To say if not found the SCHOOL should replace it?

[Arrowfanatic]

Day one of school today. My year one son came out of school crying as his book bag has gone missing. This book bag is an expensive one issued by the school, I cannot afford to replace it.

He had it in school, the teachers were very half hearted about it. Suggested another child took it home, but since there were no bags in the classroom left over this child would presumably have left with 2 bags.

I told the teacher if it wasn't found tomorrow I would expect the school to replace it. The way I see it the bag was sent in to school, I have no control on how the bags are stored in school so why should I have to replace what is an expensive item when it's not my fault & a 5 year old who goes to get his back from the storage & find it missing is also not to blame.

kitsandkids

You clearly have no idea. I used to volunteer three mornings a week with a reception teacher and it was utterly non-stop. Kids needing the toilet, lost pencils, arguing over a felt tip pen, someone else feeling sick, someone lost a jumper, someone needing shoes done up.

You simply do not have the time to zip up or button up every child's coat. You do not have time to do up every pair of laces. You do not have time to redo plaits because Mary has undone Jane's while sat in circle time - the best you can do it put it back in a pony tail. You do not have time to check every child has the right water bottle, jumper and bag. You do not have time to make sure they all have shoes on the right feet after PE.

There are reasons that schools ask that your children can do the basics when they start school - go to the toilet, button or zip up their coat, fasten shoes, put on own clothes/shoes. This means that any special needs or requirements CAN be met for those children who may be SEN or may be developmentally delayed.

So yes, teach your children to do up a zip or button a coat but if you can't be bothered, don't expect a teacher to do it for them!

I am sure it is City but surely they are not making that job any easier by making all the book bags absolutely identical, especially when they are that age.

In our school if a jumper or whatever is lost then you are encourage to look in lost property which is when you end up with a child that you know started term with an older unbranded jumper rocking up the next day in a brand new logo'd item, when your childs jumper has mysteriously not been found. I dont think its the kids doing this, in fact I know it isnt as only parents are allowed in lost property!

mycatsabastard 👍🏻

I work in a school and don't have class responsibility. However, I am usually around at home time so help out and I can guarantee that at least 1 child will be in with a parent trying to find a lost item. I am lucky in that I have the time - and it's amazing where they turn up

Mycats - I used to teach full time, and I always ensured children were let out into the pouring rain with their coats done up. Most can do it themselves but just need reminding. So I didn't have to do all their coats up I just had to say, 'Get your coat from the peg, put it on and line up' Then just remind any that had it open to do it up, and help the odd one that needed help. It took an extra couple of minutes but just had to be set into the routines of the day.

To be fair to the kids, and the teachers, these bookbags are annoying. My DS name also has to go under the flap. Every child in the school has the same bookbag, its just ripe for confusion. If everyone in my office had exactly the same handbag and coat it'd be chaos, and we're adults. I suppose its to create unformity and means that there are no arguments about who has the nicest bag. But why not design it so that the name is on display?
DS school doesnt appear to have any issue with keyrings, ribbons etc, I expect the teachers are grateful for them come the end of the day. I'd put a keyring on when yours is found OP, it could even just be one of those ones from Timpsons where you can label keys. You could put your dc name and class. After what's happened today would the school really mind that?

The school teacher's job is NOT to keep track of 30 book bags!!

But when the teacher has removed 30 book bags from the children and put them in a special place, doesn't it then become the teacher's job to keep them safe?

YANBU. Maybe schools should keep a stock of suitable bags for situations like this. School leavers could be asked to hand their bags in as it's rare that any will use them again.

These

I feel your pain OP - as I was searching for dd2s missing blazer (£130) - which she swore blind was hung on her peg and eventually turned up under a pile of stuff in the SEN room she never visited - all her teacher could do was shrug. One of the most laid back mums in the whole year turned to me and said "I know teachers can't do anything about missing stuff but how much would it cost them to look as if they might just give a F**K occasionally?" In my experience the more expensive the school kit is the less the teachers care about helping find lost property. to contrast, I remember when I was at school every single girl had to take her blazer off and show the label to our form teacher when one went missing.

The rule of sending anything to school is only send it if you don't mind it getting lost / can replace it.

Hardly the point if it's the school insisting on $expensivething being used in school.

Keeping book bags in individual trays is illogical for wee ones. Letters home? Tray space? Not a chance. £30 for a bag is ridiculous. What would happen if you just got a cheap one?

But when the teacher has removed 30 book bags from the children and put them in a special place, doesn't it then become the teacher's job to keep them safe

It's a box. Probably a big box given the alleged size of the bag. How is the teacher supposed to keep them safe?

I used to hand them out by name - as they were labelled. It saved 30 children rummaging through the bags.

Tray is no safer than a box. Agree teacher handing them out is key...but doesn't stop them putting book bag into their rucksack...then forgetting they've done that and picking up another child's bag from the floor / table /etc. All young children mislay school items from time to time. Certain children seem to do it on a daily basis....

Stop: Schools have many systems, few of them flawless. All staff can do is their best in the time available, and stuff will get lost anyway.

Why don't you ask the teacher to take the cost out of her wages and write you a written apology too?

30 quid are you over exaggerating here?

Kitsandkids

You may have taught full time, but I suspect that you are suffering from a selective memory.

Hopefully it will reappear or they might have a spare in the school? It's frustrating - are there any nice members of staff you could confide in who might help you out somehow? Someone in the school will hopefully be mindful of family budgets. Hope it sorts for you and you don't have to spend more money X

Well if it really cost that much the sensible thing to do would be to explain to the teacher that while you appreciate that things do go missing at school and it's not anyone's fault you cannot afford to pay that much again for a replacement and that he will be bringing his books in a cheap but sensible replacement that will not have the school logo on it.

The OP reminds me of the parent who spent every afternoon for a week yelling at me because her 9 year old son had lost his jumper. It was eventually found laying out on the oval near the football pitch, soaking wet from the rain. When I handed it to her in a plastic bag that afternoon, she went off at me because it wasn't washed and ironed.

Midnight, that parent sounds like an utter tool!

Almost £30?! The school's having a laugh!

I was all set to post about how my son has lost things almost weekly in the 2 years of school so far and although I sympathise with your frustration I'd never have dreamed of them reimbursing me for the lost items.

However, there is no way on earth I would pay to replace a £30 book bag. There's no way I'd have bought one in the first place! How posh is this school?!

Why on Earth would a school demand £30 book bags?! For kids who lose stuff ALL THE TIME. Is it a super posh school?

Sorting out 30 children in year 1 = herding cats

IME week 1 is all for implementing what will become much faster over the year. Yes, week 1 you check every single fecking coat and bag and child. You basically spend week 1 reiterating where they put their fecking things and ensuring each precious snowflake knows what's expected of them.

Is the teacher a NQT or new to the school? OP says that this teacher has a different system to every other class in the school. It's clearly not working at the moment.

30 quid for a book.bag?

At that price I'll be very surprised if it turns up again. Sure there would be some parents who would delight in having a back up bag. Especially if they have multiple kids at the school.

I'm hoping I'm. Wrong though