School events during the day

[gallifrey]

My dd's school is terrible for this, every term there is a class assembly that we are all expected to go to. They have a celebration afternoon where we have to go an look at their work. I don't work so I try to go to everything. The one thing I didn't go to my dd remembers to this day!
One time one of my dd's friends burst into tears because her Mum wasn't there :(
Now we have to go to a picnic lunch before sports day, so again there will be lots of children whose parents work that will be feeling left out.
And got a letter today about a celebration afternoon and cream tea that we are invited to.

I have a younger dd who is 2 and quite naughty and on several occasions the letters have said no younger siblings to attend due to H&S!

Honestly I think that school assume that no parents work during the day!

Have stuff in the day, working parents complain.
Have things in the evening, parents complain.

Good - vary the times so that not everyone is complaining all the time.

Weekends? over half won't show.

unless it's summer/Christmas fairs only.

My ds1 has sports day, Xmas play and parents evening. Other than the very odd something else, that 's it.

We are lucky in that we can pretty much attend everything. My work are really flexible with booking a few hours off ad-hoc and df is the manager at his work, hence he draws up the rotas and can work whatever he likes.

That does sound like a lot, apart from parents' "evenings" which they have in the afternoon and school closes early, ours only have nativity, sports day and meet the teacher. we don't have all these extra things and younger siblings can come. No assemblies that parents are invited to, except one for P.7's who are leaving.

No matter what time they have them, it wont suit everybody because i know quite a few parents who work shifts and so a lot of their eveings are tied up.

I am a teacher, so don't get to a lot of these- although DH can take time off sometimes- we have no local family.

When the children I teach don't have someone to watch them at school events, they can be a bit glum, so I just point out that I cant be with my children as I am working, and that their parents would have tried to get there, but cant be at everything.

Well I work but kids go to school in the day. Think school should make effort to do shows at 9am so you can just go to work a bit late but other than that not sure what answer could be...

How would teachers get the children ready for a 9am start? My DCs school does 10am start and it takes them from 8.45am when school doors open to get everyone ready and the hall ready for the audience.
They have to do the registers and get them toileted and organised, costumes on (which must take ages with 30 wriggley little bodies) and even asking parents to send them to school ready dressed is a recipe for disaster with missing bits, parents forgetting, undressing to go to the toilet.,etc. If the space is being used first (we have breakfast club in there as there is no other suitable and available space) and so the caretaker and volunteers have to set all the chairs out, re-set the props, backdrop and music arrangements.

Our school assemblies and masses are always a 9am start and I can usually get a later start with notice (it's the last minute things that are tricky!0