To think school isnt a childminding service

[Xcountry]

So many posts about schools closing half day for end of term and god forbid you have to be there for your child.
Teacher strikes so you have to be there for your child.
School holidays so you have to be there for your child.
Child was ill and got sent home so you have to be there for your child.

Am I the only one who reads this and thinks well yes your career is probably important but you chose to have your children and this comes as part and parcel of being a parent? A school is not a childminding service. Yes it can be a pain in the backside to juggle and work around but that is what happens when you have children, they impact on your professional life and your social life.

Ijny surely the poster, who would not appear to be a teacher, would be the one the clarify. Fancy dress and parents' involvement is not a requirement of the National Curriculum.

When I complained to dd's school, I got a letter back saying that I should be able to take time off to see her nativity play (it was in the middle of the day, I'd have had to miss a whole day) and that the headteacher was sure it would be OK as she always let her teachers take time off for family events!
(She knew I was a teacher at secondary)

MY headteacher wrote me a note saying that I had had my one day a year of 'good will' and couldn't take time unless for a medical emergency.

Even if I had the most flexible job in the world, then it still meant loads of working parents couldn't see the nativity play. We were just told we had to arrange something with our employers. Yes, because one week before Christmas is exactly when it's easy to get an extra day off work and lose pay!

Really unfair on those kids whose parents work. We also only got 2 days' notice of what they needed for a costume ...

Yes schools shouldn't be used as a childminding service, but lets not forget teachers knock off earlier on these events and for mothers employed in other jobs it isn't so simple.

I have never got my head around half-days and school finishing early, when the government says school is so important no holidays should be taken during school time.

If school is so important then school should stick to set hours, like we have to take our holidays set in stone because the gove says so!

If you feel so strongly about this, complain to the schools.

What do you mean by teachers knocking off earlier - surely they are there for the whole event?

Knocking off earlier - last x-mas school finished at 1 pm, I was still in school till 5 pm and I considered that an early finish!

Parents evenings in primary often involve half days because they start 4 pm ish - so finishing a little early mean teachers can grab food, sort out the usual planning before seeing parents.

Still waiting for a parent to post on this thread and say they've actually spoken to their school about these demands on their time.

I complained after one particularly bad year as did a few other parents. The school has been a bit better since but certainly not perfect. We do get a bit more notice but I think that many of the activities (e.g. parent invites to school lunches) are totally inconsiderate and unnecessary.

I wrote - and got told 'tough' basically. Read my earlier post

One of the advantages of just being a SAHM I suppose

Wobblyweebles your OK 5 snow days' closures would have the UK parents having conniption fits. You say INSET is tagged onto the holidays: do you mean it happens IN the holidays, or NEXT to the holidays?

INSET happens next to the holidays. So you have an 8 day Feb break. Tag on an INSET day, and you have a 9-day Feb break. The Feb break camp run by community services covers those 9 days.

We have snow days because we have 9 feet of snow a year. Good luck fixing that.

Oh and the snow days are taken out of the summer vacation. School only closed for 2 snow days last winter so we have an extra 3 days of summer vacation.

Parents evenings in primary often involve half days because they start 4 pm ish - so finishing a little early mean teachers can grab food, sort out the usual planning before seeing parents

I would complain about a school that allowed this. In the 20 years of so I've worked in schools (now in my 5th school) I have never finished early for a parents evening and the school always puts on some sandwiches so you don't need to go out (although we often do) There is enough time to grab a snack. Or perhaps they could start parents evening at 4.30 - 7.30 to give them a bit more time.

Open evenings is a different matter and for that we need to close early as it takes several hours to tidy up and set up the display/practicals for the science department and without an early finish we just wouldn't get ready in time.

I think there are two issues:

1 half days etc. even with notice it can be difficult.

2 strike days. MEANT to cause disruption, otherwise there'd be no point

Oh

And INSET days have already been taken out of the holidays and most are tagged on to the beginning or end of one.

Kissangel - your school sounds like a pain. Our navity has a choice of a morning showing 9.30am or afternoon showing 2.00pm. Either way I can generally get there with maybe only missing one lesson or if I'm really lucky, I just miss my PPA.

echt - nothing, he's leaving the school in a few weeks.

I could keep up with the endless letters and forms when I worked part-time largely from home, or when dh was at home, but since we've both been working full-time and commuting it has been a real pain in the bum - and I doubt very much one complaining parent, or even several, would change anything.

And btw I do think all the schools that publish an annual calendar of events so parents know what is coming up months in advance deserve a hat-tip. Well done them, wish they'd all do it.

tired - of course there is a chance that your child will feel different and left out when other parents are there and you are not and yes that's life and yes children of working parents have to get used it but all I am saying is why are school's doing more of this than is really needed and putting parents in this situation? I'm sure your child does feel loved and supported whether you are there or not and I'm pretty sure mine does too but when I told my child this week (who is very mature for her age, level- headed but sensitive) that I couldn't attend something next week, as positive as I tried to make the whole thing for her, when the tears rolled down her face, I felt awful and like I was letting her down. I am not the only one, other friends have expressed their guilt when their children show they are unhappy their parents can't attend.

I will say again that even if the school published all events a year in advance, it would make no difference I really can't do it all and yes I will be raising it with the school as this term has been the straw to break the camel's back and it's all too much.

Should read 'putting children in this situation'

DDs new school (so far) seems pretty amazing at managing this. There is a very well priced before and after school club (which had a sign up saying that Industrial Action days could be accommodated), inset days are clearly marked on the school calendar, the school play had two showings - one at 230 and one at 630, and they have a proper 'sick room' off the main office for children whose parents can't get to them straight away.

Maybe it's the 'village' thing. DDs old school had none of this and was a pain in the arse at times. It's only been two weeks, but I have been astounded at the difference here. It's going to make my search for a job much easier.

hahaha - ours produced a calendar of events every year.... by the end of the year it bore no relation at all to its form at the start of the year.

One particularly bad year they even moved 2 inset days from the start of Easter break to a different time - with 6 weeks notice, and after half the parents had already booked holidays a bit more cheaply, and then told us that "as the dates were subject to change, we needed to apply for authorisation to take the days off".

You may think that there are too many events, because you can't take the day off for every event, but having multiple opportunities for events that parents can attend means more chances that some parents will be able to at least attend a couple of them. You may not be able to the Wednesday in term 3, but others may be able to, and you may be able to take Thursday in Week 5, but others can't. Everyone has different work schedules and different work requirements, we try and give everyone a chance. There is no rule that says you must come to everything.

Our school gives out a list of events at the start of each term.. There are no half days and we finish an hour earlier on the last day of summer term

Each class has one open afternoon per year and there are a couple of evening events for parents to do things with their children.

Everyone seems happy with this.

@MidniteScribbler - then surely less events but spread over multiple dates/times would be better and also mean that all children are in the same situation where only some parents attend each session regardless of parents work status.

I know there are pro's and con's of every approach and there is no one size fits all, all I am saying is that each extra event, half day etc is putting in some cases unnecessary pressure/stress on parents and inevitably it means people will voice their opinion on it on forums/in the playground like they do on many other things, after all that's what friends and forums are for isn't it. So yes, I do think the OP is being unreasonable to not expect people to do just that on this subject.

And now I will bow out of the discussion :)

I was advised on Friday night that only DDs class is not in this Thurs due to the strike. I have no more holidays left to take and I'm not in until Weds so giving work 1 days notice wtf?
I'm very pissed off about it but I shouldn't moan should I?

DS's school was of Friday for inset, off today because of the tour de France and off Thurs because of the strike.

That is a hell of a lot of days for someone to have to cope with. 'Luckily' Oh is at home in the day. But our working patterns mean he is leaving as I am getting home.

I don't know what the hell i would do if I was a LP or if we both worked 9-5.

Particularly as DS has SN so I can't just call people up at the last minute.

I still support the strike though. I can see why people get upset.

Its getting harder and harder to be flexible at work now. Employers made full use of the recession to make us all terrified and willing to do anything to keep hold of our jobs.