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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wonder why school think I am psychic?

30 replies

overthinking · 10/07/2013 15:01

I work full time, so drop DDs at breakfast club at 0745. There is a notice board outside school but the HT doesn't update this until about 8am, so of course I don't see it.
I've just got a call from school to say DD's afternoon school club has been cancelled, and didn't I read the board this morning.
This happens several times a term, AIBU in wanting a text just to let me know. . .

OP posts:

Raum · 10/07/2013 15:06

Nope, most schools have a text based notification system and it takes them less time to send a text than to call one parent.

FryOneFatManic · 10/07/2013 15:10

I think you will need to go in and talk to them about this. Point out that at the time you drop your DD off, there are no updated notices on the board for you to see.

I agree a text would be useful. The school should be ensuring that the affected parents DO get the relevant messages.

After all, if I were a parent who used the afternoon club but didn't use the breakfast club, it would be unlikely that I'd have seen the notice either, so how are the school ensuring that parents have the messages? If the only way they have of letting parents know is a notice on the board, then that is insufficient.

TreesAndFlowers · 10/07/2013 15:13

DD's school don't require me to be psychic but do require me to have substantial reading-between-the-lines abilities.

So, for example, I get a text saying that Y2 children will be performing to Y1 children on Monday. Great think I and wonder why I have been told.

Turns out that Y2 children were performing on the violin and this was meant to be a prompt to bring in violins on Monday.

Cue - no Y2 children with violins and HT bleating ... "but we texted all your parents".

NutcrackerFairy · 10/07/2013 15:50

I have a child in nursery class and have also been finding that the school thinks parents are psychic.

Notice for various events are irregularly disseminated to parents at pick up and drop off. I find it really can depend which teacher is ushering the children in and out as to whether I get the relevant information or not. Usually if I am one of the first parents in the door I get the information. If I'm one of the latter stragglers the teacher will be distracted in conversation with one of the earlier parents and never says boo to me about forest school trip, cake sale or school photos.

The best was when I got a text at about 8pm the night before to say that DS's school photo session would be the following morning!

Luckily DS had clean and ironed uniform and had recently had his hair cut so was presentable... but it was a bit

Buzzardbird · 10/07/2013 15:55

I knew you were going to post this...

notso · 10/07/2013 16:10

DS1's junior school is terrible for this, and giving letters saying Tomorrow we are doing [insert difficult dress-up theme] day. Please support us by bringing your child in costume.
DD's secondary sends slightly menacing texts e.g. BE AWARE YOUR CHILD IS PARTICIPATING IN SPORTS DAY. I always feel like they are telling me she's doing something wrong!

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 10/07/2013 16:35

We had a notice in book bags about world book day the next day and please to send child in dressed as their favourite character.

So I'll just whip up a Winnie The Poo outfit tonight then? No problem.

MrsMelons · 10/07/2013 16:40

I almost missed parents evening as I was supposed to be psychic and realise that they had put notices up for us to sign up (unlike the other 5 parents evenings where we had letters).

I don't do drop off or pick up so had no idea - was pissed off as it was his last one at the school. Luckily someone mentioned it in passing on the night of!

Plomino · 10/07/2013 16:47

DS's high school does this all the time . They are changing to an academy , which means that at the moment you can't top up their dinner money account online , so they either have to take cash in , which we rarely have knocking about the house at 7am on a Monday morning , or write a cheque , which we don't use . Unfortunately instead of texting parents to let them know , they put it in the newsletter . Which is only available online , and which they then failed to let parents know it had been published .

So both DS's got to school only to find they had no lunch with them , and no means to buy any . As did about 300 other kids , so the school had to let them eat now , pay later . Most confusing . And annoying , particularly when they are able to send me texts for the most obscure reasons on other occasions .

MrsMangoBiscuit · 10/07/2013 16:54

DD's preschool decided to not tell anyone the theme of the float for the village festival, and then sent a note home in her bag the night before saying what she needed to be dressed in. Also asking if anyone could please arrive 3 and a half hours early to help build the float! Ha ha ha, not a chance, I'll be shopping for the bits we need for the costume!

noisytoys · 10/07/2013 16:58

DDs school have been really good and given weeks of notice for everything this year

Helenagrace · 10/07/2013 16:59

DS's school does this to us. I usually claim to be somewhere miles away and, as they clearly failed to give me notice, I couldn't possibly pick him up before the time I thought I was picking him up. An neither can anyone else pick him up with 5 minutes notice.

I'm hoping they'll eventually realise how poor my psychic abilities are and start informing parents appropriately.

I'm sure there'll be someone along in a minute to remind us that school isn't childcare and how we should all be waiting at home for school to call us because it's snowing/ too hot / teacher doesn't feel like running a club today...

ReallyTired · 10/07/2013 17:01

Schools don't just expect parents to be psychic, but have the ablity to be in more than one place at the same time. Parents are also required to produce money instantly without question and attend assemblies/ sports days/ parents evenings with limited notice.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 10/07/2013 17:05

Buzzard

RoooneyMara · 10/07/2013 17:10

Ours just don't bother at all, let alone late notice. They probably just think, 'ah, fuck it, it's too late anyway'

HoratiaNelson · 10/07/2013 17:11

School isn't childcare. You should all really just be waiting for their call to come and pick them up at 3 minutes notice. Why can't you make costumes, bake cakes and decorate floats at short notice? You don't have jobs do you? but seriously, my kids current school (there have been a few between them...) is actually pretty good at giving us the necessary info in time - they just insist on sending it by every medium possible! So I invariably get a text, email AND paper letter before any event...it is deeply irritating!

ReallyTired · 10/07/2013 17:56

This is what one of my friend had to do.

drop ds1 off at secondary for taster day at 8.30. Psychic powers required to know which part of the very large secondary school her ds needed to be. (Big fat cross if you choose the reception to leave your child._

race over the to the other side of town to drop ds2 off at primary for 8.40.
Return with dd for reception taster morning at 9.20am and pick up dd at 10.20.

take dd to afternoon nursery at 12.30
return to school for sports day at 1.30
leave school at 2.30pm

Simulanteously pick up all three children at 3.15pm

Schools are out to get parents. We had a new parents evening at 4.30pm. It was a nightmare for working parents and stay at home parents alike as we were expected to find childcare for siblings. (School assumes that families only ever have one child.)

Oblomov · 10/07/2013 18:05

I only have 2.
Dropping gff at school, dropping off at nursery, going to work.
Going back to nursery, picking up, to take to school visit. Dropping off. Back to work. picking up, dropping back to nursery. Back to work. Picking up, at nursery, picking up at school.= Dog tired.

paulapantsdown · 10/07/2013 18:05

Our school send a newsletter home once a month (which you can have emailed to you also if you like), which lists everything coming up in the following month re sports/dress ups/trips etc.

Takes 5 minutes to scribble it into my diary and is then thrown away.

This only started happening thought when a new secretary (and mother of 4) took over the admin!

paulapantsdown · 10/07/2013 18:06

We also get texts about any changes to clubs etc with plenty of notice.

It can't be that difficult to manage.

AudrinaAdare · 10/07/2013 18:21

at the menacing secondary texts. DDs school ones always give me a sense of unease too.

persimmon · 10/07/2013 18:37

I have this problem to some extent: DS is dropped off + collected by our CM and sometimes I have missed important notices on the classroom door. I now gently pester the school office and they keep me up to speed but it does annoy me a little that in 2013 it is still generally assumed that every parent will have daily physical contact with their child's school.

x2boys · 10/07/2013 18:51

last week I had sports day at 1.15 -2pm ds1 is in yr1 so I had to sit for an hour from 2-3pm watching ks2 do their sports day [ none of whom I know even vaguely] before I could pick up ds1, and then we had to sit around from 3pm -3-45 to attend a meeting about nursery which started at 3-45 as ds2 starts in September I just wish they could organise themselves better and understand that although I now only live 20 mins walk away from school I would have been walking up and down to home and back all afternoon If I had ,nt stayed at school!

x2boys · 10/07/2013 18:57

I also have this problem persimmon both my self and dh work shifts around each other so we are either generally swapping the kids in the carpark whilst one of us rushes of to work and then one of us rushes to pick ds1 up from school or my dad will do the pick up if we are both at work I,m always missing important notices pinned to classroom door!

freddiefrog · 10/07/2013 19:04

Yes, our school seems to think we're psychic too.

I got a phone call at 2pm today, asking why I hadn't dropped off a costume that DD needed for a dress rehearsal this afternoon.

What costume? What dress rehearsal? What performance?

Apparently, they've been working on a surprise play that they're going to perform at their leavers assembly

If its a surprise, how the fuck am I supposed to know she needed a costume? How am I supposed to know I was meant to drop it off at lunchtime and how can I possibly know what she actually needs?

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