To be annoyed child got no part in school play

So the teacher may be using the play to help them regulate! Honestly don't be that parent it isn't that big a deal.

This. It's really not that big of a deal, OP. Honestly, parents make it much more of a thing than it needs to be and it actually can create pressure on little kids!
Just enjoy the event, he is part of it.

This isn’t theatre school and your child is being over looked after years of hard work perfecting his acting.

let the kid enjoy his singing part and leave it be.

Yeah that’s not how the world works.

Can you imagine the letter home ‘sorry we have given your child a speaking part which I’m sure they were excited about but we need to now take it away because another parent doesn’t feel it’s fair your child has had a speaking part two years in a row”.

Life doesn’t go like this. …..
We were going to give you a pay rose for excellent performance but someone who didn’t get one last year and doesn’t deserve one this year should get one because it’s not fair to them.

Sorry you were the best person for the job but another person has been looking for longer so they should get it instead.

Sorry you have done all the hard work and out the excellent presentation together but you can’t give it because someone else in the team hasn’t presented yet.

We may not like things but be real - what are you really teaching your child.

Oh god don't be that parent and ask why your child hasn't a speaking part.

I would think the parts go to those who can project their voice, who enjoy the attention, who won't get a sudden bout of shyness or tears and who will enjoy it. That's why sometimes the quiet kids don't get the parts as they tend to clam up and mutter at their feet. Your teacher will know better than you how your child acts in front of a group. I'd probably let it slide but maybe ask at a parent teacher meeting or next time you get to talk to the teacher.

OP the biggest parts for our nativity went to the PTA member's golden child and the kid who's parent is a teacher at the school. The parts have ridiculously more lines than any other part. It's so hilariously nepotistic it's tragic but you know what? It isn't going to make the kids any friends. Quite the opposite. There could be any reason that your kid doesn't have a part (a likely one being that they asked not to have one. Have you checked this?) It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. If you want your child to act put them in a theatre school although they are usually even more cutthroat.

Perhaps the child who has had a speaking part two years in a row?

Oh this made me LAUGH 😂

@Kool4katz primary school teachers have explained in other threads they try to choose the most reliable and confident speakers.

Oh and at my DD's CofE school most of the parents are of no faith, Muslim and Catholic in that order.

I’m so glad my kids’ school don’t do a Christmas play. They do a group concert so there’s no favouritism or drama.

I still remember being pissed off that I was always one of the narrators, I was desperate to be an angel! 😆

Most nativity plays are not as they used to be, my DS was in three and played the following roles angel (chorus), present (chorus) and his only speaking role, a banker 😂

I think you can raise it and be pushy or you can stay silent and not be pushy.

If it were me I would first check whether my child was actually bothered about not having a speaking part or not. If yes, I'd say something much more direct, like, "Billy is really disappointed not to have been given a speaking part and we were wondering why he has been overlooked. This is his second year in a row without a speaking part when we know at least one child has had a speaking part both years. What was the thought process behind this?"

Is your child very disappointed? If not, I would leave it. The chorus is important to the play, it's no insult to be in it.

It really doesn't matter, he is 5. I remember DS's dad being bothered he didn't get a part. I said do you want to be the parent who gets upset their child is a spider (or whatever he was..)

I think if it bothers you and you think he would benefit from having speaking parts in plays you should put him in a drama club.

The teacher probably doesn't like him or he's a grey rock in the class and doesn't get noticed.

That's a shame. Maybe it is a very small handful with speaking parts. If it is something he's interested in, have a look into local drama groups.

How big is your nativity?
Mary + Joseph
3 kings
Maybe 4 inn keepers
A donkey and an ass - don't say much
5-6 shepherds
angels - but only one really speaks
That's 16 - Even adding a few other people to see Jesus and such, getting speaking parts for 30 year 2, maybe 60 if it's a 2 form entry school is going to require a very long and convoluted story line.

I am a former teacher myself - I meant in the context of the ‘herding kittens’ during a nativity. I didn’t mean generally.

Yes, that's right, the teachers 'don't give a shit'. 🙄

I remember doing this one year, I was into singing and wanted to be one of the small choir parts. My teacher had me down as narrator, so she was pissed off when I still chose choir.

DD refused a part in the school nativity because she wasn't allowed to wear her brother's transformers costume.

I can't believe you're actually worried about this tbh. By all means have a word with the teacher if you want to be labelled 'that' parent.

I feel for you op. My well behaved confident kids never got parts either. And even in the choir they were put at the back and the disengaged ones or the criers always at the front in pole position! Why?

I guess because for primary teachers it’s just another job of herding kittens and they don’t give a shit about the good robust kids who they can ignore because they’ve got enough on their plate looking out for those who need the extra support. I get it, I do.

But as a parent, if your child hasn't said a peep all year, and this is the one thing that upsets them and makes them feel less valued and demotivated then it’s hurtful. I don’t know what you do though. Because talking to the teacher doesn’t always go well either… again, if you’re an easy-going supportive parent, it’s easy to ignore you too.

YANBU 💐

Even if it is too late for this time, I would still have a word with the teacher. In my son's school they ask the children "who wants a speaking part?" and the same four children who are quick on the draw get the parts, and the rest have "chosen" to be in the background. It is lazy and means most of the children are bored by plays. I always ask for my son to be given something to say or do, just to stop him zoning out, which many children visibly do.