What do you think about school finishing early for the football?

[RequestInUse]

That really. This letter comes home Monday saying this;

*"Football is like marmite..... From time to time.... Very Important matches involving the England team are held in school time and this can cause big problems for families who value football highly...... Therefor for this match only we have made these 3 options....;

1. Collect child at 1:20pm onwards so can settle as a family to watch kick off.
2. Collect at half time, between 2:30-3:00 so adults can watch the while of the match and still collect children.
3. Collect at normal time.

All children in school that afternoon will have a choice of activities, either ther watch the while match or arts and crafts."

*somewhat shortened

I'm a bit stunned by it personally.

this can cause big problems for families who value football highly.....

If I were a parent at that school I would be relentlessly ripping the piss out of that one. "Dear Mr Headteacher, I'm taking Johnny out of school tomorrow afternoon to watch Andy Murray in the first round at Wimbledon. Also for any other matches he or any other British contest plays in. As a family, we value tennis highly." "Dear Mr Headteacher, Jenny will not be in school tomorrow as she will be watching the Winter Olympics. Our family values curling highly". "Dear Mr Headteacher, I'm taking all four children out of school for a week. I know that will mess up your attendance statistics, but as a family we value sitting on a beach in Lanzarote highly".

I don't like football. I like a pp find it hard to get my head round how people can get so worked up. It doesn't seem to happen in any other sport. The scenes of the Russian and England fans a few days ago were shocking and it puts me off the sport even more.

As for the school issue, I am not one for thinking that one day off will ruin the child's life. In fact I think the no holidays in term time rule is ridiculous and would go and pay a fine if I decided to do it. However, it's the pure double standards of it all. Schools are always banging on about attendance and doing seventeen lots of homework each night in year 1. BUT, it's ok to bugger off home for the afternoon to either watch football or (in the case of most children, especially girls or younger) to do something else just because we are in the euro. It isn't something different. We are in it and the World Cup every two years. I would have definitely picked mine up early if I was able to but wouldn't have watched football.

families who value football highly

Well, I value music highly. I once took DD out of school for the afternoon to go to an opera. Were the school ok with that? Were they bollocks.

Our school sent a permission slip home yesterday so that children can stay in school and watch it together. Pick up is just after 4 I think. We're in Wales, so this is a big deal here

I actually think it's a good thing, anything that inspires children to take up sports should be encouraged.

It's a GROUP match! If it were the final I could understand it. But what's so exciting about a group match. Bizarre.

I think it's a fab idea! Nice to do something fun for a change! I think my DS would prefer to watch it in school with his friends anyway...

It's a group match but it's England Wales. A derby will always be a bigger deal.

I'd be appalled. There's the school, trying to make us treat attendance with reverence, but everything's off for the footy.

If you make an exception for a football game, then you will be making future exceptions for other football games.

I would be objecting to the school. I also think it gives the wrong message about how seriously they expect you to take school.

"Attend at all costs, even if ill, unless the football's on, in which case, fine."

I don't think you can really ignore the cultural element of football (national game rah rah) and compare it to Opera or similar permits which are of interest to many but not, culturally the English as a whole

(I'm well aware many English people don't like football but that's not really the point)

Our school have a wear something to support the team day and have offered to keep children in school until 4pm so parents can watch the whole match.

There hasn't been an offer to watch the match in school time though because it would contradict the school's message on the importance of education (this is despite one of the most famous people ever to grace the national team being educated at this school as a child).

I think our school has the right sort of balance...it's only a group stage match (albeit much hyped in the media because they are home nations) and it is just football.

I'd be furious.

I think it's great. I'd prefer either watch the footie at school or do activities and all pick up at normal time though.

How can you be furious? You are being given the normal school day with craft activities if you don't want to participate.

I think it's sensible of the school to formulate a plan rather than have parents sneaking about or taking them out at lunchtime.

I agree that in the light of the holiday issue it appears hypocritical, but individual schools didn't decide to do that, they are legally obliged to by a law they did not invent, implemented for by a government I'm sure many of them didn't vote for (though someone did).

Let me guess - you've got a male head teacher?

We had one who was obsessed with football and this is the kind of thing our school would have done so he could watch it

I agree, maybe for a final. Anyway lets face it, England will be knocked out soon as they are useless, so it won't be a regular thing.

Absurd. It's a game. It does not matter what happens. They can watch it later.

Oh - what a great idea! I'm sure that any place of work would be just as understanding.

'Sorry, I have to go home 3 hours early to watch a football match on telly - is that okay? Our family finds football to be very important..'

What happened to work ethic?

Foe those saying why are they doing it for this match etc!'? It's because this is the only one during working hours. Other group matches and then knock out stages at weekends/evenings.

Don't know whether our school doing anything but my friend is primary teacher elsewhere and said they would show it in hall. I imagine other schools will follow suit. Nice to have option to watch as a family.

Not everyone who likes football is male btw

I think given the current obsession with attendance, it's insane to support this.

I would be absolutely furious if I had been refused an authorised absence for my kids to be attend event that was very important to me and my family and then then all kids in the school were given an afternoon off to watch football. Makes a mockery of the whole thing.

My kids' school is a Sports College and I wish they'd sent a letter like that.

One of my kids happens to be in PE with a soft PE teacher who will also want to watch the game, so he thinks he's going to be OK.

The other is going to be stuck in a classroom. (They're both mad footie fans).

Sunmerblaze I think that sums it up well for me.

I don't think you can really ignore the cultural element of football

There is no cultural element to football, unless you count pathetic people screaming at men on a field, drinking like louts, cheering, shouting, chanting and leaping up and down pretending to be excited because someone else somewhere else has kicked a ball as "culture".

Football fans are a total embarrassment.

I think it's ridiculous and makes a mockery of this obsession with attendance.

Completely agree - there are threads about parents being refused time off school for weddings and funerals, yet they let children skive off to watch an unimportant football match? Completely crazy!