Parental right to withdraw children from RE

Parents have the right to choose whether to withdraw their child from RE without influence from the school, although a school should ensure parents or carers are informed of this right and are aware of the educational objectives and content of the RE syllabus. If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching or to incur extra cost.

Withdrawal Procedure

If a parent chooses to withdraw their child from RE, they need to:

• Inform the school of their request for their child(ren) to be withdrawn from RE and/or ‘religious assembly’ and whether they intend partial or total withdrawal for their child(ren)
• This should be either in person or in writing to the Headteacher; verbal communication (e.g. on the telephone, through the student or a note in the journal) is not an adequate method.