After School Detentions

Here are the DfE rules:

34. School staff should not issue a detention where they know that doing so would compromise a child's safety. When ensuring that a detention outside school hours is reasonable, staff issuing the detention should consider the following points: ? Whether the detention is likely to put the pupil at risk. ? Whether the pupil has known caring responsibilities which mean that the detention is unreasonable. ? Whether the parents ought to be informed of the detention. In many cases it will be necessary to do so, but this will depend on the circumstances. For instance, notice may not be necessary for a short after school detention where the pupil can get home safely; and ? Whether suitable travel arrangements can be made by the parent for the pupil. It does not matter if making these arrangements is inconvenient for the parent.

So £30 for a CRB checked taxi isn't good enough reason for a head to not give an after school detention.

At my school setting off the fire alarm gets a fixed term exclusion. The head sounds a bit inexperienced if he is only issuing a detention for this, especially on the top of all the other poor behaviour.

Are you asking me or being hypothetical? I have an English degree so would be perfectly fine teaching GCSE & A Level English, thanks, despite currently being "only" a drama teacher. How do you know your DS's doesn't?

Free schools can employ whoever the hell they like, as already pointed out.

On a side note, though, plenty of schools employ teachers who teach something other than their degree subject. One of my colleagues has a performing arts degree and an English PGCE but teaches Child Development, and does so bloody well.

The English teacher does sound poorly equipped to teach the subject. I hope that your son finds his feet quickly at his new school and settles well.

It's not normal. It's a free school and one of their principle ideas is that they so not need to employ qualified teachers. She may not even have a degree.

You have my sympathy OP. It is a bad situation and 10 days of escalation between DC and school are not going to help anyone. If the situation is as bad as you describe, it sounds like there is a real risk I someone getting hurt. Take your son out today - I can't see you have much of an option. Inform the LEA and see if you can accelerate the process. It sounds like you took a risk with this school to give your DC a leg up. I'm sorry it hasn't worked out that way.

You can move him to another school and the same behavioural issues may continue.
Maybe it's him not the school. Are you simply changing the scenery?
Was he a different, better behaved pupil in his previous school? Why?

Generally though, most pupils behave despite the school they attend.

The school promised the earth!

You know what they say about if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As well as moving your DS, you need to have a serious talk with him about the behaviour you expect once he's moved. If he thinks for a minute that you're blaming the previous school for his poor behaviour, he will never get back on track.

I don't think you can blame the school for your child's behaviour. Rudeness to adults etc is never acceptable.

FWIW if a child set off the fire alarm at the school I work at they would be permanently excluded.

I know because this has happened while I have worked there.

Having said that OP, if he is moving to another school then I would let the school know and remove him. It is a shame that you are so far from all schools. Is there any way (as a longer term measure) you could move house or learn to drive to make your life a bit easier?

Thanks EvilTwins - I thought I was alone in this horse high world.

You chose to send your son there, so this is your responsibility. The fire alarm issue is serious and I think an after school detention is a very light punishment - if he was at my school, he would have had at least a 1 day exclusion and you would have been called in for a re-admission meeting with the Head.

Also, the Drama teacher may well be perfectly qualified to teach English. I have an A Level in English (grade A) and a very good degree in English & Theatre but currently teach Drama, so get off your own high horse!

I agree with Nocomet. This cant be any fun for your DS.
Hope you get sorted out soon. I think this is about the future not the present and think it is unlikely that your son will learn anything further at this school. I would Home Educate him and not send him back.

I'm not trying to attack it just doesn't seem that you understand how serious this is and that the school haven't done anything 'wrong'. Your son haant being 'naughty' he has broken the law and repeatedly broken school rules. I'm also trying to tell you that your sons cards will now be 'marked' and you may have to deal with a lot worse before it gets better. Yes, it was a gamble to choose this school and I'm sorry it didn't work out for your family but I think you're on an equally high horse talking of single parent families and taxi fares and a journey that YOU chose to put in your child when there were other schools available.

Why would the free school contact the LEA? They are out of their control. I think the most likely people they will talk to will be your sons next school so that they can pass on exactly what the issues have been. It is also likely that the new school will contact them and not the other way around. Be prepared for your son being watched like a hawk and the school being unprepared to accept te slightest misdemeanour before coming down hard.