to be annoyed at school for giving DS 'a mark' if we have walked to school and him feeling bad if he gets a dot

[majorydoors]

DS is in reception and has said he gets another mark (other than register) if he has walked to school. He told me today he got a dot and said it as if it was a bad thing (we used the car this AM)

I asked him why they are doing these marks and he said it is 'because of exercise'. I dont know how this has been put across to the children but DS seems to think it is bad if we use the car to go partway, as I do if I am going somewhere instead of doubling back to collect it.

So I said to DS if anyone asks you explain what exercise you do, and that he wasnt in any sort of trouble.

The school have not informed us that this data is being collected. They did write home about the measuring height and weight last week, is it related?

I feel a annoyed as if I want to use my car to goto shops/gym/work I bloody well will and not have DS feel its wrong. We are an active family and feel like shoving this in their faces - or on their chart!

Is it 'Walk to School' week? I think there is a class chart where the children put a sticker against their name if they walk to school. It's only to encourage more parents to leave the car at home if possible. Most children enjoy walking or scootering part way if that's an option. Nothing to get cross about though!

That sounds odd I would check with the school before getting too annoyed it's possible he has misunderstood.

Oh yeah - walk to school week? Park the car a street away from school and walk in - sorted

My son does this at school.

If you can walk one day why not every day.?

My sone school gives out awards for walking to school or biking it.

Argh why doesnt our school do this! I walk every bloody day where is my recognition

"If you can walk one day why not every day.?"

here's why.

"DS seems to think it is bad if we use the car to go partway, as I do if I am going somewhere instead of doubling back to collect it"

Never heard of walk to school week I will of course ask. It is fair to say DS can be fussy about things being as they should be about that as well.

Good I can walk most days but not everyday, I need to get to places on certain days, its not practical to leave car at home, and I dont think DS shold feel bad about this.

I know its not really enough to be annoyed about.

It is pester power to persuade lazy adults to walk more.

Also used to encourage recycling.

I'd laugh about it and turn it into a joke. He is only in reception. You have years of it to come.........

"Why don't we buy fairtrade?"

"Eeeewww. Non-organic."

"Oh my god, we really should recycle everything"

We don t live very far from school, the route walked is nothing compared to physical activity we do elsewhere - why cant they ask us about that my car use might make us look like the slobs on paper when we not

Swimming
Football
Park (play swings etc)
Park for walks
Park for bikes - well soon when its warmer.

If its a matter of health point then I want marks for what I put in his packed lunch every day as opposed to them letting him have potatos and meat and no veg despite what I wrote down when he had dinners

grrrrrr teeth baring grrrrrrr

No it's not related to the measuring height and weight, it's probably something to do with their School Travel Plan. Schools have a statutory duty to promote sustainable transport in order to tackle a) the obesity epidemic and b) emissions and c) congestion and d) road safety for pupils and they do this in a number of ways, the main one in primary schools, being to encourage children to walk to school. They do various sticker or mark schemes to incentivise children to get their parents to walk.

The reason they do this is because:

1. It reduces congestion outside the school and makes it safer for all children to go to school. Where there are fewer cars on the road, more children go to school on their own, enhancing their self-confidence and self-esteem.

1. It gives children an opportunity to have a little bit of exercise before school. Research shows that children who walk or cycle or scoot to school, are more alert, concentrate better and are better behaved, than if they are driven. They are also less likely to be overweight.

1. It reduces emissions.

1. It teaches children to expect not to be lazy. Many people use their cars when they just don't need to and they're teaching their children to assume the normal mode of transport, even for short journeys, is a car.

1. It teaches children road safety skills - a child who walks with his/ her parent, is an active pedestrian rather than a passive passenger and will have a better oppportunity to pick up road safety skills.

1. It gives children an opportunity to start their day calmly, talking to their parent or carer before school. A parent who is driving, is listening to John Humphries/ Chris Evans/ ANOther, looking out for parking spaces, making sure they don't kill pedestrians, concentrating on driving and possibly feeling a bit stressed, which the chidl picks up on. A parent who is walking, is relaxed and more likely to interact with their child.

1. It improves the school's relationships with the local community because the school users are not blocking roads up with their cars.

1. It teaches children basic citizenship skills like being a responsible pedestrian - learning consideration for other pedestrians, not running into old ladies, not biting dogs, etc. Skills they don't learn if they are passive passengers.

If your school hasn't told you all this, they're not doing a very good job of promoting their travel plan. They should have told you all about this, they need parent's buy-in, to co-operate with them viz sustainable travel.

HTH

fucking primary schools make me want to punch fairies i swear to god.

if its not about how much money they can legally rob off you its announcing that you have to do a fucking project of magnificent proportions overnight or you have to sew a costume for world bastard book day.

from interfering in lunchboxes becuase the minority of ill educated twat for brains parents give their kids a packet of monster much alone and nowt else - suddently a national inititive to parent by proxy through schools telling us how to eat healthily and banning a penguin from the luinch box - tossers.

to initiatives like this pile of wank.

and i would go to school and tell them so

i would also tell them that if my son continued to feel like his was undervalued in ANY FUCKING WAY becuase he was driven to school that morning, that you will tell the newspapers, make a formal complaint, go to the governers,

what about those who drop their kids off and then have to go to work

if they want your kid to excersize - they have a mandate through pe

the kid then gets three break times -i bet hes running round like a nutter most of it.

then tell them if you consider that your child needs more excersise than he currently gets BECUASE THEY DONT I PRESUME HAVE A LIST OF ANY EXTRA CURRICULAR activity that he may go to? even if he doesn't they dont know that - tell them that it IS YOUR JOB as a parent to oversee this

and you will not allow primary school teachers to bully your child

Yes trys to adopt casual not bothered poise

Loving your names lurker and mofo

I guess I just dont want us misrepresented or DS bothered by it as he has been - whining 'no mummy no mummy we are walking' when I have to get to the doctors or meet a friend.

I am not lazy, I just dont want to use my time to dovetail into the start and finish of the school day and quite frankly they should be ashamed using pester power to dictate this.

We pay for and use our gym very well thanks.

custardo - Punch fairies . God I know that feeling

applauds custardo.

as i have said elsewhere, schools are not on my faves list.

op, do go in a find out why and what they are feckin on about. I hate how these kids get made to feel inadequet. It stinks.

Well the number of gyms in the UK has grown massively in the last 30 years.

And people have got fatter and fatter

Active lifestyles aren't about hiving off exercise into one building for one hour a day, it's about doing things actively.

Schools don't have any choice about this. It's a statutory duty to promote sustainable travel. They are well aware that some people have to go on to work and some people live too far away to walk and they factor that into their predictions of how many people they can persuade not to take the car.

Many people don't take the car because they are going on elsewhere or because they live too far away to walk, they take it because they are lazy philistines.

Herbex thats very useful thanks, no I didnt know any of this. I agree with it all except #4.

custardo yes there is much I can realte to in their too

Maybe I should keep my own chart of how many marks he has from lunchtime play session (thats another story)

bluddy I am narked because DS feels he was in wrong/trouble until I explained you get enough exercise from doing x y z so you dont have to worry if mummy goes to work on that day etc.

This is common in year 1. It isn't worth getting upset about. It is hardly data being collected for a bad thing.

So YABU.

Honestly you would be astonished.

I regularly go to schools where someone lives literally a 5 or6 minute walk away and they take their car to school. And then drive home again. If they were going on to their friend's, or teh gym, or the supermarket, or work, fair enough... but to drive it home again!

It actually sometimes takes longer because of the congestion and the lack of parking. And then they all swear at each other. And then they start swearing at the HT

Tell him you are driving further away from school so that he walks extra far and really earn his point

I don't think the OP is being unreasonable, because I think the school should have told her about this and engaged with her in the process.

It's not a bad thing to want kids to walk to school. It is a bad thing to have a scheme which excludes some kids through no fault of their own and doesn't actually tell the parents anything about what the school is trying to achieve, or how they can join in with it.

And don't get me started on Healthy Schools...