Keeping child in at lunchtime for failure to complete work

[Elizabeth1970]

Is this reasonable that my child's school have decided to keep her inside at lunchtime if she has not completed her work, she is in yr 1.
She struggles with writing so takes a long time even at home with no distractions ( only child ) to complete a writing task so I feel it's very unfair she is banned from going out after lunch, instead being sent back to class to continue the writing task.
Break times are unaffected so she has 15 minutes at 10am and another 15 at 2pm but this is all most days now.

I highly doubt your daughter lost her entire lunch break. Have you phoned the school to ask what has happened?

ShowMePotatoSalad
I also wondered this. Weve had complaints (although secondary) from parents saying their DC hasnt had any lunch because theyve apparently lost all their lunch break.
The reality is they were kept back 10mins and decided to chill with friends rather than get lunch.

If she's chatting then I see no issue with her having to stay in and do it at break time. Basically she is being offered the choice to do her work at work time or playtime and she's choosing playtime. If the teacher allowed her to chat instead she'd never learn anything.
One of my dc struggles with writing an the teacher will sometimes gives him a more manageable amount of writing to do than the rest of the class. If he was choosing to mess around though she'd have my full support to keep him in to finish off. I doubt any teacher would penalise a child who was working hard and trying their best - even if their progress was slow.

Only had parents evening a fortnight ago and nothing mentioned regarding needing extra support or anything so I would be surprised if that's the reason behind it
More likely that she just takes longer than others to complete a writing task therefore had to stay in
Even if she were just chatting away to a friend and that's what delayed her I wouldn't be happy that a 5 year old loses her entire lunch break because of it!

But she has to learn not to do this when she meant to be working. She won't be 5 for long .

It was 100% the whole break, I did phone and the school office confirmed this, they must have seen the teacher with her or something

They are not allowed to keep them the whole lunch time. Its illegal to keep them from eating, they have to allow 10 minutes of a half hour lunch and 15 minutes of a 45 minute lunch. Im a teacher in year 2. If she didnt complete her work then yes she should have to complete it but if she struggles, she should be getting help. When she gets older, she cant just leave her work because its lunch time.

So the office have said that they can categorically say it was 100% all of lunch and that the child was denied a chance to eat their food?

Only ask because office staff in my school are always busy and simply would not have time to supervise and keep an eye on a classroom. Or did they say 'yeah DC was in at lunch with the teacher'. Just saying they are very different things.

I have yet to meet a teacher who has kept a child all lunch and/or refused to allow them to eat.
Ive had/heard many a complaint, of varying 'you cant do this' levels, claiming it has happened though (despite all evidence that the child was out and about for more than half of lunch).
other common one is 'you made my child miss his bus and i had to collect them blah blah blah. No i spoke to them after the lesson and the busses leave 10 minutes after the final bell so students can collect things from their locker/speak to staff. If theyve dawdled then its really not my problem.

YANBU

I started a thread about this the other day. I just don't feel detentions are particularly effective, but because they are the only tool teachers have they get overused.

At five, though how awful!

To teachers saying this is right, if you don't get through everything you intended to do in a lesson do you get kept in? Or you know do you accept that some days you can achieve more than others?

So sorry I didn't mean they didn't feed her, she went back to class after eating instead of out to play

grannytomine:

I am not a child. I don't wear uniform or put hand up before I speak either Different rules.

Saying that, it depends why this is happening, whether it is fair or not.

grannytomine
It depends.
Say i have a child with extra needs and we're doing a really tricky topic, theyve worked well but dont get through everything then theres no way on this earth id be keeping them in. Thats not fair.
Or, a student has worked well but just fallen a bit under what id normally expect, id ask them subtly if i need to recap anything and theyd go for lunch.
Or a student has struggled with a task but theyve used all the strategies to move forward then theyd not get kept back

But say i set an extended writing task that i know is within the ability of the kids and someone stares out the window instead, yes theyre being kept in.
Or if someone has been talking instead of working then yes theyre being kept in.
Or if theyre simply coasting along and then 10 mins before the end rush some substabdard work, theyll redo it.
Or, theyve been lazy and think saying "i dont get it" just before the end will excuse poor attitude to learning, theyre back at lunch

Im secondary though (Im ready for the 'but what if they didnt understand?' chorus. Teenagers can be absolute pros at trying to get out of things based on their mood, subject, weather etc. One student has recently started not writing the date/title because "i didnt know what was the date/title". Its on the same board where it always is- and has been for the 3 years theyve had me!)

Elizabeth1970
Shes had her lunch and went back to class then its fair do.
Personally i think 5 is a bit young for her to understand it as a punishment (e.g. sit there in sikence and do it) but if the teacher needed to give a little bit of extra support to get it done then id probably be ok with it.

MaisyPops but she .5 or 6, you will be teaching 11 or 12 to 18? It is a big difference. Some 5 year olds aren't as mature as others.

Trifleorburst, and yet someone said, When she gets older, she cant just leave her work because its lunch time so which is it? Do adults get kept in at lunchtime to finish their work (never happened anywhere I worked) or is it one rule for 5 year olds and another for adults?

grannytomine
I know. Thats why i said its a bit young for me as a punnishment (because they may totally miss the point e.g. rush work so it looks more to go for play) but if its that the teacher wants to go through it to help them out so ita support rather than a punnishment i can see it being ok. One lunch isnt the end of the world (and i cant imagine it being easy for a ks1 teacher to set a class off so theu can give 1-1 support in class).

Granny, I know plenty of people who don't have a lunch break in order to keep on top of their work.

If the OP's child didn't get a reasonable amount of work done, and there are no additional needs, then she needs to learn to stop messing about and chatting. Low level disruption is the bane of teachers' lives.

I very occasionally keep disruptive year 1s in at break if they mess about in my phonics class. It does not happen often.

At 5 her literacy needs are more important than letting her play after her meal. She'll be starting infant school soon - she will be dragging her class mates down and probably putting herself into lower sets if the teachers don't sort this out now. I think you shouldn't get in the way or block the school here as they are genuinely doing the best they can to discipline her. She gets her lunch- frankly she doesn't deserve to play afterwards unless she tries her best in all of the other work too. If this were my kid I would be supporting the school

I can't believe some people think a 5 yo is too young to understand that they need to do their work at work time or they have to do it later. What would you do if you told your child they needed to brush their teeth before or after their bath and they didn't want to do it before? Just not brush their teeth because they are little?
Ime kids only have to be kept in 1 or 2 times before they realise it's much better to just do the work when everyone else is.

Unfair comparison.

Many of us would object if we were told we had to run a race faster, learn to play a particular piece of music, learn to say several phrases in French, before getting a break!

Children don't go to school to do things, they go to learn things. They do things to show they've learned. At 15, they sometimes might refuse to do things they've learned. At 5? No.

But you are assuming that the work the child was given was beyond her which I doubt. If the work was doable and the child chose to chat then she has to do the work at some point. I'm sure the op would have something to say if her child wasn't progressing and the teacher said she preferred to chat. Imagine 30 5 yr old deciding they don't really fancy doing the work that they're given. Not much point in them being in school really.
I'm as critical as anyone of formal learning at 5 but if you enrol your child in school that is what they will be doing for phonics at the very least.

If I had thirty 5yos chatting and refusing to do the work I would seriously have a look at myself. Not wanting to please the teacher at that age is very unusual and losing her lunch won't help.

At 5 her literacy needs are more important than letting her play after her meal. She'll be starting infant school soon - she will be dragging her class mates down and probably putting herself into lower sets if the teachers don't sort this out now. I think you shouldn't get in the way or block the school here as they are genuinely doing the best they can to discipline her. She gets her lunch- frankly she doesn't deserve to play afterwards unless she tries her best in all of the other work too. If this were my kid I would be supporting the school

That post is SO depressing.

How to turn a child off reading and learning for life.

She didn't lose her lunch. She had a choice whether to do her work when the others were working or to do her work when the others were playing. She chose to do it when the others were playing. A 5 yo is more than capable of understanding that choice if they don't have sn that impact their understanding. The teacher will have warned her that if she didn't work at work time she would have to do it at lunchtime and that's what she chose. Not doing the work at at all isn't a choice kids get given.

You're talking about a FIVE year old, not a thirteen year old.