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Original poster

What's the strangest call you've ever had from your child's school

522 replies

listsandbudgets · 17/02/2021 13:52

Pancake day always makes me remember this one.

You know that cold feeling when the phone goes and its school? Is my child ill, hurt, in trouble etc. etc.

A few years ago mine went on pancake day. The school receptionist said "we're sorry about this Lists but Lists-junior has been hit over the head with a frying pan"

(turned out thankfully it was only a very light, one and they'd been having a pancake race when he tripped, the boy behind him tripped and somehow in the tangle the frying pan whacked him on the head!)

Has anyone had a stranger call than that?

OP posts:
Rainbowandscarlett · 17/02/2021 19:01

‘Hello ms Scarlett,we’re just going to ring you and send you into a blind panic by telling you that no2 is in a spot of bother(he’d been going through that phase)-he’s not only eaten his packed lunch,but we’ve just caught him going up to the hot lunch queue for 5ths’
Me-‘oh Jesus,I do feed him!I’ll bring the lunch money in when I come to pick him up’
‘Oh don’t worry,just pay for the one-it would have gone in for pig swill anyway’

Why the hell did the cook give him 5ths,why the hell didn’t the dinner ladies notice and what did they expect me to do while I was at work 3 miles away?!

TurquoiseDragon · 17/02/2021 19:08

@Tyredofallthis1

'Can I check that you know your son will be performing in the drama production until 8pm tomorrow.'

Nope, hadn't a clue and had a mad scramble to sort out pick up. Not a hint from son himself. He hadn't even mentioned the rehearsals. It was as if it was some dark secret that only the severest torture could wring from his lips.

I had something similar.

I told the school that no, Turquoise Junior would NOT be available as other plans had alrady been made, not knowing about the performance. I was asked if I could possibly re-arrange and said no. I told them the school should have been informing us far earlier, and not to rely on 6 year olds actually remembering to tell a parent.

Apparently, Turquoise Junior missing the performance would be a catastrophe. He was in the chorus line, not a main part. Hmm I stood firm, we had an event with paid tickets to attend.

GVmama · 17/02/2021 19:09

I had a call from my sons Primary School saying he had his arm stuck behind a shed and could they use washing up liquid or oil to try and free it 😂 Of course you can, don’t leave the poor lad stuck behind the shed, go and get him out!! It did make me laugh.

Prokupatuscrakedatus · 17/02/2021 19:10

@sadpapercourtesan - But he had good points in all this.

My own, not a call:
I went to get DS (AS) from after school care (he was 6) to take him to swim class. The attendant went white as a sheet because DS hadn't been in and hadn't been missed.
Turned out he had decided he was bored, took the underground home, went into a book shop of his choice to read in peace. DH found him. He got a simple phone after that.

rach2713 · 17/02/2021 19:11

I was in primary school when at lunch time my knee cap had locked and I couldn't move it and pain was so bad had to be taken to hospital only my school never rang my mum. So when she came to pick me up a few kids went up to her said that I had broken my leg split my head open and broken my arm. So she went into the school and they said yes she was taken to the hospital by ambulance at lunch but its OK as the caretaker is with her and the reason they never rang was because the don't like ringing mobiles ...

paintedpanda · 17/02/2021 19:13

Oh, many, mostly for my second child, DS.

"Hello, just to let you know that little panda has poked four holes in his top with a pencil"

"Hello, just to let you know that little panda has managed to break a toilet door off its hinge"

"Hello, just to let you know that little panda was showing his friends his dance moves, has fallen into the corner of a bookshelf, and now has a black eye"

"Hello, just to let you know that little panda was so excited to leave school that he has fallen into the corner of a table leg and his head needs glueing closed"

"Hello, just to let you know that little panda was jumping over a bench, smacked his head on it, and now his head needs glueing closed again".

Roselilly36 · 17/02/2021 19:14

Had a call to say could I collect DS as he had fallen asleep in the classroom.

Hoppinggreen · 17/02/2021 19:21

When it was DS bday we arranged to take him and 7 of his friends for pizza and cinema. It was a Friday so we picked them all up from school (parents aware) but there were after school clubs so I told DS to make sure he told his teacher he would not be at whatever club it was (basketball?), which as they were Y6 was fine to do.
As we arrived home my phone rang and it was school who asked why he wasn’t at Basketball, I explained and apologised while also trying to wrangle 8 10/11 year old boys into the house/not let the dog out etc. The school office lady could obviously hear the commotion and said “I don’t suppose you have also got x have you?” I had
So how about (another 6 boys)? Yes, I’ve got all of those too
Well that’s good, she said, saves me a lot of phone calls, I’m glad I phoned you first.

Runmybathforme · 17/02/2021 19:22

@Prufrocks

“Good afternoon Ms Frocks, we need to have a chat about little Pru. We’ve had new security cameras installed in the playground and he’s taken to flashing his willy at them.”
Hilarious. That’s tickled my funny bone.
Sp1ke3 · 17/02/2021 19:22

Year 11. We’re ringing because your son is not in his lesson. I’d dropped him off that morning and seen him go in the gate so I rang him. He answered with a very whispered “yes” because he was in his English lesson. I asked him to put the teacher on so they could confirm to the office that they had now noticed my 6’ son, sitting in his lesson.

Hoppinggreen · 17/02/2021 19:26

@Hoppinggreen

Not phone calls but I used to love the accident reports. I think the best one was something like Hopping junior fell off the trim trail after poking himself in the eye. He says his bottom is bruised - we have not checked. We had them very regularly and he even managed to get one from his Secondary school taster day The best phone call was when they asked me to come because he had a “splinter” in his arm and they weren’t allowed to remove it. I turned up complaining to find an ambulance and a paramedic car waiting for me so they could take him to hospital to remove the large piece of wood the size of my thumb from his arm. Didn’t want to panic me apparently (I’m not a panicker)
And when the ambulance etc was called apparently one child decided DS was dead and “mini hopping is dead” went round the school like wildfire. When it reached his sister in Y6 she just said “I doubt it” and carried on with whatever she was doing. I had to field a lot of very concerned texts when school finished and lots of kids ran out announcing mini hoppings death to their parents. I even had to do a FB announcement
SiliconHeaven · 17/02/2021 19:26

6 years ago now, my husband and I went on holiday in November and left our son home alone for 2 weeks. The school called us in when we got back, we went because we didn’t know what it was about.
The head of year and his tutor sat us down,
they were furious that we’d left him alone.

We pointed out that he was 18 years old with his own car and driving license and promptly left.

TitInATrance · 17/02/2021 19:26

“Mini Tit has got underneath a table and is refusing to move, and none of the teachers nor the after-school childminder are allowed to exert physical force, please remove her”. I think she was 6.

AlwaysLatte · 17/02/2021 19:27

We had a sweet little message in my eldest son's contact book when he was at preschool. 'We gave him a cold pack when he received an over enthusiastic cuddle from a friend and they bumped together'.

LindaEllen · 17/02/2021 19:31

Is DSS's father available?

No sorry, have you tried his mum?

Yes, she isn't answering.

I don't know what to suggest but I'm available if needed.

You're not authorised.

I know but currently I'm the next best thing, he will tell you I'm not a stranger and if it's urgent enough for you to be phoning I assume you need our attention ASAP.

Umm. Okay. Well DSS climbed inside a bin and now he's wedged inside as he was far too big, so we've phoned the fire brigade but would like a parent/guardian to come to the school to witness any action taken and then take him home afterwards.

He was 16yo almost taking his GCSEs ffs. I did go in the end, and took many amusing photos for his parents.

I don't think wasting the fire brigade's time is funny, by the way. But if he's in the bin either way I may as well capture the happy memory! 😂

Butwhhhyyyyyyy · 17/02/2021 19:32

Call to say I needed to take dd to a & e, I thought god, a broken bone, gaping wound!! No, she had swallowed a pen top!

PurpleFadesToGreen · 17/02/2021 19:34

@couchparsnip
That's funny...my son was in exactly the same scenario .
Except he was the "biter" !
Still dealing with repercussions of that collision.

Butwhhhyyyyyyy · 17/02/2021 19:34

Also dd, call said she had stabbed someone with a fork in her reception class, reality she was gesturing and scratched another child. No stabbing involved by 5 year olds.

intheenddoesitreallymatter · 17/02/2021 19:37

My sister had a phone call home from her son's school when he was in reception.

They were doing road safety lessons and his teacher asked him what do we say when we cross the road looking for 'look right, look left, look right again.'

DN's answer - 'watch where you're going bell end.' His Dad was in a lot of trouble.

underneaththeash · 17/02/2021 19:38

I've had a few, probably the worst and potentially the strangest when you look back at it now was about 2pm on a Friday afternoon, DS2 had been back at school for 3 days!

School nurse rang to say that DS2(11) had a COUGH and a TEMPERATURE. Unfortunately, both DH and I are not very good at answering our mobile phones and school didn't ring the landline, instead they rung my mum who lives quite a distance away and her partner is considered extremely vulnerable.

She tried my landline, but I was on the phone. Texted my eldest, who luckily was about to get the bus home by that time, he went to the office and they panicked. But they rang my landline.

DS2's school were quite relaxed, although he'd been seated in another area away from everyone else and was eating biscuits - although I did warn the other parents on our year what's ap.

DS1's school were not, we picked him up in a sort of tented area with someone wearing a hazmat type helmet. Which was really surreal.

DS2 was luckily negative at that time, although DS1 has antibodies.

Daisy829 · 17/02/2021 19:39

@CanIGoHomeNowPleaseLove this. I can’t wait until we can go around face licking again 🤣

Iwantacookie · 17/02/2021 19:40

I had a cute one about ds2 in about year 1/2
Just phoning to let you know hes bumped his head in the playground with a girl in the year below. Hes very upset not because hes hurt but because hes hurt the girl. Had a massive egg on his head when I picked him up too so must of been a clonk.

splishsplashsploshs · 17/02/2021 19:41

"You may have seen the fire at X on the news. We were not in - or near - the building"

sueelleker · 17/02/2021 19:42

@Bettyboop3

I had a call from the school to inform me my dd was pregnant. She wasn't!
Did they ever explain why they thought this?
MondeoFan · 17/02/2021 19:43

I had a call to ask why my DD wasn't in school. She was I found out and I was fuming with this massive safeguarding breach. She went to school at 9am and it was 11.05 am before I got the call. So they didn't notice for 2 hours that she wasn't there even though she was

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