old job title.

This doesn't mean that someone would use it today, except in that particular, historic context.

I am all for sensitivity and nor causing offence, but I really can't see the problem here.

My brother, now aged 61, attended a school for children with epilepsy from the ages of 7 to 14 when his epilepsy stabilized. He was then sent to a school for the 'educationally sub-normal'. I am very glad that times have changed.
As for the original question: my husband and I are both Christians and we told our children what we believe about God and Jesus. They were not Christened or baptized, but were encouraged to think about the different religions and eventually make up their own minds. Two of our children have subsequently been baptized, one as a teenager and one as an adult. They all continue to wrestle with doubts and questions and are encouraged by us to do so. We have some warm and lively discussions round the dinner table and I am glad that my (now adult) children are prepared to think about the issues and not just go with the flow.

Why not just cut to the chase bluebell and report it

Anyway, at the Australian high school where my son teaches, the term is 'Learning enhancement programs'.

My take on this is that the criticism of the use of 'remedial' was used as a stick to beat Greatnan about something entirely different and was not therefore acceptable.