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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

was ibu.... emailed school asking for son to be emailed school work

51 replies

ghostspirit · 14/10/2015 18:43

hi, my son was off school for a week sick. i thought a week is quite along time and i emailed the school and asked if they could email work over so he would not fall behinde. I never heard anything back. was bit fed up as schools in general are always going on about education etc. hes back at school now. but im bit fed up that they did not reply. but would be fast enough to say about bad attendace.

anyway was asking them to email work a bit to much to ask. would if have been esasy for them to do or would it have been quite difficult?

OP posts:
Littlefish · 14/10/2015 18:47

i think you are being a bit unreasonable. Much of the time, it really isn't as easy as just emailing something out as it won't make much sense unless children have been in the teaching part of the lesson. However, the school should have contacted you to let you know.

spanieleyes · 14/10/2015 18:53

If we could simply email work out, there would be no need for schools!

dogsandkids · 14/10/2015 18:54

From a teachers point of view it can be really hard to just 'email work'. It sounds so simple but in reality it isn't. Lots of lessons are based on discussion, resources that are not emailable and teacher led question and answers. When you teach literally hundreds of children it is just another workload to prepare bespoke lessons for kids who are off ill, as well as all the other reasons - funerals, holidays, sports fixtures, dentist appointments and so on. After you have taught a full day, done an after school
Club, marked books and planned lessons for the next day there are not enough hours in the day. If a kid is ill they should be recuperating and not studying. Saying that, it is always rude not to reply to a parents email....

Original poster
ghostspirit · 14/10/2015 18:55

ha i guess thats right. i judt thought at the time i was better than not doing it but guess its not that simple. yeah would have been goos for a reply. then i would know. but i do now i asked here

OP posts:
Uncertaine · 14/10/2015 18:55

If he's too ill to be in school, he's too ill to be working.

My pet hate is people demanding work - sorry.

Scarydinosaurs · 14/10/2015 18:57

Emailing work home is a nightmare. A total fucking nightmare. What do you do for all the bits that the teacher explains?? If you could just do it independently at home, you wouldn't need a teacher.

You have to rewrite the lesson for that student, and tailor it to suit independent learning. I would only do this happily for a child kept off school for exclusion or a serious problem, like an operation.

A week is a long time, but you say he's too ill to go to school, so he must be too ill to do his work, too. Let him get better:

ProbablyMe · 14/10/2015 19:00

I have this issue however my son is often absent from school due to a chronic health condition called Prune Belly Syndrome. Do any teachers have any suggestions for how work could be presented so that he can try not to fall to far behind? I've been arguing for a EHC plan but no joy so far and his attendance is about 60%.

I know the hospital school system kicks in after 3 weeks but he's generally off for 2-7 days each time so that's no help. All suggestions very gratefully relieved! He's in Year 8 now and I'm so worried about his prospects for GCSE.

Sorry to hijack the thread a little!

Original poster
ghostspirit · 14/10/2015 19:02

i did not demand i asked... he was fine in himself. but had a stomach bug.

but yes all that does make sence. thanks :)

OP posts:
Original poster
ghostspirit · 14/10/2015 19:06

my son is in year 8 to. thats why i was hoping there might be something. when he had time pf before i know maths teacher gave him a catching up detention. which i guess is good. but that was the only 1.

OP posts:
Greengardenpixie · 14/10/2015 19:10

Oh for goodness sake, its not that hard to email a worksheet. Also, the teacher could suggest a few websites to try like woodlands junior school or the likes of starfall which has tons of resources.

Greengardenpixie · 14/10/2015 19:11

Also for maths you could use sumdog.

SeekEveryEveryKnownHidingPlace · 14/10/2015 19:13

greengarden but what they did in the lessons might not have been 'a worksheet', might it?

EternalDalmatian · 14/10/2015 19:15

I don't think it's too much to ask really.

I mean, obviously he won't learn exactly the same as he would in school. BUT if it's a long absence surely the teacher/s could just do a couple of sentences for things he could do. They're reading Of Mice and Men in English, learning about Catholicism in RE, about rock formations in Geography etc.

No, he won't have all the resources available or be able to take part in discussions or ask questions, but he could certainly get some useful stuff done with the help of the Internet.

I also disagree that if you're 'too ill' for school then you're too ill to do work.

goawayalready · 14/10/2015 19:15

my son had chicken pox i asked the teacher for his spellings and any major homework if possible (ds was bored) he sent it right over and rang to make sure we got it i suppose it depends on the school ds is primary so no real work to do dd is high school and if she misses a lesson her email inbox is instantly filled with homework without her asking

Wolfiefan · 14/10/2015 19:15

Could you have a copy of relevant textbooks used in class Probably?

SuburbanRhonda · 14/10/2015 19:16

I did the same when DS was off for a week with bacterial tonsillitis.

His teachers (sixth-form college, not school if that makes a difference) all emailed work back. Probably not everything that was covered but enough so he didn't feel he had a shed-load of catching up to do when he went back.

I think the school will be pleased you were concerned enough to try to ensure he didn't feel he'd fallen behind.

HelsBels3000 · 14/10/2015 19:21

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't receive your email, particularly if they haven't responded even to say 'no sorry'
All my school emails from parents seem to end up in my 'clutter' mailbox because I don't have regular email contact with them, filter marks them as unimportant - its driving me potty!

Biscuitsneeded · 14/10/2015 19:21

DS just missed 2 weeks through appendicitis. They didn't think he was too ill to work in hospital, they sent a hospital teacher every day to bring him work! And when he came home but had to stay off another week, he was healing and not very mobile but absolutely fine for doing some work. His teacher gave me reading, worksheets for English and maths etc. It's not impossible but it comes down to the willingness of the teacher to make an extra effort.

cariadlet · 14/10/2015 19:21

I teach in Year 1. If children are off sick in my class and the parents ask for them to be given the work that they've missed I explain that that wouldn't work as they'll have missed the actual teaching input.

Instead I asked them to do some extra reading, practise any key words that have been sent home, check our Year Group page on the school Learning Platform and go on the mathletics website.

AuntieStella · 14/10/2015 19:23

I have done this, and like your Y8 DS, OP it was to a secondary school. Some of his teachers replied - easiest for maths, I think, as it was just which pages, have a try, we'll sort it out later if he needs it; I can't remember the others said, but I have a vague idea it was teachers for subjects which used textbooks who responded. Also they said what homework they'd set, so he knew what he'd need to complete to catch up in return.

Part of the reason I asked, BTW, was because he was throwing up three days before half term. So I did anticipate a healthy time at home when he could try and do some of the catch-up, rather than having a barrage of extra homework on his return.

I didn't chase the non-responding teachers. And I think I asked nicely in the first place (hope so, anyhow).

Shineyshoes10 · 14/10/2015 19:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Greengardenpixie · 14/10/2015 19:31

greengarden but what they did in the lessons might not have been 'a worksheet', might it?

True, but there is always worksheets that are revision of timestables, adding, subtracting and other stuff that can be consolidated.

Greengardenpixie · 14/10/2015 19:32

and when i mean consolidated i am referring to prior learning so no teaching of new stuff.

missymayhemsmum · 14/10/2015 19:36

In my young day you were expected to ask your mates what the homework was and catch up without bothering the teacher until you were back in class.

honeysucklejasmine · 14/10/2015 19:37

We are always told that it is our duty to provide learning to our students, in or out of school, and get quite a ticking off if we don't supply it.

However, the kids do all have access to kerboodle (online copy of textbook) so I would usually send the powerpoint I had used, the keboodle pages it relates too and any extra resources (sheets, YouTube links) and tell them to make a note of any questions they have to ask when they get back.

Honestly, takes two minutes to attach some files and list a few page numbers.

And no, I don't teach from the book but I can say easily which pages of the book cover the same content.

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