To be annoyed that DS's school are insisting that they stay after school every Tuesday till 4 fir some sort of 'enrichment' programme?

[loopylou6]

I don't think its on tbh, for a start they send mist of their anyway, secondly he goes for tea at my mums on a Tuesday which he loves, and thirdly, its practically dark by then and he has to walk home.

Tpi I am not grumbling over child care, he is just not fussed on going, if he wanted to I wouldn't have a problem.

actually I said drama too. And I had said in previous post that DS1 loved his gran and could tea not be on a different day.

But I am happy to be painted as granny hating sexist git for the purposes of the thread

yes. lets hope OP and her DS just get what they both want without too much stress

Serendippy - he likes spending time with his Nan and is conscientious about picking his little sister up. Sounds lovely to me.

I don't see what impact it has on tea with his Gran? What time do they eat? Surely being an hour later is not a huge problem in the whole scheme of things and maybe Gran could walk to meet him halfway if you are concerned about the dark??

Sorry, yes the school are saying its compulsory and the activity is horrible history. S I overlooked your post. Sorry.

Ah, but I was not lovely, I did love spending time with my nan but part of it was the chocolate and staying up late to watch tv. Also was conscientious about picking up siblings but this was to avoid a bollocking.

Yanbu Loopy, Stick to your guns, they cannot force your DS to stay on after the school day is finished.

DD's teacher wanted her to stay on last year one day a week for a writing class. She did for a while but. I had other stuff to do and wasn't always convenient to get back to school for a second pick up.

So we stopped, teacher demanded to know why she wasn't coming anymore and dd was told she must attend every week no matter what.

She was only just 6 at the time!!

I suspect teacher was getting her arse kicked for poor writing skills in class as it was about half the class she wanted to stay on.

IMO if the school want to do extra skills/activities then should be done in the school day, They spend long enough there.

Well I loved spending time with my Nan and I'm lovely, ergo....

Sounds like a great idea to me. Sorry but if he's 11 I think he can cope with a 4pm finish. I have a 9yr old who finishes 4.15 at earliest. Can he visit granny on another evening if that is too late?

Rhinestone point taken

It's really up to you, isn't it; you either want him to have an enriched education, or you don't. It's simply a question of priorities. If my childrens' school offered this kind of thing, we'd be very pleased.

And I'm sure Pag is lovely too and adores all grannies everywhere!

No, Pag really is a granny hating sexist pig. She said we were allowed to call her that.

Thanks for the messages. I am leaving this thread now :)

Doesn't sound like you got much notice or choice in the matter. What would happen if you had already arranged outside activities for after school or extra tuition or things that you were paying for - would they let you off then?

And what would happen if you said that Tuesday was not suitable for you - but you would be perfectly happy for him to attend on weds or thurs instead?

I never had a granny.
That is sadly true and explains why I am a total cow. the whole sexist pig thing comes from somewhere else.

My mum is a great granny though. All my Dcs adore her. DD likes to go shopping with her and gooses her in the changing room

Why can't he just go and have tea with his granny at 4.30? It's hardly past tea time.

DS1 is in Y8 and finishes school at 4 every day. He still has tea when he comes home.

for pag

Oh Rhinestone, you total sweetie

Don't be sad. They both died before i was born so I don't know any different. And I had fab parents and 7 brothers and sisters. So plenty of family.

OP if you are still here, I think the school has no authority to make an activity compulsory if it occurs outside of normal school hours. I would contact the school and inform them that he will not be attending.
Ultimately it is up to you as this is your child and not the schools.

You don't have to explain or justify yourself to the school. As the activity is outside of school hours then it is none of their business.

Schools want parental support, but this should be a reciprocal arrangement. They are treating you like a child, expecting you to explain yourself and saying that your plans for your child must take second place to theirs whether you like it or not. I wouldn't accept this, and I speak as a former teacher who has had lots of experience of unsupportive parents.

OK! Just have a big soft spot for fab grannies - think every child should have one.

(I stress the fab ones - I had a fab one and a mildly toxic one so not blindly pro-granny).

"DS1 is in Y8 and finishes school at 4 every day. He still has tea when he comes home."

I suppose it means tha school hours means staying ubtil 4? It is quite different to OP's situation where school actually finishes at 3, time at which parents can decide or let their Dcs decide whether they want to spend an extra hour in school or not, non?

out of interest, op (if you;re still there) does your school do y6 SATs? (I can't remember if they're still compulsory). Because I would be a bit suspicious that this could be tied to SAT pressure - perhaps an over-emphasis on SATs is taking time away from the normal school day and they can't fit Horrible History (or other enriching stuff that should be part of the day) in and are feeling guilty. pure speculation on my part - and, if there's anything in it, where the blame lies is a whole other thread.

However I do feel that if they need this extra time then they should formally change school hours for y6. If it's something that would be "nice" and/or scomething short-term then they shouldn;t try to make it compulsory. the proposal from school sounds a bit messy.imho.