Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2

AIBU?

AIBU - school didn't tell parents....

42 replies

Yankeecandlequeen · 22/10/2013 22:31

that an after school sporting event was cancelled? DD does sport after school, game cancelled, kids told at lunch time, they didn't tell any of the parents.

I waited to watch the game till 3:30, went over to see staff at school who confirmed "game on". decided to go home (2 miles away) to change and drive down again then in walked DD having caught the school bus.

Say I have planned to take the car to the garage whilst she participated (no other parents really stay to watch!) and she got home and I wasn't there. No mobile (strict no mobile policy in school) and no door key (she's 11 so no need for one as I am always home before her).

I've mailed the head to ask about their policy - or the lack of it!

Surely you'd like to be kept in the loop seeing they are their sole responsibility during the match?

OP posts:

Report

quoteunquote · 22/10/2013 23:42

Get a key safe put it out of sight, no danger of losing keys or being locked out.

shellbot · 23/10/2013 10:22

My DS was supposed to be helping out at a football match yesterday and I'd arranged with him to pick him up at 4pm. Because he wasn't told that it had been cancelled he didn't go for the school bus.

However reception phoned me to let me know that he was waiting to be picked up otherwise he'd have had to hang around for an hour.

He's got an old PAYG phone in his bag for emergencies as well which he's allowed but not in lessons.

shellbot · 23/10/2013 10:22

I mean not switched on in lessons.

noblegiraffe · 23/10/2013 10:29

No, I wouldn't expect the school to tell you either. If your DD knew, and knew it was a problem, she could go to the office and use their phone to call you, or she could go to a computer room and email you.

It would be a huge amount of work for staff to work out which kids were expected at the event, find out the parental contact details and then send out a message.

At secondary, the kids are expected to take responsibility for this sort of thing.

cory · 23/10/2013 11:15

At 11 my dc had keys. But if not (and ds is rather good at leaving his behind) I would expect him to use his initiative, push a note through the door and go off to a friend's, or ask the school to be allowed to phone/email me.

Our secondary have a rule that you can bring a mobile but have to hand it in to reception- this means you can contact parents at the end of the day but cannot disrupt classes with it.

tripadvisor · 23/10/2013 11:24

At DS' secondary, they tell the kids to text their parents if matches are cancelled. (despite the fact that phones are officially banned, they all have them but keep them turned off)
For general clubs and after school training it's up to the the DCs to choose whether to go or not, but if it's cancelled and parents are picking up later, anyone is welcome to go into the library/resource centre to study or play on the computers.
We don't usually watch matches at secondary either, which feels a bit wierd.

sashh · 23/10/2013 12:56

I'm confused were you in or out?

Was this a school event but not at the school?

Are you concerned that a parent might go out and a child arrive home and not be able to get in? What sort of parent would go out to do anything 20-30 mins before their child got home if the child didn't have a key?

There are so many things that could delay you form a car break down/heavy traffic to you just loosing track of time.

choccyp1g · 23/10/2013 13:21

The sort of parent who was going to meet their child !

StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 23/10/2013 13:28

we have a secret hidden key for those occasions when DS2 forgets his key.

Goldmandra · 23/10/2013 13:29

This is par for the course IME and you just need to make sure your DD can get in if she comes home unexpectedly.

Our catchment middle school is ten miles away and lots of parents work in the town a few miles in the opposite direction. When it snowed they closed the school and put the children, aged 9 to 12 on the school buses and send them home at the end of the morning.

I ended up with three taking shelter at mine because they came home to empty houses for which they didn't have keys.

TantrumsAndBalloons · 23/10/2013 13:40

I wouldn't expect my DCs secondary school to tell me, well tbh I already know that they do not.

No mobile rule- yes you officially cannot have them in some schools, not DCs thank god, but my dn switches his off and puts it at the bottom of his bag, they won't confiscate it if they can't see it.

All my DCs have keys even the 10 year old. He regularly gets home 20 minutes before the older 2.

I am surprised that you haven't give her keys, what if there is an emergency and you have to go out?

ilovesooty · 23/10/2013 13:44

I don't see what is stopping her calling from the school office. Secondary schools can't be expected to take responsibility for this kind of situation

Goldmandra · 23/10/2013 13:48

Secondary schools can't be expected to take responsibility for this kind of situation

I think they should probably make this clear to new parents. Ours certainly didn't.

bigbluebus · 23/10/2013 13:52

DSs school allow mobile phones but they have to be switched off and out of sight in bags during school time. They are allowed to use the phone in the office to ring parents if there is a good reason. However, school are pretty good at texting parents about events that are on and off - including things that are happening in 6th form - which surprised me as I thought they would give the responsibility to the students once they were that age. It may be because 70% of students come in on buses that the school are so good at this, as many students would be stuck due to the rural nature of the catchment area if plans were changed at short notice.
However, OP, as others have said, I would give your DD a key for emergencies and tell her to ring you about changed plans when she gets home, if you are not in.

ilovesooty · 23/10/2013 13:55

I would have thought new parents should have sufficient common sense to realise that communication would be different in a much bigger school. Surely they would see that expecting the status quo to apply would not be realistic?

Goldmandra · 23/10/2013 14:01

I would have thought new parents should have sufficient common sense to realise that communication would be different in a much bigger school. Surely they would see that expecting the status quo to apply would not be realistic?

They would have to think it through properly to realise that. Not everybody will. The parents whose 9 YOs I took in from the snow hadn't.

There are lots of things that schools need to explain to new parents which they would realise by themselves if they took the time to think it through properly e.g. we can't spend all day walking to classrooms giving messages to children from their parents.

ilovesooty · 23/10/2013 16:41

I agree Goldmandra:

Flip

1 2

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.