Anyone else slightly stressing their kids starting secondary school?

[Soubriquet]

I am.

Dd has been given a bus pass, but we’ve got to drive her to the bus stop first cos that’s a 30-40 min walk away. She then has to get the 8am bus to get her there for 8.30. Registration is 8.40 so not a lot of time if there is traffic. Oh the reverse, the ONLY bus back is at 15.20. Lessons end at 15.15.

Again not a whole lot of time.

So yeah I’m stressing badly over it

Yep stressed to the hilt here but trying to keep a lid on it.

We've done a few practice runs (he has to use the Tube), we have his Oyster and he knows how to use it. Also as his own set of doorways now.

I'll drop and collect first few days - as he has asked me to.

Although he's woken up with D&V today. First day is Thursday so my main stress is if he'll be well by then??? 😓

Is this a school bus or normal bus? Does she have any other alternatives to travel?

How far is the bus stop to the school? I'd be quite worried about the journey home to be honest.. five minutes is very tight especially if a lesson runs over by a minute or two

Do you live rurally? That's quite a journey

It sounds like a school with quite a few coming by bus. Generally they will be more relaxed if the bus itself is late than if you had driven her in. They will know that everyone else on the Farville town was late.

Make sure she stays on the right side of her last lesson teachers so they don't have a reason to keep her back. It might be worth looking into where the bus stops next so if you miss it at the first stop you can drop her at the next one.

You need a plan B if she isn’t able to get to the bus stop on time. I think that’s too tight, what if the teacher keep them back for a couple of mins or she chats to a friend or need to go to the loo.

It’s extremely tight isn’t it? I’m hoping the teachers are flexible when it comes to this particular bus as she isn’t the only one who needs to get it. She also won’t be able to do any after school detentions.

She has a phone which I’ll make sure is topped up, so if push comes to shove, we will go and get her.

It’s so frustrating. I mean, there are other busses but none of them stop where she needs to be. The nearest one would be a 10 min drive away which is ok as we will still pick her up from there, but not ideal. It sucks. I couldn’t get her into the two nearest schools, so I had to get her into one that’s half an hour away

What happens if your DC wants to go to an after school club or has a rehearsal or meeting after lessons?

Oh sorry I just saw you said she won't be able to do detentions so I assume won't be able to do any after school activities

Just to warn you a lot of schools won't care about bus times if a detention is given. They will expect you to pick them up after the detention or the child walks home.

Agree about detentions. Its not an ideal
Set up at all. My kids finish at 1500. On the occasions I pick them up they start to trickle out around 1510.

I doubt they will go against my dh regarding detentions. I know it sucks not to be on the schools side on things, but sometimes they have to accept it isn’t always possible and this will be one of them.

And no, she won’t be able to do any after school activities either which I’m also no happy about. I wish she could but I’ve tripled checked the bus times and it definitely doesn’t go after 3.20

The one in the square is the bus dd has to catch. As you can see, there are no more stopping at her stop, and according to Google, it’s a 42 minute walk to the next stop for the bus, along a busy main road. She’s 11!!!

"I doubt they will go against my dh regarding detentions. I know it sucks not to be on the schools side on things, but sometimes they have to accept it isn’t always possible and this will be one of them."

Who's your husband? Tyson Fury? 🤣🤣

You've a lot to learn OP, the school won't give a shit and only your daughter will suffer. Why will she be getting detentions? The onus is on her not to. Not behave badly then have her dad going in throwing his weight around.

If she gets detentions, then I expect her to have them during lunch time instead of after school. That’s the only change I will want

But the school won't care what you want. If she gets a detention after school she'll be expected to attend.

It doesn't matter what you expect. The school won't alter the system, you'll be expected to pick her up.

Then they can be responsible for getting her home.

My dh has contacts in with the education board which is why I’m pretty sure they won’t argue too much

🤣🤣🤣

Exactly. I presume this is your first child at secondary OP.

She will have to go through the next 5 years with no detention. (It's possible, my dd did)

😭😭😭

Oh dear op. I fear that you’re setting yourself and dd up for a tough 5 years here.

Surely the solution to the detention thing isn’t to assume they’ll pander to your DH, but for your child to not behave badly enough to get a detention? I never had a detention at school, surely it’s fairly easy (and entirely in your control) to get to the end of your school career without one?

"Then they can be responsible for getting her home.

My dh has contacts in with the education board which is why I’m pretty sure they won’t argue too much"

Pmsl 🤣

@Soubriquet any options for any in year transfers after a while? It seems like a very stressful tight schedule, and rather crappy with no clubs or after school activities.

Also, do you have a plan B? Buses break down, traffic , weather etc. .