Breaking up for the holidays

DS goes to the same secondary school I went to in the 90s. It’s much harder to just wander out now than it was when I was there.

The layout of most secondary schools locally makes it very difficult to 100% stop someone getting out if they really want to though.

Primary schools? Where is that?

in England I would say that is pretty much unheard of now.

I no longer have young kids, and I'm very happy about that! Standards seem to have slipped horribly. I can't believe kids are simply allowed to wander in and out of school as takes their fancy. Once we were in the door, that was it. It pretty much took a family death for someone to be allowed out before hometime.

Wouldn't have crossed our minds either to say "I'm sure the teachers would like the extra break" when referring to kids coming in and out as takes their fancy on a school day.

Dd goes to school in West of Scotland. She can leave school at break and lunch but not after registration. She's going in today but leaving at lunch and going to McDonald's with friends. She's in S4.

I think she’s saying the rules are different. No one cares what colour of socks you wear, or what your hair colour is. I don’t know a school here that would punish a child for having a visible logo on an otherwise black shoe.

We don’t fine parents for school absence, there are different process to deal with that. The idea of “asking” permission to take your child out of school for the day blows my mind - they’re my child and I decide if they need to be absent from school for whatever reason, I’ll inform the school but I’m not asking permission. It’s just a completely different culture and mindset.

In my experience schools here work to build good working relationships with parents, as equals.

Went to school in West of Scotland and taught there, this was not a thing! Yes, kids wouldn’t come into school, but leaving after reg seems mad.

Oh and our campus is an open campus - kids come and go for break and lunch but also for various other reasons like apprenticeships etc etc. It has several buildings and they’re kept open for children to move around. No one would have any way of stopping a teenager from leaving but they take a register at each class so can text if they aren’t there.

I’m in Scotland and my daughter had a maths exam today so suppose they expect everyone there.

My DC school put a notice out last Monday saying that lessons continue as normal right up to the last day and they expect all pupils present.

My kids high school has 1,500 kids, and 4 entrances into the actual building excluding fire escapes. They all have fire exit style push bar doors so you can get out but you can’t get in from the outside unless you are buzzed in.

Kids can attend registration and leave instead of going to their next class. If your child isn’t present for any of their classes the parent gets an automatic text message alerting them to their child’s absence for that class. Both the school and the parent knows the child is not in class. There isn’t someone stationed at each door between classes so the child is unlikely to be challenged as they leave, besides which you’re going to have a pretty hard time keeping a teenager in place if they really don’t want to be there.

This. Absolutely batshit.

We moved primary schools so have experience of two. Kids do full days right until the last day of term. Noone takes time off, (maybe an odd few have gone on a holiday but certainly not many) full school of teachers and pupils until 3pm.

If they do not show up to period 1 this will be recorded in the register again at that point and parents will be informed. So the school does know who is there or not in the event of a fire. The register is taken again at the start of each period.

The whole point of registration is so the teachers know who is there or not, what’s the point of going to registration then buggering off? As a pp said if there was a fire those children would need to be accounted for and possibly putting teachers and the fire service at risk

NE Scotland here, this isn’t a thing I’m aware of. My kids go in up until the holidays.

Also high school you can exit by just pushing the door release but can’t get in unless a class change time/at all - think many high schools are the same.

Taught for 28 years in England. Never experienced this!

There’s a huge cultural divide
on this sort of things between Scotland and England and these sorts threads always result in lashings of hysteria.

My DS is in S1, and if off school today. Yesterday there was no meaningful teaching across the day, he can watch videos at home equally well as he can at school for the half day they want him in.

His school building is secure, but the school gates are open - no lack of security at all.

None have gates and many don’t have fences where I am

It's pretty normal here (also West of Scotland) for secondary kids not to go in for the last day at Christmas and the start of the summer holidays but less so at Easter. In fact we are normally advised by the school that if your child doesn't arrive on the last day you will get a text but they don't expect you to call and explain where they are. To be honest they are doing very little of any academic significance on these days anyway (at Christmas and in June). However both DD1 and DD 2 have gone in today and will be there until the end of the day.

Absolutely not a thing where I am. Very much frowned upon to go on holiday a day or two before the end of term and likely to incur a fine.

i once requested authorised absence to go to Harry Potter world on the last day of term. It was refused. We went anyway and it was full of school groups 😂. When I told ds3’s teacher that we’d been anyway she said “oh good, I’m so glad!”

I didn’t bother asking when we went to the natural history museum, we just went!

So basically your condoning them bunking off school.

I work in reception and other than an Easter bonnet parade and some Easter linked continuous provision we still carried on with phonics and maths as normal. DS is year 11 and it was business and normal until the end.

I have never known anywhere have all of this nothingness at the end of term so many believe happens. There may be a film linked to that terms learning but that’s about it.

I've had 3 children go through high school in England. Never been suspended, never got fined. If you stick to the rules these don't happen. Scottish schools do have rules, if they don't you won't be prepared for the workplace. Are you saying you don't accept the rules in Scotland?

Ok so what's your question then? Because you've posted in AIBU...?