To be a bit peeved with the school's last-minute attitude.

[AutumnSummers]

The last 2 non-unifirm days were for Children In Need and Sports Relief. We got letters about both only 2 days before and both were very specific about what they were to wear. Each cost £1

The one for Children In Need was a pyjama day so I had 2 days to get her a pair of jammies that would do her for being outside in November and the Sports Relief one was to wear red. I looked but she has all pink / purple / white or black stuff and no red so ended up going in with a fancy dress Santa outfit over black leggings and a black t-shirt. She looked lovely though and had a great time playing dress-up for school (She's only 5)

We've only had a matter of days on notice for other things too, like photos and the book fairs.

Yesterday though, they sent the kids home with a timetable for every holiday for the 2012/13 school year!!

How can they be so organised in one sense and so last-mionute with other things?

WIBU to have a word about this? It isn't always easy to come up with money on the spot like that. DD almost missed being able to get a book from the book fair 2 weeks ago. I had to borrow some just so she could get it.

YANBU but good luck with having a word. IME pretty much all schools are like this - I often get a heartsink when they come out telling me about the latest thing with virtually no notice - oh and I definitely wouldn't have worried about the book fair - they are there to make the school money - if you can't afford it, then swerve it

YANBU our school is the same

YANBU to have a word, they shudo give more notice for things, especially things like sport relief that are known about well in advance.

The holidays are set by the local authority, not the school.

I know that the school don't set the holidays. I'm just making the point that they can give letter sout for stuff that doesn't matter until at least August but are slow with everything else.

See if they'd just give me a week notice, I would be fine. But 2 days for everything is taking the piss. On her first day at school she came home with the order form for photos. I'll remember that for next year!

Yanbu my sons school is the same he had just came home with a letter telling us what they have to wear on Thursday. It's not easy finding the time to run out and get things at the last minute

Exactly the same here. Why can't they sort out their admin?!

I've dealt with this for 11 years of primary school now and on the one hand I get frustrated by the short notice, but equally, if you give some parents more notice and they'll really go to town in a very over the top way and you'll just feel inadequate or spend far more time and money on an outfit than you should do.

Once you've been through a school year once, you'll know what to expect, plus there will be major dressing up days for various years - we have Egyptian in Year 3, WWII in year 6 and Tudors in year 5. There are costumes doing the rounds in school.

So red for Sports Relief in two years' time, and most likely pyjamas or spots for Children in Need next year.

I've learned to keep some cash so that when I get a letter the day before an event for mufty at a cost I can make sure my children can join in

Yes, the way this goes is that the school, having a few other things to think of, doesn't organise anything for Sport Relief or Red Nose Day. Then about a week before the day, a parent (who has a wonderful costume/all red clothes already organised) waylays a teacher and says 'Aren't you doing anything for Sport Relief, then'. The teacher mentions this at the next staff meeting, which is probably not till a couple of days beforeThe Day and the head says 'oh, maybe we ought to do something, what do you think, how about £1 to wear red'.

What you need to do is get the organised parent to speak to the teacher a bit earlier.....

Or rugby tackle the organised parent to ground and gag her

Fuzzy

Rusty isn't far wrong though!

But any old jimjams would've done. You just wear them over trousers.

Rusty's scenario is so true.

God yes, drives me mad. I don't get a letter even, just the children get told and expected to pass on the details. Bit hit and miss that, in Reception.

I can live with the short notice for costumes (though I'm not happy to be picking DD up at 6, going home, putting a wash on to get enough sodding red clothes and staying up to dry them) but it really pisses me off when the give one day's notice for events parents are expected to attend. It just means DD misses out.

YANBU, but I think we just have to stop running around!

Once, when DS1 was younger and he was in after school club cos we both worked, we got a letter at 6pm the night before asking for 'fruit kebabs of melon, pineapple and strawberries' for the party. So I sent a letter back saying 'you need to give more notice' and wrapped it round a tin of pineapple chunks.

I am a SAHM now so in theory have more flexibility to enable me to fanny about ruining my life trying to source obscure costumes, but I consider my obstinacy on this to be a matter of principle because I think schools are shit at this.

I send mine in whatever we have available.

DD brought home a note today for everyone to dress up as a superhero or wear backwards clothes on Friday.

I moaned about it as usual and then she told me it was her idea at school council!

And she has to make a model of the Titanic for Friday....

Rubbish that it's last minute , def have a word. I do think dress down days are ok but I completely disagree with Pyjama days at school.

Society is complaining of people going to the supermarket in their PJ's. Why would it ever be acceptable to go to school in them?????We spend time educting our kids about appropriate attire and the education dept sugeest wearing PJ's to school!!! It's beyond me.

The only reason I had notice about our kids Victorian day this Wednesday was because they asked the PTFA committee to pay for something during it, it was a good thing I told as many parents as I could in advance, because the letter confirming the date and the need for costume came out last Tuesday, 8 days before the main event, but they had organised an additional event (Victorian market) for last Thursday giving parents only 2 days to sort something! Also had Sport Relief day today-were told about this on Friday, wear something to represent a sport, I think most boys went in soccer kit! By the way, I now have boys costumes for Tudor, Victorians, WWII, Egyptians, Vikings and any number of bits and pieces for book days/charity days etc. Thank god they go to High school in September, and a lot of this will stop!!

Many of the last minute things come from the children. We, as teachers, agree to do them.

Pyjama days are just a bit of fun! The children think it's hilarious.

YANBU, this drives me potty too. My dd was quite upset last week because I couldn't go on a school trip with her because it was too short notice to arrange time off work.

We have parents evening this week, the forms got sent out weeks ago, I filled it in and sent it straight back the next day requesting a time when I am normally not working. I had to go into the office though finally after chasing it up to check what time I had actually got in case I needed to re-arrange work. They just said that will text us all later in the week, I pushed her that I needed to know for work and eventually she got out the list that was ready all along and looked it up.

DD2's primary school are not so bad about giving notice for non - uniform days etc but are really bad about giving notice for the school choir events -they are, by all reports, excellent and have won loads of awards etc, but in the 18months or so that they have been together, I have never seen her in any out of school event as I work shifts and the school have been so last minute about letting parents know the arrangements. In the last couple of weeks, we have had our yearly parents (anonymous) survey, so I put this complaint on in the comments and lo and behold, the very next day, we got a letter informing us of a choir evening event with about 5 days notice- FFS! DD2 also gets upset when I can't go :(

I really despair that they took no notice of my concerns and would move my daughter to the prep part of DD1's private school, in a heartbeat, because of this and other ( educational) concerns but stupid OH would not agree ( a whole other thread!) - I've just resigned myself to never seeing her sing with her primary school now and roll on Sept 2013 when she will be moving to Y7.

I never pay on bog-standard mufti days, and avoid costumes likes the plague. Luckily son no.1 hates dress up so is usually v happy to go in in uniform. Can't abide no notice stuff and refuse to capitulate.

Let you into a secret - If you send her in pink instead of red no one will care, paying your pound is the more important part. As a teacher I couldn't give a stuff what kids where on these sort of days, and I don't care if a few choose not to take part. I have also never ever heard another member of staff moan about children dressed 'incorrectly'. If you just throw on whatever you have to hand, no one is going to be that bothered!