Furious about DD's school

[gef918]

My dd is in year 8 and told me last night that she will be missing all of her lessons on Monday to 'help in the office' . Every year 8 child will miss a day of lessons this year to do filing, run errands, deliver messages, etc. She has been told to take a book to read for the quiet periods. When her friend did this, she read her book 3 times because she was so bored!

I am furious about this. I think that attendance is really important and thought that the school did too. I haven't been informed of this policy by the school at any point over the last 18 months and don't know when they introduced this policy of using students as unpaid help! Really tempted to keep my dd off school that day, 'because I need help with my paperwork'!

Definitely going to complain about this, in spite of my DD being thrilled about 'missing a day of school'. Any advice about wording for the complaint would be welcome.

[Koala]

I agree with you - I think this is disgusting, but unfortunately after seeing my children through primary and secondary school, i'm afraid I am under no illusion that schools do nothing more than to tick their box's, meat THEIR targets and feather their own nest. NEVER MIND what is best for the individual child. I've heard it all:- what a hard job they have, how hard they work and what long hours they put in!!

And for those of you who say "they do" I say "so do I and so do most people who have a job, that is why it is called WORK!" Sorry soap box is now down.

I could go on and on and on about this subject but I have work to do

Good luck in getting anywhere with school, all I can say about wording a complaint letter is - don't waste your time, you will only get some flannel about them trying to enlighten your child with a WORK ethic. They should try and do some themselves before getting a kid to fetch and carry!

[Helly Belly]

Hi I remember doing this once in school now I'm 35, I like looking at positive and it might help the children see what it's like behind the scenes or give them insight in office work, giving done responsibility I think you could suggest the school send letter home with reason for doing it and ask parents first and those that want to opt out can maybe
Hope my reply a little helpful , I've been furious with my daughter school for different reasons and know your feelings well

[jolliesdean]

I'm more for this approach, it's not about helping the teachers work loads but more about getting the messages to teachers, students cleaners ect as they come though. There is nothing worse then ringing a school and not getting though to the correct person because the receptionist is hunting for children or teachers. We are all to aware that the budget for education is short and I bet the teachers ect would love to have surplus admin staff to assist but they don't just the way in which we don't it's about making the best for all.

They only do it once throughout the year, it should be used correctly ( not saying that all schools do )to enable children to also connect with adults and build their social skills, it's all to common that pupils leaving school don't have basic communication skills and confidence to talk to adults or others, it is enabling them to be responsible. Yeah some kids might not like it but be prepared take homework with them, as mentioned ask for jobs to be done increases confidence.
By the way am not from education back ground just feel that it works in other countries.

[FussyElmo]

Our school does this.

They have to do work though it called pupil monitor.

I personally don't see anything wrong with them having a day of responsibility

[Mrsh3103]

I remember doing this at high school. I actually quite enjoyed it! We were given work to do during the quieter periods so weren't really missing out too much.
We also had a day in the school library helping the librarians. I think we did that one in yr9.

[rickysmiths]

I agree with you - I think this is disgusting, but unfortunately after seeing my children through primary and secondary school, i'm afraid I am under no illusion that schools do nothing more than to tick their box's, meat THEIR targets and feather their own nest. NEVER MIND what is best for the individual child. I've heard it all:- what a hard job they have, how hard they work and what long hours they put in!!

And for those of you who say "they do" I say "so do I and so do most people who have a job, that is why it is called WORK!" Sorry soap box is now down.

I could go on and on and on about this subject but I have work to do

Good luck in getting anywhere with school, all I can say about wording a complaint letter is - don't waste your time, you will only get some flannel about them trying to enlighten your child with a WORK ethic. They should try and do some themselves before getting a kid to fetch and carry!

That is certainly not my experience of any of the school my children went to and they went to 4. I would simply ring the school and ask why they are doing this. There may be a perfectly rational explanation. We always advise parents to talk to us if they have an issue don't we?

On the other point about working hard. My husband is a teacher in a large Primary school in which some 50+ languages are spoken and may children come from deprived backgrounds. They were also expecting an Ofsted Inspection before Christmas, it didn't happen but it did happen the week before half term. I wouldn't do my husbands job for all the tea in China. My original instinct as a 6th former was right when my school, an all girl's one, channeled us into Teaching or Nursing if we weren't Uni material. I hated the thought of being a Teacher. I tell you our job as a Childminder is a doddle compared to my husband's job. He leaves the house by 7.30 and is rarely back by 6pm he is then more often than not still working at midnight when I stopped at 7pm and am off to bed well before midnight. He does work a lot of his holidays and doesn't have any more proper holiday than I take because when I am off I make him stop. The paperwork he has to do makes ours look like a walk in the park.

I am sorry if you haven't had a good experience but please don't tar every school and Teacher with the same brush.

I think your last paragraph is shocking. How would you feel if someone talked about you and your childminding practice like that?

Whatever you think a school has the same duty as we do to follow up any complaints the correct way and again we had a fairly serious complaint to make about my daughter's first school and the complaint was followed through. We didn't get the outcome we wanted so we took her and her brother out and put them in a different school, which was a pain but you do what you have to do and they loved and thrived in their new school.

[rickysmiths]

My dd is in year 8 and told me last night that she will be missing all of her lessons on Monday to 'help in the office' . Every year 8 child will miss a day of lessons this year to do filing, run errands, deliver messages, etc. She has been told to take a book to read for the quiet periods. When her friend did this, she read her book 3 times because she was so bored!

I am furious about this. I think that attendance is really important and thought that the school did too. I haven't been informed of this policy by the school at any point over the last 18 months and don't know when they introduced this policy of using students as unpaid help! Really tempted to keep my dd off school that day, 'because I need help with my paperwork'!

Definitely going to complain about this, in spite of my DD being thrilled about 'missing a day of school'. Any advice about wording for the complaint would be welcome.

I would phone and speck to her Head of Year before going in with a full on Complaint. Maybe something has got lost in the Translation I find it very odd that any High School would get away with doing this. If you don't get a Satisfactory answer then take it further and in writing. However you need to look very carefully at your High Schools Procedure for raising a concern. They will have given (or should have) you those details if not ask for them. If you don't follow them to the letter you may find it difficult to get an answer because the people further up the line won't have the immediate answers.

If you have a genuine Complaint it is ALWAYS worth following it through even if it takes a good while because you need answers and how will schools know if there is something wrong and have the chance to change it? Just the same way we would want a parent to come to us to discuss an issue rather than going straight to Ofsted.

[Koala]

That is certainly not my experience of any of the school my children went to and they went to 4. I would simply ring the school and ask why they are doing this. There may be a perfectly rational explanation. We always advise parents to talk to us if they have an issue don't we?

On the other point about working hard. My husband is a teacher in a large Primary school in which some 50+ languages are spoken and may children come from deprived backgrounds. They were also expecting an Ofsted Inspection before Christmas, it didn't happen but it did happen the week before half term. I wouldn't do my husbands job for all the tea in China. My original instinct as a 6th former was right when my school, an all girl's one, channeled us into Teaching or Nursing if we weren't Uni material. I hated the thought of being a Teacher. I tell you our job as a Childminder is a doddle compared to my husband's job. He leaves the house by 7.30 and is rarely back by 6pm he is then more often than not still working at midnight when I stopped at 7pm and am off to bed well before midnight. He does work a lot of his holidays and doesn't have any more proper holiday than I take because when I am off I make him stop. The paperwork he has to do makes ours look like a walk in the park.

I am sorry if you haven't had a good experience but please don't tar every school and Teacher with the same brush.

I think your last paragraph is shocking. How would you feel if someone talked about you and your childminding practice like that?

Whatever you think a school has the same duty as we do to follow up any complaints the correct way and again we had a fairly serious complaint to make about my daughter's first school and the complaint was followed through. We didn't get the outcome we wanted so we took her and her brother out and put them in a different school, which was a pain but you do what you have to do and they loved and thrived in their new school.

Exactly it is not your experience, it is my experience and I am entitled to express it, I think your statement is shocking suggesting I shouldn't state my opinion. And no, I would not like anyone to talk about my practice like that because it isn't true!! And yes schools have duty, however madam, these duties are NOT always followed.

[shortstuff]

I dont think I would like it if DS came home and said he would be helping out in the office for the day. He is there to learn in a classroom. Yes I think alternative areas are great to be covered but I would sincerely hope that filing and stapling are not items in the curriculum?

I do however think that you should try and speak to the person within the school which has organised this initiative and ask why it is being done. Also put across your viewpoint. They might not realise that some parents have these views.

[FussyElmo]

I dont think I would like it if DS came home and said he would be helping out in the office for the day. He is there to learn in a classroom. Yes I think alternative areas are great to be covered but I would sincerely hope that filing and stapling are not items in the curriculum?

I do however think that you should try and speak to the person within the school which has organised this initiative and ask why it is being done. Also put across your viewpoint. They might not realise that some parents have these views.

Look at it another way.

My son bless his heart is never going to be the best academically and hes a bit of a daydreamer so doesn't get chosen to do a lot of stuff (he probably hasn't actually heard them ask )

But on that one day he got told well done and thanked for going and telling the teachers such and such. The boost to his self esteem was amazing because for one day he was the one with the responsibility. Worth more than a years worth of being taught in a classroom :-)

[shortstuff]

Look at it another way.

My son bless his heart is never going to be the best academically and hes a bit of a daydreamer so doesn't get chosen to do a lot of stuff (he probably hasn't actually heard them ask )

But on that one day he got told well done and thanked for going and telling the teachers such and such. The boost to his self esteem was amazing because for one day he was the one with the responsibility. Worth more than a years worth of being taught in a classroom :-)

in that way yes it is great but surely praise should be a part of every childs daily experience in school?

DS thinks its his job to be class clown, which I am working on with him in addition to his teacher but I still dont like the idea of them doing admin in the office im afraid sorry x

[FussyElmo]

in that way yes it is great but surely praise should be a part of every childs daily experience in school?

DS thinks its his job to be class clown, which I am working on with him in addition to his teacher but I still dont like the idea of them doing admin in the office im afraid sorry x

In an ideal world yes but in reality in a busy classroom full of dare I say louder more boisterous children ds sitting there quietly getting on with things does get missed.

He was given the fob that opened the door and gates. And has he told me he didn't lose it

[shortstuff]

In an ideal world yes but in reality in a busy classroom full of dare I say louder more boisterous children ds sitting there quietly getting on with things does get missed.

He was given the fob that opened the door and gates. And has he told me he didn't lose it

Im really pleased it was a positive experience for DS its good to hear the positive side x

[buzzy bee]

I might be missing something but it sounds like a really good idea to me - giving them a rare opportunity to see what a real workplace is like and giving them responsibilities. I'm sure most children miss the odd day of school due to sickness and manage to catch up from it.

[Nickidela]

I worked as a TA in a secondary school for 5 years and this was a regular occurrence. The kids loved it and they were supposed to approach their teachers at the beginning of each lesson to get that lessons work so they didn't miss out - not quite the same as being 'taught' but at least there weren't gaps in their learning. I don't totally agree with it, the naughty ones took advantage of being off timetable for the day, and you could see the good ones actually wanted to be in the lessons learning. It is a tricky one!!

[rickysmiths]

Exactly it is not your experience, it is my experience and I am entitled to express it, I think your statement is shocking suggesting I shouldn't state my opinion. And no, I would not like anyone to talk about my practice like that because it isn't true!! And yes schools have duty, however madam, these duties are NOT always followed.

I didn't say you couldn't express your view at all did I? No I have just checked I didn't. In fact I commiserated about the poor experience you seem to have had with schools.

I am shocked at how rude you have been to be honest. Sadly it sounds as if you have had some issues with the school you have dealt with however that by no means means all schools are the same does it and as I said in my experience I have had to fight sometimes but I have managed to get any issues res loved thankfully. It is sad that not all schools follow their duties but to tar them all with the same brush is lije saying because one childminder has a serious complaint made and she deals with it badly we all do and that is just not the case is it.

You were also very scathing about the work of Teachers and I think unfairly so, that is my view. All I will say is work a week in the shoes of a Teacher please before you are so scathing about all of them. They are not all the same as the ones you seem to have encountered.

There really is no need to be so rude.


We can speculate about the issue the OP posted about but she hasn't come back and told us if she has spoken to the school and if she has what they said. I would be interested to hear because what she describes is not something my children were never involved in at any of their schools.

[KatieFS]

There is a balance to this one. I think giving pupils some additional responsibility is excellent, and as prev said gives them insight, raised profile and a better understanding of how the school works.
But a day is far too much - brief errands like running registers back is ok. And maybe handing out mail or messages. Half an hour tops.
Should never be for budget cuts or get in the way if their education in any way.

[nikki thomson]

Gosh I've never heard of this, never happened in my day I'm 41, lol. Think I would of liked it too, I think at senior school level it's not such a bad thing I guess but they did something similar at my childrens primary school before mine were there, the older ones had to sit in the office at lunch time, take phone calls etc, it was a disaster as you can imagine with 10 yr olds but there you go.
The older ones now have to sit with the younger ones at lunch time, help them with there lunch, tidy up etc, my son Hates it when it's his turn, he says they make so much mess and it's gross, lol. X