Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

No lockers and no lunch rooms - is this the norm?

164 replies

pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 11:25

A school that I am familiar with appears to have no seating arrangements for students who choose to have packed lunches. Some of the Y11 girls have resorted to eating theirs in the loos Shock.

The same school also does not have any lockers or cloakrooms for students. I was just wondering if this is the norm and would be greatful for any replies before I sit down and draft a letter to the Governors.

It is a State Comprehensive Senior School with around 1200 students.

OP posts:
DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 14:22

So independent school parents would improve state education? Is that what you are saying?

With all their sharp-elbowedness, fourxfours (cars, not husbands), general lah-di-dahness?

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 14:19

annh, I have an insider's perspective and even at that it took about 6 weeks before I became fully aware of the situation.

I want to do something to help which is why I thought of writing to the Governors. This thread is a way for me to clarify my thoughts on the matter whilst keeping them in perspective.

Thanks again to all of you. More stories welcome!

OP posts:
MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 14:13

To help improve schools and provide an education experience which is apartheid free. I know lots of concerned parents who have chosen to stay in the state sector. It is only on mumsnet that independent education is considered a necessity.

DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 14:09

Why should concerned parents stay within the system?

annh · 11/02/2012 14:07

Pickledsiblings, what is your interest in this school? Why do you think parents are so unaware of the lunchtime/locker situation if you know about it? Surely unhappy pupils will tell their parents? I know it's like trying to get blood out of a stone to get ds1 (13) to impart important information about Options Evenings, end-of-year exams etc to me but I hear all about people on report, mucking around in the playground, etc.

MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 14:07

I am not saying there are not poor state schools. However I do not think they are the majority , I suspect the number would be fewer if concerned parents stayed within the system .

DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 14:04

My view of state schools is my own (limited) experience and what is posted on this thread. If the situation weren't bad, this thread wouldn't exist.

MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 13:59

It can be more civilised, it need not be and should not be.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 13:57

Davida, are we in agreement that the lunchtime provision in the Independent Sector is altogether more civilised than in the State Sector?

So, my next question is, is any of this likely to impact on exam results?

[greatful=grateful in OP, oops!]

OP posts:
MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 13:53

That is exactly what you should expect in any school David. You seem to have a very distorted view of state schools.

DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 13:49

Walkie talkies (probably coupled with CCTV) would make me feel uncomfortable for a reason I can't put my finger on. If there is a real emergency, all adults have a mobile phone and they can always send a pupil runner to get help. There is something 'calculating' about a walkie-talkie. I can just hear them say "all quiet on the western front". I guess it is something about expecting negative behaviour and 'big brother is watching you'.

I would expect, in independent schools the ideal world for duty staff/teachers to be building relationships with pupils rather than waiting for them to misbehave.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 13:42

It is the whole lack of decent provision that makes them feel undervalued. The walkie talkies just make it seem a bit like a juvenile detention centre to me when all the rest is taken into account.

OP posts:
Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 13:40

'Take your mum to school day' would be very enlightening.

They do get ushered out of the loos and moved along if they are noticed Davida. Yes to patrol duty, with walkie talkies.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 11/02/2012 13:40

You're not wrong David-it takes some getting used to. Sad

DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 13:39

The step up from junior to senior school is very hard on parents, sparkling :)

One minute you are micromanaging, and the next you are persona non grata.

hocuspontas · 11/02/2012 13:38

Why do walkie-talkies make students feel undervalued? It's an instant means of communication in a large building.

Sparklingbrook · 11/02/2012 13:35

I would love that David, to go in and have a good poke round. I have felt so detached from it all since DS1 started High School. Sad

DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 13:34

Why are they allowed to eat in the toilets. At my DD's school, they are only allowed to go to the toilets to do their business, and the adjacent cloakroom to change for PE. Otherwise it is 'out of bounds'.

Don't they have staff doing a patrol duty?

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 13:33

Molly, how does one make sure that parents are made aware of the situation?

OP posts:
DavidaCottonmouth · 11/02/2012 13:32

One of the secondaries nearish me (not catchment, sadly) has been rated Outstanding for several years. This has meant they have doubled their size without doubling their facilities. Classrooms have been divided into two, with one class traipsing through another to get to their smaller space. It also means that the dining facilities are for the old numbers. The only parts of the school that are reasonable for the size are the ones that look good on the prospectus - ICT rooms, sports hall, sixth form center.

It is really quite an unpleasant environment for the pupils, but I suppose new Year 7s don't know what to expect, then it all becomes 'normal' to them.

Instead of a 'take your daughter to work' day, it might be more telling to have a 'take your mum to school' day.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 13:31

Also, at lunchtimes the school is patrolled by staff on walkie talkies, is this the norm too?

How are these students meant to feel valued Sad.

OP posts:
MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 13:29

I am not saying it is the case here but pupils have always eaten in the loo. We have fantastic dining facilities and still some students eat in the loo.

The parents need to be made awarekf how awful it is. At the start of my career I worked in a school that got rid of its dining room and it had a huge affect on pupil behaviour in the afternoon. Parents went to governors , press and lea and changes were made.

Original poster
pickledsiblings · 11/02/2012 13:23

Molly you are absolutely right but I am not sure that parents know how awful it is. Can you imagine if your DC chose to eat in the loos so that they could at least sit down Shock?

OP posts:
MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 13:21

I have the means to get my own children out their schools, the food was also dire and again we are working with the school and LEA to make changes.

MollyBroom · 11/02/2012 13:20

Or they could group together to try and make a change . I teach in a state school which extended its lunch, dining facilities and improved meals because that is what our parents demand and it was the right thing to do.