to think schools should know where their pupils are?

[stickeywicket]

tried to drop off son's (year 8) lunch today that he had forgotten. Receptionist said she would 'do her best to get it to him - we do have 1500 pupils here.' What?? Surely they all they need to do is look at their timetable and know where he is that way. I wouldn't have minded but her manner was so passive/aggressive. She just kept repeating in a very stressed angry way 'we'll do our best'. I left it at that as my son has just started there and he'd die if he thought I was making any kind of fuss. Should I take it up with the head?

But short of getting someone to take the lunch over, there is little other way. As a teacher you don't have a phone in your classroom on the whole, nor is email a standard method of communicating time important issues. So by saying she would do her best that is all she can promise.

What we don't know is what attitude the op was giving.

Because they've got to LEARN, Jenai.

Quite what, I don't know. Perhaps that adults are illogical and life is much easier for them?

Oh, I don't think taking the lunch in is unreasonable. But I think I'd do it in a way which suggested it was my or my child's fault for forgetting it and be very grateful for any help given

Children in school can then get a credit for the school cafeteria.

Orm, no, because the pupil is a child so inevitably the customer is going to be pupil+family.

I would add that schools are damn keen for parents to play their part and help with homework, make sure uniform is correct, etc etc etc, it's all about schools and home working together, so be polite about it.

You mean he doesn't always carry - or have in his locker - enough money to buy a single school lunch in an emergency?

Just send him in with that tomorrow morning - either in a pocket in his bag, or in an envelope to put in his locker. His responsibility to keep it there, and to ensure it is replaced if used. He's 12 / 13 for goodness sake!

Hmm.

Many large secondaries do not have internal electronic communication; there would probably be departmental telephones, but these would often only be checked at break/lunch for any messages. After the receptionist has found the child's timetable on their system - some sort of note will probably have to be taken by someone to the classroom to inform the child that the lunch can be collected at Reception.

The receptionist may also have to check for any room changes (class being covered, pupils using an IT room, for instance). 1500 pupils would mean a fairly large school site - maybe quite a few flights of stairs, too.

Whilst I agree that staff should be friendly and welcoming, please don't be too harsh unless you've actually worked in this sort of environment. By the time the staff have taken their sixteenth PE kit, third ingredients for Home Economics, twentieth forgotten homework and sixtieth packed lunch that morning... Ok, I exaggerate, but you get the picture.

It's only a hop, skip and a jump away from the parents who do not bother to report their child's absence - because they know that the school will evetually call THEM - and that is not an exaggeration.

At our primary school they actually had to threaten to refuse to take packed lunches in to the office after the start of school because so many parents were using this an excuse not to bother with getting ready on time. There's be a steady stream of lunch boxes being left in reception with post-it notes on them for various classes.

Embarrassing really as that very day DS2 forgot his for the first time ever

I work in a school, and that's only got a fraction of the number of pupils of the OPs school.
Our receptionist is a bloody marvel, helpful and puts herself out. But she is only human and may leak a little stress if a parent shows little recognition of what her job entails and the fact that she is there to help all the pupils, all the parents and all the staff.

I am of course working on the assumption that the OP was indeed polite too.

OP?

I often hear certain teachers saying to new year 7s "you're at big school now". Maybe they should start telling the parents too...

YABVU.

I am secondary school receptionist. We are not there to baby them.

You would not believe how many forgotten keys, lunches, or kits and dinner money are brought it,

And sometimes the pupils may be on a collapsed timetable for the day and not in their usual rooms - imagine what it is like for us then!

I think HelloShitty's post says it all for me - thank you!

I was verbally abused on Monday by the brother of a pupil. Mum came into school that morning to say she had told x to be in main reception at 1.50 after signing out as he had an orthodontist appt and she would collect him. (This boy is YR10 btw).

The brother came in at 1.40 and said mum was running late and he had come instead to collect his brother. I emailed the form tutor to say the brother was in reception and to send x down as soon as. After a few mins the brother started effing and jeffing at me said it was not good enough that I didn't get out of my seat and go and find his brother and it would be my effing fault that they were going to be late. He went on and an swearing - I had to ring someone as he really frightened me - he then carried on abusing the male member of staff that came to my aid. Needless to say the pupil appeared at exactly the correct time he should have done.

We do our best and if it is not good enough for you then you need to install some level of responsibility into your own DC.

YABU the receptionist wasn't rude she told you she would do her best.

I can imagine the conversation dep head to receptionist... Mrs sw nabbed me about bobby dinner... What's her problem? Sec.. Don't know it was passed in at x o'clock and he collected it. Dep.. She's one to watch!

what else are the staff there for was rather unfortunate though

Good lord I would never DREAM of taking in my ds (Y8) pack lunch. If he forgets then it's (a) tough and (b) he should always have at least a couple of quid for emergencies and if he's spent that it's also tough and (c) most schools have a canteen credit system for occasions like this anyway.

Presonally, I'd rather the receptionist was on reception duty than chasing round the school with a trolley load of forgotten lunches/pe kits/homework books.

Am totally with the receptionist on this one

We have a parent that comes in every week with her twin boys cooking ingredients (they are YR10) - they can bloody carry it themselves. She did come in every day with their pack ups - I complained to the Head of Year as it was getting ridiculous.

My son last year in yr9 on a Thursday had to take on the bus - his bag, his hard case with a guitar, pe kit and cookery stuff. He had to get on with it.

You would not believe how many forgotten keys, lunches, or kits and dinner money are brought it

On a site of, say 1500 employees I imagine several will have forgotten their lunch or their keys on any given day. Add to that the fact that secondary school pupils have a lot of stuff to bring in each day (more than your average office worker for example), I find it perfectly believeable that a fair amount gets brought in later by a parent.

Like I said upthread, pupils don't generally have the option of nipping home in their lunchbreak.

Scarily, these boys are the husbands of the future! Will their wives be following them around with their packed lunches and meeting agenda?

Although if they are able to use a canteen credit then it seems a bit daft to drop their sarnies off.

I doubt they're all boys, manic.

No - just most of them.

You know these will be the ones that can't work a washing machine or manage to find their socks.

I blame the mothers

Jenai, is swooping in with the packed lunch really the only solution you can think of to this situation?

The 12/13 year old is capable of carrying emergency cash/cadging some lunch off his mates/borrowing some money from someone/getting some lunch credit from the office. Or even lasting without lunch till the end of the day without dying.

None of this is the point.

If the Op was polite, she should have been met with politeness (however insincere).

You've hit it on the head, manic. Question to ask on first date: 'Did you mum ever turn up at secondary school with your packed lunch?'. If he answers 'yes' then run for the hills

I don't think that what the OP reports was exactly rude though hully.
I think saying she'd do her best in a passive-aggressive way was insincere politeness