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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To keep my child home from school on polling day

144 replies

SchoolOutForSummer · 27/04/2017 16:42

Name change as this post will out me to all parents at our school ;)

Minor gripe here. School notified parents of holiday dates in September and these included the dates the school is closed for poling, including this Thursday.

Just received a letter today, telling us our Year 6 children must come to school on Thursday, to do extra work for their upcoming SATs exams.

I am slightly concerned that they will not be able to monitor ALL the members of public who will be in the school voting and wandering on and around the premises and keep them away from the children, which is why the school is closed.

I feel that as the rest of the school is closed from nursery up to year 5, then it should be closed for year 6 too. The year 6 children are all upset on the playground and feel they are being punished to lose their day off school.

School are concerned about their sats score. Which is laughable to think that one six hour day will make any difference to their scores. Teaching resentful children will not be effective...just let them have their 'planned for months' day off. The school has never pulled in year 6 children into school on polling day before and has reasonable sats scores and is a 'Good' school in ofsed terms.

Many parents including me have either paid for child care or planned a fun day out with siblings. Which will have to be cancelled last minute.

I know it is no big deal but I am tempted to just keep her off ill. Our letter promises that all absent year 6 children will be receiving a phone call from the school. My response would be the truth. She is very upset and stressed from all the pressure of these sats exams, therefore she will be staying home today. Would that be so unreasonable?

If the school had told us about this extra day in September or even a month ago, I would of sent her but leaving it so late and upsetting all the children seems so self defeating.

Plus I think sats is a massive waste of teachers time, I told DD to work hard and do her best but I don't want anymore headaches, tears and stomach aches over this issue

OP posts:

AsthmaQ · 27/04/2017 17:20

"Really, if all schools were private and you had to pay per day you wouldn't be keeping children off."

Actually. Yes. I would definitely be keeping my child off school if I thought it was a safeguarding issue with several members of the public being on the school premises and not feeling confident that the school could adequately provide enough staff to ensure that privacy, contact and boundaries were maintained.

I absolutely would not give a toss if I was paying for that school day or not.

Piratefairy78 · 27/04/2017 17:24

Keep her off. My YR6 DS bought a letter home yesterday asking for permission to go to a sports tournament next week. Half the class have been selected. It will be a welcome break amoungst all the cramming they are doing.

Love51 · 27/04/2017 17:25

The year 6 sats thing is getting out of hand. My kids aren't in year 6. The school is having short notice closure yr r- 5 as the building won't be usable. Year 6 are being bussed elsewhere. Either, education must go on, bus them all elsewhere, or, school is closed. Teach them for 7 years, not 1.
I went to lower, not primary, but top year was so much fun, residential trip, sense of freedom, responsibility for planning fun stuff for the younger ones. I don't think it is for todays kids.

Piffpaffpoff · 27/04/2017 17:30

I really don't think wandering voters will be an issue. I'm expecting our school to be open for the general election and there are robust measures in place to segregate and lock down the different areas.

I'd have an issue with my child being asked to come in on a day that has been set aside for the school to be closed, particularly if I had other children or had arranged childcare/a day off.

heron98 · 27/04/2017 17:30

I really wouldn't worry about rogue paedophiles roaming the school . But I agree it's mean to say they have to come in having previously been given a day off.

BoomBoomsCousin · 27/04/2017 17:33

When they decided it was unsafe for children to be in school when there were polls on they should have stopped using schools as polling centres. YANBU OP and I would probably ignore the letter and feign ignorance when they call on the day. Failing that I would tell them you've made plans already that cannot be changed.

TheRealPooTroll · 27/04/2017 17:45

If you have paid for a day out then I would explain this to the teacher and tell them your child won't be attending the revision session but you'll be happy to go over some work at home with her - don't ask permission.
Otherwise I'd send them in.

Original poster

SchoolOutForSummer · 27/04/2017 17:46

They want parents to sign and return the letter. To give permission for our child to attend !

Being a tiny school they will catch us to ask individual on the playground too. I have other children at the school who need delivering into various doors. So need to get my answer straight now.

Plus they will have no school kitchen open that day of course and my child has school dinners. So they expect us to find a packed lunch too. This is a very minor issue but annoying nonetheless.

My annoyance is nearly entirely an issue of lack of notice and it being sats revision rather than new learning.

Plus the teacher didn't find time to mark the endless sats papers she set as homework over Easter Holidays. She sent the woke home unmarked. What is the point of doing test papers and not marking them. How can you learn, if you don't know what you got right and what you got wrong.

I am tempted to say she would have time to mark all the kids practice papers on next Thursday whilst the school is closed. ..but that would be impolite. She is a nice teacher. Just sats mad

OP posts:

ApplePizza · 27/04/2017 17:46

I'm sure you've already booked time off? it would be a shame to waste it.

I think a day off would do her more good and I agree that they can't monitor who comes and goes.

JaneEyre70 · 27/04/2017 17:46

I thought how sensible it was that in France they go to the polls on a Sunday. Seems much more sensible than shutting schools etc for the day.

Original poster

SchoolOutForSummer · 27/04/2017 17:48

So after the unmarked Easter holiday work, I am reluctant to do yet more to be ignored sat papers homework.

One child in our class has already been off school for two weeks. Signed off with stress at 10yo...ridiculous. ..poor child. :(

OP posts:

ApplePizza · 27/04/2017 17:49

If your child worked through the holiday, then definitely give her a break. She's a child, not a robot.

BoomBoomsCousin · 27/04/2017 17:51

Given the way teachers are pressured nowadays, it's not surprising she's SATs mad. I suspect if she were just allowed to teach without that pressure she wouldn't be very interested at all. However, the effect on you is the same whatever the source of her fervor.

If they are actually asking you for permission, rather than asking you to sign to say you know the kids need to turn up, I would just tell her you don't think it's a good idea and you've made other plans.

MatildaTheCat · 27/04/2017 17:52

I'd would be absolutely questioning why the school, which you say us tiny, is putting the children under so much pressure that they are stressed. That's wrong and needs addressing.

Your concerns about safeguarding are unreasonable if you haven't even asked the school about the arrangements. The children will be supervised and managed, surely?

Original poster

SchoolOutForSummer · 27/04/2017 17:55

Why they are sats mad this year, is mystery. They do not have a history of this type of thing.

Except the lack of notice...They are great at throwing letters out saying TOMORROW little Johnny needs £2 and an outfit of Robin Hood!

OP posts:

harderandharder2breathe · 27/04/2017 18:00

Wandering voters are not a concern to me, as I would assume the pupils were supervised at all times and in a different part of the school.

However it's horrible the amount of pressure these children are under so I wouldn't hesitate to keep her off. Poor kids, the last thing they need is "punishing" by losing their polling day off school! Take her and do something fun

ApplePizza · 27/04/2017 18:11

Performance related pay

Ofsted

She could be sacked within a term if the results aren't good enough.

That's why the teacher is so stressed. It shouldn't be past onto children, though.

ApplePizza · 27/04/2017 18:11

Passed

Original poster

SchoolOutForSummer · 27/04/2017 18:25

ApplePizza That is terrible. No teacher should be sacked on sats results.

But in our case the school have good results so why the panic.

OP posts:

3boys3dogshelp · 27/04/2017 18:34

Our school is used as a polling station and is always open as normal on polling day. I didn't realise other schools were shut tbh so for that YABU.
the short notice is horrible for the kids but what will make you dd feel worse?? An extra day at school when other years are off or a day off but then feeling behind the other kids in her class who did go in?
I doubt the teacher really wants to work it - so if she is arranging to teach that day maybe she feels the children this year need a bit of extra help.

MimsyFluff · 27/04/2017 18:49

Our school was closed til last year small school less than 100 kids, 4 class rooms, 1 large hall in the middle where voting would happen. Now it's in the church hall and we can't go out to busy places when most kids are at school

Notso · 27/04/2017 19:00

I think your making a bit of a fuss over nothing tbh.

FrayedHem · 27/04/2017 19:02

Is the school going to be officially open? It sounds more like they are using the Polling day to "offer" a SATs booster day as they have asked for permission, rather than advising it would be a normal school day and attendance compulsory. DS1's school offered a SATs booster day in the Easter holidays, not sure what the take up was, but obviously that was very much optional (DS1 didn't go).

If the teacher has been unable to mark the SATs work, I wonder what information is being fed back to the Head about the predicted results.

lalalalyra · 27/04/2017 19:04

If the school is open then there will be robust measures in place - not because the children would be in danger from people, but because the security for a polling station is high. There has to be only one or two entrances/exits so the children must be able to be through a secured door from the polling area.

The security for polling stations is really high, they won't be letting people mingle with school kids because they absolutely won't let school kids (or anyone) have easy access to a polling station.

Original poster

SchoolOutForSummer · 27/04/2017 19:12

The letter said the school is offically open for years 6 children only and attendance is compulsory and then a permission slip...to confirm attendance.

OP posts:

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