Pupil answering school phone?

[potentialdogowner]

Just called a primary school to book onto an open day for new reception starters (website said to call to book), and was greeted with a ‘hello?’ So I explained why I was calling, and they said something like ‘sorry I’m a pupil I’ll get a teacher for you’. Then they hung up so I called back, and this time they took my number and said they’d find a teacher.

That was 10 mins ago and I have no clue if this is normal?! Something schools do to get pupils to build confidence on the phone? But surely they should have a member of staff with them too, as I could have been anyone or said anything to them. I also had no idea I was speaking to a child when I started explaining the reason for my call which I don’t think is good either. Doesn’t give a good first impression of the school…

You’ve just unlocked a memory of being on phone duty!
In year 6 when the receptionist went on her lunch two year 6s would be chosen to cover for her 🤣 this was around 2006

I worked on a primary school reception and my lunch was covered by year 6. They would answer the phone and take messages. It was good for them and it meant I got a lunch break!

I've never heard of this and it sounds like absolute madness. So many safeguarding concerns.

We used to do this at middle school in the late 90s - "office duty" was a MASSIVE novelty and it got you out of lessons!

We used to have telephone duty for Y6 when I was at school. It was a different time. Which is to say the same amount or more terrible things happened than now, but adults pretended they didn’t happen, so people imagine it was safer. But we were trained to answer properly with the name of the school; this sounds more like a pupil just happened to be in in the office and wanted to make the ringing stop.

I know several schools where this is completely the norm. The children take messages and staff will call you back once they have finished their lunches. It's especially common in smaller schools where there aren't multiple members of staff available to cover the phones at lunchtime.

I remember mine doing phone duty at primary school, they are in their twenties now.

It will be lunch cover. Both my kids did it in their time.

If you ring the same school now (I’m a governor there) they’ve got a really lovely message that’s played when it answers directing you to different options, read by one of the older pupils.

We also did “phones” in year 6 at primary school. I’m surprised that so many also did because DH thought it was so weird!

Wow I had never heard of this before! I did get a call back in the end. And lunch cover makes sense I guess… Just a bit strange if you’ve not heard of it before!

Was it School Bully from Ripping Yarns?

My job involves calling primary schools on a daily basis. It’s not uncommon for pupils to answer the telephone. It’s the ones with recordings of the school choir or pupils reciting poems as their ‘hold’ music that are particularly memorable.

I remember this. They used to say 'This is xxxx school, child speaking' and take a message.

I was the one on phone duty in my small rural primary school many years ago. The phone was shared with the headteachers house so if it was for the headteachers wife I had to transfer it through to her. I felt very important!