To think that it is the job of the lunchtime supervisors to clean the lunch hall, not year 6 pupils?

[tulpe]

DS came home from school today telling me that there has been a new rule implemented for lunchtimes. Apparently, each week two year 6 pupils will sweep and clean the floor of the hall at the end of lunchtime. Poor DS was almost sick after being one of the 2 chosen for this week.

I find it appalling actually, tbh. Not because I think "oh precious DS shouldn't be clearing up" but because it is hardly fair to expect 2 children to clean up after 100 children have eaten.

AIBU to think that this is a job for the lunchtime supervisors and not two 10/11 year old children?

AIBU to tell the headmistress that DS will not be doing this job this week nor for the remainder of his time in the school?

"I wouldn't have a problem with them cleaning up at all at school after craft and such things. But food? "

I really understand you even less no. What is so different about cleaning food? You say they have been asked to stay after lunch to sweep the floor, they will not be touching other people's food are they?

Expat do you think that posting on AIBU means that you should just accept people piling on you?

Our year 6 kids do this & love it - they get to use the big brush and zoom around with it, and they put the chairs away too, so they are probably burning up as much energy as if they were outside anyway, especially if it's not Year 6's day for football.

In the last year of primary (50 years ago)my brother and his class had to break the ice on the outside toilets in the winter, and break up lumps of coal with a coal hammer and lay the classroom fires - and the fire in the headmaster's house. I was bitterly disappointed that by the time I got to that age they had installed central heating and inside toilets....

what about allergies etc? its not a job for a child, it really isn't

wonder what ofsted would say

But now, as your son is no longer part of the cleaning rota, all the other kids will be clearing up after him and he won't reciprocate?

We did it at my school, and fought to do it, it made us feel responsible, like adults, and we were proud that we were trusted enough.

Jeeeeez.

'No wonder we have so many fat figgerty kids at state primaries when the heads think teaching them to sweep up is more impoortant that burning energy so they can concerntrate in the afternoon and burn off what they've just eaten.'

A better idea imo would be what my school did: to send staff patrolling round the school to make sure that every single pupil who has not got a chore to do is actually outside, regardless of weather. Instead, schools are happy to let the children stay indoors every time the weather is even mildly inclement, parents don't send their children in in suitable outdoors clothes in the first place, choir practice and computer club take place in the lunch hour- and children go home to slump in front of the TV.

Sweeping the floor of the hall is far better exercise than being at computer club or just standing around in the playground, for that matter. As expat points out, cleaning burns calories! I would be very happy for my ds to burn calories in this way. But I am not happy for him to be sat in the classroom doing nothing every time there is frost on the ground/snow/a drizzle.

"heads think teaching them to sweep up is more impoortant that burning energy"

So houswork is really like being inactive then? I beg to differ.

"what about allergies etc"

Surely that would be a special circumstance that would make a child uneligible for the chore if parents gave it as a reason but not letting anyone do it because someone might be allergic to something? really?. As well surely if you are allergig to a food it is when you touch it/eat it not when you push it arround with a broom or am I missing something?

i don't dispute that some children like cleaning and all rush to pick up the broom, i've seen it myself, but the op says this is a school rule which isnt' giving the child a choice at all is it?

Did I miss the explanation as to why the child was or nearly was sick?

I believe the OP is BU FWIW.

Our school is a similar size to yours, and funding is short in small schools. The lunchtime supervisors are only paid for 1 hour, and they divide clearing away and supervising the playground between them.
They always finish at least 10 minutes after they are paid to and can't claim overtime.
The whole yr 6 comes in just before the end of break to help finish clearing the hall, there just isn't time for it to get done otherwise.

I have no problem with this, but then I am very happy with the school. Mucking in is part of the ethos, and great for the children-the school has a fabulous 'big family' feel. It sounds like you have issues with the school generally and things like this may look different to me if I was unhappy with how things were being run.

"They always finish at least 10 minutes after they are paid to and can't claim overtime."

Ditto

YABVU
A bit of social responsibility will do him no harm.
FWIW, I work with 2 and 3 year golds and they are practically fighting to have the honour of helping to sweep the floor and wipe the tables.

gorion, I wasn't intending that to be a 'poor old dinner ladies' lament I know, it's the same and worse for many. They aren't slackers though, not clearing up because they are too lazy, there just isn't time.
Also, the hall is used directly after lunch every day (small school, mixed classes), so it needs to be ready.

southeastastra, but children don't have any choice about other school rules, some of which they may not like either. We all have to do things sometimes that we don't want to do.

I only mentioned that my Brownies liked it as I was just trying to make the point that for a lot of kids this isn't even a bad thing to be asked to do, but regardless of whether it is or it isn't, it's a rule, and it's not going to harm anybody, and it also is likely to teach them a bit of responsibility, and won't take up the whole lunchtime anyway unless they're messing about, so really, I don't see the issue.

I do think it's also setting a bit of a bad example for a parent to go in and say 'I/my DS don't/doesn't like this so he won't be doing it', and then have all the other kids clean up after the OP's DS.

D

I was not thinking they are slacking as I am one myself (lunchtime assistant, not slacker)I was agreeing to the fact that you never finish at the time stated on your contract, even without having to clean the floor. In our school TBH we do clean the tables but not the floor, the kitchen staff does it.

Gonna love it when the kid is asked to pick up a dropped wrapper or something they've dropped at lunchtime and snarls back that "it's your job"... hands up who else can see that one happening, and then the subsequent "OMG the head was so unreasonable telling my child off" post in a few months?

Aaaaaaah! Glad I defended you all now

you should take it up with the head, definitely not get the kids to do it

imoho i think children should have some time in their school day to have free choice play. it's only half an hour or so now isn't it?

picking up litter is a different matter entirely to cleaning an entire hall.

So by the OP's thinking, any mess her son makes at lunch shouldn't be cleared up by those who do take part in this exercise?

YAQDBVVU - one or two weeks over the school year will not do him any harm, and if he is almost physically sick at the thought of brushing the floor ... sorry but words just fail me.

"t's only half an hour or so now isn't it?"

Lunch time just over 1 hour here. TBH the older children take about 5/10 minutes max to eat and just go back outside. It obviously take much longer to the little ones as we do not push them to finish until the last 20 minutes of lunchtime so they can get at least a little time outside to play with their friends.

They're not actually cleaning the entire lunch hall though are they? They're sweeping up, which is a world apart from scrubbing and disinfecting etc.

Sorry southeastastra, this isn't directed specifically at you, as lots of people (including the OP) have described this as cleaning the lunch hall, and actually, it's just one 10 minute very harmless and 'non-dirty' part of keeping the place clean and tidy.

D

OP I too think you're being unreasonable. Beside the good points others have made, how is it going to affect your DS when you come along and get him out of things he doesn't want to do? I can't imagine shoving a broom round a room for a few minutes for a week would cause him any particular discomfort. How's it going to look to his pals that they all do it and he doesn't have to?

have to say I'm a little by the "they should be outside playing" thing.

Have you ever walked past a playground at lunchtime - and seen how many older the older children (YR5/6) are just sitting around chatting),

And what about lunchtime clubs?

DS1 goes to ICT club on Lunchtime a week.......definitely no running around there.

I think you are being ridiculously precious and over the top about this.

All children should be encouraged to take responsibility for their school and be included in looking after it. Of course, this will vary according to the age of the children, but asking Yr 6 children to sweep the floor or wipe tables after lunch seems entirely reasonable to me.

By the way you are behaving you are basically saying to him that the school rules don't apply to him. Not an good example to set, is it. I say this as someone who did something similar earlier this year and was rightly rounded on by the force of mumsnet and made to see how silly I was being.

Am baffled to see quite so many YANBU opinions. Talk of "child labour" and the like. Good grief!

YABU, OP. A school is a community. Communities work best when everyone pitches in. Most of us don't do enough of that, imo.

Does you ds know you've talked to the head? because that, imo, is sending a pretty poor message and horribly undermining the school. You're telling him that whenever he's asked to do something he doesn't really like, Mummy will come and sort those idiots out for him.

There are times as parents when we need to stand up for our DCs and undermining the school is perfectly justifiable - necessary in fact. But not for nonsense like this.

You're in danger of sounding just like seeker's BIL.

at DS3's nursery the children are encouraged to help clear the snack table when it's time to tidy it up.......

I think it's fab.