School support with extra-curricular interests / talents

Just to point out floating instrument lessons are 20 minutes long, not 40. You might need to rethink what you are asking for to come across as being reasonable.

But you are expecting them to do things differently and it's concerning you can't see this

• you want her to be able to have independent study instead of some lesson time. That requires supervising.

• a form tutor with pastoral responsibility needs to be able to be directed to use their pastoral time to do pastoral things and respond to issues as they arise, without having to say "I can't respond to X Y Z or have that meeting because I'm doing 1-1 supervision". Whilst a nice offer, his job isn't to supervise on 1-1 basis.

• wanting flexibility on homework means you are expecting the staff to either:

What she is doing, though great, doesn't warrant essentially bespoke arrangements around whatever shows she does. We have a good number of students who do music/drama/sport to a high level for a state comprehensive, and we send lots of students to drama college and conservatoire every year. They have a normal timetable like every other student, unless there is a formal dual registration or educated off site situation with another body overseeing part of their education.

It very much depends on what level.

For our top athletes:
Some at national level/international level get time off school, have a dual registration code approved so they attend part of their education at school and part through their club. The days they are in the club, they have mandatory school time and complete work.
Time off for fixtures and tours to other countries (again with their training club facilitating education).

For students who have worked professionally in music or drama, we've given leave for a week to do a series of shows, again with discussion with parents. We don't give them reduced timetables or let them select homework hand in around their schedule though.

Junior division at music college, whilst awesome, wouldn't get changes in timetable and homework.

To be honest, the music changes sound reasonable. Your other approaches sound unreasonably demanding. You're essentially expecting staff to plan their lesson sequences around when it's convenient for your child to do their homework (because timing of homework links to curriculum content often, or homework is used in class etc) and wanting timetable changes that would require more staff supervision so she can drop subjects at a young age.

The reason high level athletes in mainstream school get the adaptationsbis because they have a training body and club who have a key educational element of their role, not just a reduced timetable and change of deadlines to fit around their football/athletics/rowing etc

@reluctantbrit I agree with you despite my DD having a promising musical theatre career and getting some concessions from school academics are as important. DD is aware that she must obtain a qualification that enables her too teach as well as the MT qualifications. She knows that of the academics drop something on the performing front has to go. She is in year 11 now so we dropped two choirs as ensemble singing is strong and switched up ballet to once a fortnight, but a private lesson.
School is on board it is used to supporting children with external supports/performing roles, but even the DC who is GB and European figure skating champion in her age group did 12 GCSEs and got them all at good grades.

I do understand her dreams of becoming an actress/musician. But, are you aware of the statistics?

We have a friend whose daughter was a child actress, quite large BBC TV roles. She studied acting at one of the famous schools and does hardly any work now in that field. According to her it is the way around80-90% of acting students end,

She is very grateful that her parents pressed for a decent classical education, she is now thinking of Re-training and re-studying which is only possible due to the good A-Level she got.

I can understand supporting dreams but be realistic about the future.

Your school sounds like they're being extremely difficult. I don't think asking for 40mins every week (equivalent to a music lesson) is unreasonable. Surely there are practise rooms she could use. There are kids at my DDs school that do two instrument lessons per week on a rotation so they don't miss the same academic lesson every week. I'm glad you've got a meeting with the head. Well done to her, it doesn't sound like she would flunk her GCSEs nor does it sound like you'd let her. I imagine the school making it so difficult may make her not like it very much though. Quite sad as it sounds like an extremely impressive achievement.

Dd got very little leeway except time off for exams and the occasional concert or funeral (chorister) they made it clear that absence would be considered unauthorised unless exceptional (even singing for the queen was marked as unauthorised but the council accepted my appeal letter!). She never missed any schoolwork, she caught up anything she missed

She could use the library for free sessions and you could withdraw her from assembly/RE lessons. They’re less likely to let her out of PE because she’s not doing something to directly replace that, like she would be if she came out of music. Good luck, it can be done!

I used to know children heavily involved in football who during years 10 and 11 did two fewer GCSE courses than usual, to allow time for training sessions and professional development. This meant they left school early one day a week, and went in late another day.

All were signed to premier league/similar level clubs, and were playing international level football for their age group. Many went on to play for the senior England team too and a few are still household names even though they retired a while back.

Could you negotiate her not doing Art say, opt her out of RE and collective worship and not doing class music lessons? How much sport and PE is there, would she be let off any? Is there somewhere she can go at lunchtime to do homework? Also if she is bright and she will be there for GCSE can you lay the ground for her only doing 8 GCSE if she does a good selection of academic subjects?

I taught a lad who was on the books of a local ish pro football club and he used to go there for a day every fortnight I think. He was marked as educated off site so the school was clearly on board with it.

It didn't do his educational journey any good at all op, I doubt if he did very well in his GCSEs (didn't take my subject). But he wasn't the most academic tbh. No idea btw if he's taken his career further but that's another discussion.

Don't have any advice except awe for you all- we can't seem to get our Y7 DD to keep a hobby for longer than 6 months. What is JD if you don't mind me asking?

My DC are both vocational dance students and attend specialist schools precisely so they don’t have this juggling act. Primary school were always very pleased to accommodate anything relating to dance and performing. Their friends who now go to regular secondary schools have similar arrangements so it is perfectly possible, and not unusual, to arrange early finishes, less music/PE, homework dispensations etc.

Hi OP, yes some judgy pp!

What year is your DD in? One thing I would suggest is that it would be better (easier for the school etc) if you had ideas of how the school might accomodate your daughter, rather than putting it all in their lap, iykwim. I think if you're proactive, but respectful of the school's needs, then it has a far better chance of working. For example, does she have any "free periods", break-time or lunch? Can she have a space in which to practise for this time? Is the school fully aware of your daughter's outside commitments - for instance do they know her practice schedule?

I think if you have some ideas and you go to them and tell them that you need their support and advice about balancing her education (which you must emphasise how much you value!) and her "other educational" activiities. The sensational Sheku Kanneh-Mason went to a state school, while going to the Royal Academy on Saturday (commuting in from Nottingham on the day). His school recognised the value of having a committed, hard-working and accomplished musician, rather than see it as a nuisance. Hopefully, your school could do the same.

I have a dd who is working at British Junior level in her sport - her comp school allows her every Friday off from 11am to attend daytime training and she is allowed extensions to homework if she has been competing at the weekend etc. Time allowed off for completions as well. Can't fault them for their support over the last 3 years since dd started with them.

Dd2 is a performer - year 6 at present and the secondary she is going to (same one as dd1) have already said they will support her having time off for performances - she has a job starting in March which will run until October which means she will pretty much miss the first month of year 7. All the school have asked is that she is there for the 2 induction days at the start of term and after that come back to school when her contract is finished.

There are schools out there that do support extra curricular commitments but they seem to be few and far between

My DDs private secondary school allowed DC to be away for acting commitments. One was in East Enders. So negotiate but she can still do homework. Move to a stage school?

DD does musical theatre during a show week, school, allows homework extensions to the next week, we scale back all other classes during that week so that her only commitments are school and the show.