What are after school detentions given for at your DCs school?

I would be horrified if low marks were punished with a detention. At my son's school the teacher writes "nee" (not enough effort) on work where it its obvious that child has not made an effort. The child has to then re do the work by the next lesson. If the child refuses to re do the work then they get an after school detention to re do the task.

Two DCs in (Y8 and Y10) and I have no idea what detentions are given for.... no, actually, I do. The child who uncharacteristically lost it and slapped DS in the face in the middle of a Chemistry lesson got one.

Minor equipment / uniform stuff seems to be dealt with in a totally commonsense way (usually loan and verbal warning), behaviour is dealt with primarily through report cards that have to be signed by the teacher in every lesson, detention and internal exclusion for major stuff.

In terms of what the OP said (low marks), ours has a separate system of 'subject reports' which are activated for poor achievement whatever the cause, and it's a mix of extra help/encouragement, and requiring attendance at lunchtime or after school homework clubs (24 hours notice is kept after school, parents can defer if good reason, but must be done within a week). It's got a different name because it's slightly separate from the main discipline system IYSWIM, even though it can mean compulsory attendance out of hours.

Minor infringements (uniform, equipment, handing stuff in on time, very minor disruption) are recorded, and if there are three in a half term, then it's an after school detention (again, 24 hours notice). Straight to detention for major breaches of rules. Or if really bad HOY or HT intervention.

Fingers crossed for the future, but so far we've only had a couple and they've been for three minor breaches, not more serious issues. They are expected to do their homework when in detention, and if they don't bring any the teacher gives them an age-appropriate homework-type task from a stock kept for this purpose.

Lack of equipment or PE kit results in a "c1". When the child had 3 "c1" they get an after school detention. I think the system is fair and works well. Forgetting a pen or ruler on repeated occasions affects learning. It is overalls harsh to have an after school detention for forgetting a book once. Children are human and everyone makes mistakes.

Lyn, is your son in Year 7. Things that my DD's school were bothered about in Year 7, they don't seem to give a toss about now. I think they are just to get them to focus on thinking for themselves in some instances. My DD's school made it clear to parents early on that they are expected to support the school over detentions.

My DD has had two detentions - scribbling on someone' book during first term. We knew she was getting hassle from one girl, but turns out a group of them kept on at her and she reacted. Detention involved tidying up (putting paper in the bin) and then she was told to read so did her English homework, ie reading!

Second detention was in Year 8. She misunderstood in class and had done the wrong thing. The tutor sat with her during the detention while she did the correct set work and actually helped her - he then said she'd done so well, he'd wipe the detention of the system, so I think in retrospect he realized she'd made a genuine mistake.

Detentions can seem harsh and I certainly didn't expect my DD to get them. She's now in Year 10, loves school and has a school position given to a small percentage who have outstanding behaviour, so it won't necessarily continue with detentions.

Detentions at DC's school is usually a result of lesser punishments x 3.

One of the punishments, is highly effective (they give it a daft name which I can't rememeber). Basically, the student has to take a slip and get it signed in one day by five specified teachers.

Complete PITA for student, who has to waste their breaks/lunch tracking down said teachers, who then each ask them their transgression and give them a mini lecture!

I think there's a middle line between a school not doing anything and a school slamming children into isolation for forgetting their planner, which is probably the point at which they will learn to take responsibility for their own stuff. If a parent because of over the top sanctions feels the need to check bags and put things into them themselves for a person who will in a couple of years' time be old enough to vote/join the army/get married then this is teaching the pupil nothing other than that someone will always be there to pick up for them. This is a problem created by the school and not by the parent.

Nothing - I actually wish DS would get a few detentions, his school (Ofsted 'outstanding' - is more like a holiday camp ).

He was very late the other morning, I told him he would have to accept the consequences (he was deliberately late) ............... nothing happened.
He misbehaved on a school trip and was threatened with a detention the following day ............. nothing happened.

I am constantly laying down the Law at home, trying to instill a sense of responsibility in my teenage DS - I just wish the school would do the same.

Lynette, you want your DS to face consequences for forgetting his school book to learn organisational skills.

However you are not personally prepared to accept the impact of those consequences on your life. Hence you have decided to check your DS's bag yourself up prevent future after school detentions. You then say your DS will now not learn to be organised as his mum is doing it for him.

So I'm saying that you impose your own sanctions if on checking his bag you discover it is not complete. He would have got an after school so you deduct him the petrol money and make him spend half an hour doing chores, as if he had got the detention, but without the inconvenience to you.

It's not only your petrol that he's wasting, it's your time.

I mean if you now check his bag so that he doesn't forget stuff and get an after school detention, you punish him when he hasn't.

He gets punished for forgetting stuff (which you want the school to do but aren't willing to accept their punishment so have to do yourself) and he learns to pack his bag properly (which is what you want).

Why didn't you punish him whenever his bag was inadequately packed then, if you wanted to avoid the after school detention?

Parents can impose much better sanctions than schools. Stuff like removing x-boxes, wifi passwords that the kids actually care about.

One of the government's pathetic and ridiculous ideas to improve discipline was to put "no-notice" detentions in place. The idea was plainly to inconvenience (and therefore alienate and annoy) parents. Also, there is no right of reply or appeal if the detention has been unfairly set. It does occasionally happen. To have no right of recourse and to upset and alienate parents seems to me to be a really stupid idea.

looks like it worked then grin

I actually hate this sort of attitude - this gleeful kind of 'serves you right' bullshit that has no place anywhere outside of an Enid Blyton novel. It doesn't do anybody any favours and I'm not sure what lesson you want young people to learn from it other than 'get your mum to wipe your arse for you in order that you won't get punished'. Quite apart from anything else, at least the OP has the wherewithal to get to school and sort stuff out - what about parents who work? One of my colleagues got phoned (at work) and asked to take her ds's planner in in order that he could avoid being put in isolation. Of course she couldn't fucking do it - she was at fucking work. This attitude that there is always a parent at home who can run around in order to enforce petty fucking school rules pisses me off greatly.

Yes Question I world take that up with the school. At both of my DC's schools (one state, one private) I have had an email when they've had detention. Otherwise I'd be worrying about why they'd not come home. I had a couple of days notice too. I think the school are very out of order not telling parents. Yes they want parents on board supporting the school, but it's not actually the parents (nor siblings) that they're supposed to be punishing. I think they're on thin ice legally of they're refusing to let your son go when you're there to collect him, having given you no information about the detention in advance.

The more I hear about discipline in secondary schools, the worse they sound. We have a school here that routinely puts pupils in isolation for a day for forgetting their planner, or wearing the wrong shoes ( don't even get me started on the whole fetishistic attitude the English have to uniform) - what the fuck good does that do? If I were in those students' position, I would lose all respect for adults that meted out draconian punishments for petty misdemeanours.

I can't afford the petrol, so will now check DSs bag every morning.
looks like it worked then
I work in lots of schools ( supply teacher) and there is definitely a correlation with behaviour - in the schools with the least disruptive children, relatively 'minor' offences incur detentions. In the worst, with fights all the time, missing pens and books don't even register on the radar. So OP you can take some comfort from the fact that his classes are likely to be calm and purposeful.
Having said, that it is disruptive when you have given instruction and children pipe with 'Miss, have you got a pen I can borrow?' I now send them down to reception to borrow one, leaving their phone as security for its return, and then they have to take it back (and probably stand in a queue of others) in their own time - eg break/lunch/after school.
If a parent is inconvenienced, they are more likely to back the school up in avoiding this timewasting.
If they haven't go their books, and have to write on sheets of paper - they are likely to lose the work and have nothing to refer back to.

At my last school, a note in their planner did the trick, and failing that, a loss of s house point.
And maybe that system worked there. At some schools a note in the planner is jeered at or ripped out - parents at some schools couldn't give a rat's behind if a teacher writes a note in the planner and if that is part of the school's sanction system then it relies on parents at least caring or bothering to read the note or voicing some disapproval. Again, losing a house point means absolutely nothing unless the school community has bought into that as a reward worth losing.

So it looks as if enough schools send out text notifications of detentions that I could reasonably request DS's school to do the same then?