Four events this week at school during working hours…

I agree. Mine range from late teens to late twenties, and it sounds as if our family lives operated in very similar ways. None of mine bemoan the lack of enforced volcano building as set by their schools - the other experiences we gave them were far preferable.

😂 I actually do agree with your last post about there being other things to do as well. I have to say, I don’t remember being set any homework at primary school. My 8 year old has just been set over 20 separate pieces of homework and my 5 year old 14 pieces to do. This is in addition to daily reading, weekly spellings and times table practice.

We want to spend half term visiting family and friends, doing Autumn/Halloween days out, relaxing at home, swimming, etc. DH is on his last knees as a teacher himself, and is desperate to stuff with his own children. But now we have to fit in all this somewhere…

This is what I meant about expectations at both work and on parents raising so much since we were kids, so I don’t blame parents for getting rid of something! I got rid of paid work, others should definitely try and get rid of something!

I agree - which is why I got rid of unnecessary craft activities and anything else I knew was superfluous to their education during our family time in the holidays or when they were at holiday clubs and just wanted to do their own thing in the evenings. I wouldn't have given up work, it's too important to me for a myriad of reasons, and now I'm coming up to retirement I'm extremely glad I didn't - but volcano building could do one!

What a ridiculous thread; school children doing school-related stuff in school hours! I think you would find if you scheduled these events in the evening, half the children (for whom the events are laid on) would not turn up, and the teachers would all demand time off in lieu, which the school cannot afford.

The children are not doing school related stuff in school hours - events such as 'come snd view your child's art work' or 'come for a teddy bear's picnic' is not school related stuff. If these things are deemed to be school related and therefore important, I expect them to be scheduled accordingly to allow parents to book time off in advance.

So should schools even put on these events?

As far as I can see the schools are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I used to work in a small library with a v good children’s section, so we’d know at once what holiday project the local primary children had been given - the first gimlet-eyed mums would be in first thing, trying to grab every single book on the Tudors, or whatever it was. We had to start limiting them to 4.

And of course right at the end of the holidays, the harassed mums would be in, trying to find anything to help their dc do the wretched project within the next 18 hours…

Yes they should put them on. Why should parents who prioritise their children have to go without to make parents who can’t be bothered feel better about themselves? Tough.

😂

The problem is that schools are required to organise events to encourage involvement in the local community (or some such wording).
So as far as the government (and ofsted) is concerned it is school related stuff.

As I said, schools can't win.

We moved to an indecent school this term and it’s wonderful, hardly any admin, work day events optional or booked well in advance, no having to collect one child from an event miles away at the same time as collecting the other from the school site.It has been a breathe of fresh air!

Your priorities are plain weird. Working parents aren’t second rate parents.

My children are my priority.

Many years ago when I was a school governor at my children's primary school I vividly remember the headteacher and another governor, who was a secondary school teacher, commiserating with each other about how they had no option but to send their children into school even when they were midly unwell because they couldn't take the time off work. Teachers have far less wriggle room to take time off in term-time than many other jobs.

My DT’s are my greatest achievement (and success). Hasn’t stopped me having a career. Happy children = happy parents

I agree, which is why I resigned from the profession. I quite frankly refuse to put a class of other people’s children above the needs of my own children.

My husband remains a full time teacher, but actually he took a week off work during term time to care for our children when they were babies/toddlers when I was unexpectedly rushed to hospital. He was paid under 2 days emergency parental leave and the rest paid compassionate leave. He would have taken it unpaid anyway, but he made it clear he was needed at home. My husband would still walk out if he got a call from our children’s school and they needed him, cover can be arranged. Unfortunately, many teachers either don’t know their entitlements or are too afraid to exercise them. They still have rights as parents, and rightly so. Too many have normalised choosing work over their kids, which we both refuse to do.

That was how it was when I was a child in the 1960s and 1970s. I was amazed when my children started school in the late 90s how many events were laid on during the working day. Absolute nightmare for parents who had jobs, including those who were teachers themselves of course. Is it actually beneficial? The parents who turned up for anything curriculum-related as opposed to the Christmas show or the class assembly (i.e. things they could photograph and/or video) were the ones who were already very engaged with the school and doing their level best to support children's learning.

Last time I made a joke about an obvious but amusing typo in someone else's post she was mortally offended, but I'm hoping you wont be. Tell us more about this indecent school ...

Notice is the important thing. Don’t spring surprise things in the middle of the day on working parents.

As for being a concerned or interested parent, I’d say keeping a roof over our heads was a very legitimate concern. I was a working parent but also a highly conscientious and engaged one who was always concerned to support my kids at school as much as possible. A teddy bear’s picnic is fun and I’d go if I could but I’d say shelves full of books at home and lots of stimulating activities and reading are also very important. The parents who never show up are often unemployed!

It may well be - but the Govt, schools and Ofsted (or whichever body covers your part of the UK) also know that parents generally have to work and teddy bears don't need imaginary sandwiches.

To be fair, I've never been a teacher but my mother was a primary school teacher and when I was a governor I saw a lot of what went on in schools. Teaching is an absolutely exhausting job because when you are in class there is no let up. I couldn't have done it. In my office-based jobs I was often able to set my own pace and if I had a day when it was quiet or I wasn't feeling 100% I could slow down a bit, maybe leave a little early, do something less demanding. You can't do that as a teacher.

To be fair though, teachers aren't in the classroom the whole day either. It's not a job I would want to do, but equally there are lots of jobs I wouldn't want to do - teaching is either for you or it's not, and there are no shortages of people who want to go into the profession.

Back in my Mum's day holidays really were holidays. I have the impression that's changed a lot since then. She retired before the National Curriculum, SATs, Ofsted, performance management of teachers and the many other changes that swept through the profession in the 1990s. It's not the same job now.

I agree @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g MIL was a teacher for many years and she said the same thing.