To ask , as a parent , what are your pet peeves about school?

[SteveAs]

Inspired by the teacher and the school child thread

I will start

Schools closing at 2pm on Wednesday every week , such a pain

Completely useless at communication. Eg parents evening tonight - got the time slots yesterday afternoon.

Nothing I think my kids school is fantastic, I think I may be in the minority though!

lack of any decent communication, office staff DO NOT proof read what they send out, they don't respond to emails - they are bloody awful, if I behaved this way in my job I would be fired

Yes - poor communication, especially giving notice for events.

Constant donations for charity requested, usually associated with some 'bonus' of being able to wear weird costume.

Mufti days

Their communications aren't as good as they could be, but in all honesty both my kids have excellent teachers this year, and I'm glad they're at the school we chose. Comms is a tiny issue compared to that.

Really, only the amount of time I'm expected to go in and spend time there.

We had 'open classrooms' 'reading cafe' and parents evening in the space of a fortnight. !?

I feel bad if I don't go, so run myself ragged fitting it all in.

complete lack of communication. I don’t think the teacher has made eye contact with me once since September

I want to start with a caveat that my DCs' schools and teachers do an amazing job with a shrinking budget and I do all I can to support them with that.

But the lack of thought given to logistics and communication drives me batshit crazy at times. Meetings at short notice during the working day, early finishes at short notice; I have to keep annual leave back specifically for this reason.

I bet that's a right pain @SteveAs ! Why do they do that?

I don't think is great at communication. I'm also not keen on the way it always seems to be the same children who get roles in the play/ school council places. Personally I feel if you've already had a go then someone else should be given a chance. I know some children are more confident than others but that's beside the point imo

Assuming that no parent goes to work and that, in the unlikely event that they do, getting time off is really easy.

Nits my dc are always coming home with them we get rid and a day or 2 later they are back only time they are clear is when it's the school hols.

Lunchboxes (tbf that one isn't their fault but I hate making them and DS can't do dinners complicated )

Washing lines of low hanging craft that well, clothes line you when you try to walk across the room. It must drive the staff mad as well surely? I'm no taller than any of them.

The defensiveness! I've given up trying to ask my children's teachers anything because they immediately act as if they are being attacked.

For instance - 6yo's book wasn't getting changed for 2 weeks+, I know this is probably because he isn't putting in the box or something, he's a bit in the clouds. But as soon as I mention it it's "I check them every week, there's lots of opportunity to change books, it's not our fault!" Like, chill. I'm just asking what the procedure is so I can tell him what to do to get his book changed.

Not directly related to the school- but the selfish parking and people that drive so fast past the school. And drivers that reverse up the school drive not looking. And they cut the corner quite often and nearly knock small children down waiting at the kerb for parents to catch up.

Poor communication here as well. And the expectation that everyone has a stay at home parent that can pop in for assemblies or whatever at 24 hours notice. And the lack of thanks for volunteering to help them go swimming for a morning once a week for two years.

I like our school though the staff do an amazing job on most things.

The amount of half scribbled on peices of paper and junk modeling dd comes home with every day. The staff have vigourously drummed in the fact that all artwork goes in drawers and are so on it writing names on junk models. So everyday another tide of artwork that isn't worth saving that I need to quietly filter into the recycling bin. They're too efficent!

Communication is always OTT (4 messages telling me all after school clubs were cancelled last Thursday!) or non-existent.

And that children can't leave school ill unless they have seen the school nurse but the school nurse is not available to sign off sick children during parts of the day.

Yep, poor communication. DD had to have a week of packed lunches the other week (not an awful thing I know, but she prefers a hot lunch) because we were in arrears on our account, having paid for the first half of the school year back in September but now obviously in the second half of the school year.

We’d had no reminders, no emails, no phone calls to warn us the payment period was almost up. Apparently they’d given DD a letter to bring home to tell us, which she swears blind she was never given. The daft thing is the school made more work for itself, a single automated email was all it would have taken for us to remember and pay.

Communication. Sometimes rubbish; other times just bizarre. For example, for World Book Day they sent an email one day to tell us that there would be a letter about World Book Day sent home in their book bags that afternoon. Could easily have attached a copy of said email to the letter, but no.

I haven’t found many things that irritate me in high school but I think back to the primary school days and shudder.

Constant requests for money (P&C initiated and run through the school) with associated wear an orange t-shirt/dress as a pirate/dress in the colours of a country we will assign you the day before etc. Just what I want, to hand over money AND have a huge last minute hassle associated with it - just take the money FFS.

Poor communication e.g. teddy bear parade is in two days time and parents are invited to watch. Cue kindy child having huge meltdown when you try and explain you can’t possibly re-arrange your work schedule at such short notice and other kids also won’t have parents present. After not being able to take the crying any longer you cancel your work schedule, completely piss everyone at work off and stand there smiling at your kid through gritted teeth together with all other parents in same position. Teachers don’t understand the issue.....

Readers, omg. I would have to pinch myself to stay awake when listening to early year readers. How they inspire any child to want to read beats me.

News and project homework. A 5 yo child cannot independently make a model of the solar system or a PowerPoint presentation about the benefits of recycling. The output is all the work of parents, some severely over invested. Give the kids something they can actually do by themselves ffs.

Actually the gripe list is endless. As I said I’ve found high school to be okay in the main but am still suffering PTSD regarding the primary school years.

I think my children's school is fantastic and have been extremely supportive. My only issue is that IEPs should go out near the start of term and this year they haven't been going out until two weeks until the end of term.

Communication is dire, in secondary school it means constantly chasing staff to repeat the same information that should have been shared as a matter of course.
SEN support rarely good, often shoddy and sometimes downright abysmal. As an example, the TA supposed to be providing 1 to 1 support for dd spent a whole lesson in the wrong class and didn't notice HT wasn't particularly impressed at that one though and so that one was addressed.
But generally outside of learning support the teachers are supportive, creative and committed and the HT listens and addresses issues so there are a lot of positives. If I could get rid of dd's autism and the EHCP I'm pretty sure her experience would improve 100%

Poor communication school office. Grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, 5 emails a day to plough through, almost weekly £ contributions, almost hostile office staff attitudes, basically the school in that respect is terrible. I put up with it all because the teachers who educate my kids are amazing. My kids are thriving.

Absolutely none.

This>>>>

**alwaysthepessimist

lack of any decent communication, office staff DO NOT proof read what they send out, they don't respond to emails - they are bloody awful, if I behaved this way in my job I would be fired