to think children should not be left totally unsupervised in school.

[MerryMarigold]

Today was wet play. Very dreary day. Ds2 and dd said that during wet play they are unsupervised. They are in Y4. I am quite surprised by this. Is that normal? This was lunchtime. Ds2 said no one was in the room for at least 10 minutes.

What is the ‘big punishment’ they’ve had?
Surely you accept some kind of punishment is in order for that kind of messing around which is dangerous and 9yos should know isn’t allowed whether they are being watched or not.

You still haven't stated what the punishment was OP? I'm assuming it was a detention rather than your son being expelled?

For this thread, ive just had the following conversation with my dds (y4 & y2)
Was it wet play today?
Yes
What did you do?
I drew
I coloured
Did any adult supervise?
Don't know
Did anyone muck about?
Yes. The usual boys.

I wonder if it was the same school?

Not mentioning the punishment as obviously short of expulsion would be considered extreme.

Dalek, of course I let ds play with friends unsupervised. I will not however shout at him, get his Dad to let rip, remove his xbox time and pudding, if he messes around with a friend. I spoke to ds about it after you lot laying into me/ him. I said it was dangerous and this is not what is expected from wet play. He genuinely didn't think he was doing anything dangerous or different to what many others were/ had been doing. He's not really a liar so...Oh well. I do feel a bit better about the punishment but the way the teachers dealt with it wasn't great tbh. I guess he won't be doing it again in a hurry.

Yes, are there. I had a similar conversation with my dd although she was v aware of lack of supervision.

Most schools have this level of supervision during wet play,( children with additional needs in that respect are provided for) We tend to stay patrolling, and rely on children to rat each other out if behaviour is a problem. Sitting still watching a film for 5O mins is dull and lacking in socialisation skills. Games, colouring and chatting is better. You could warn your DS not to be a prat, but presumably the consequences would have underlined that for him, even if mummy disagrees.

So he's learnt a valuable lesson from it then

When there's a low level of supervision they will need to be even stricter on bad behaviour to ensure safety.

Hmmm games, colouring and chatting is probably not that necessary considering the amount of colouring, chatting and sitting at desk they would be doing usually most of the day in school! I just think if they're in one place with a film a. They can be better supervised as the midday staff can be in one place and b. They Errol be better entertained. I don't think a few wet plays a year will damage their socialization skills!

Well, he seems to need more practice at managing his behaviour when unsupervised or he and his mate wouldn’t be in the pickle they are in.

I am not softie mum at all. And my kids do get punishments. However, I don't think.It's the best way to teach initially. If they haven't been instructed what they should be doing because no one is giving them input, it's not really fair to make examples of children so that they and others learn what's ok. The fact he didn't know it's unacceptable leads me to suspect this kind of thing has always happened and been overlooked, empathized with by other (better, imo) teachers in the school. But there we go. Valuable life lesson.

God, your kid misbehaved, got caught and now has been punished for it. Stop blaming the school for their lack of supervision and behave like an adult. You weren't there so you can't really comment on how appropriate the punishment is, especially if you are basing it on your DS's description.

My ds's description and the other child's and my dd's.

TBF to her DS and his friend - they probably weren't the only ones being silky and having high jinx.

The poor sods were probably the only ones caught!

And as much as I think 9yo should be trusted I also agree that sometimes 'punishment' doesn't fit the crime and sometimes despite behaviour being inappropriate it's perfectly understandable how it got to that point.

Personally I prefer a punishment for those times I mean business. A "lucky you weren't hurt" or "of course your leg hurts after what you 2 did" can work just as well in these circumstances with a mental note for more checks next time and a consequence if they do it again.

Op, you can suggest they watch movies if you want, but it's a bit miserable expecting children to sit still and silently during their lunch hour.

You're being precious, you really are. The school supervise wet play as per their school policy, and the vast majority of children are able to comply without incident. A small number of children, including yours, take advantage of the situation and behave badly. For that, and being unlucky enough to get caught, they are punished.

If he was playing quietly in his room and you popped your head round the door to find him doing something he shouldn't, something he knew you wouldn't be happy about, would you think it was your fault for minimal supervision?

I teach and I honestly believe that the nicest kids, the ones who slip up but learn from it, have parents who deal with bad behaviour properly and don't make excuses for them : that'll come back to bite you on the arse when a 16yo ds is arguing the toss against your rules.

Wet play here too. Teachers and TAs covered the ten minute break in the morning, lunchtime involved all 350+ children in the hall with a film, with classes being taken for lunch one at a time.

It’s hell on wheels whichever way it’s worked.

I get where you're coming from OP, no one likes to feel their child is being singled out. However, learning to behave in an acceptable manner is a life skill. Your ds played up and was given a consequence as a result. It's good that you've now had the discussion with him regarding his behaviour (albeit still seeming to back heel it on the teachers). Hopefully it won't be an issue again.

He's Year 4, how can he NOT know what is unacceptable behaviour at wet play?
Unless the teacher is very strange and threw a wobbly at children playing chess

other (better, imo) teachers

Was it definitely a teacher? There's no way I'd stay in my room at lunch if it was wet play, unless I was doing a job I couldn't possibly do in the staffroom. Teachers don't get paid for lunchtime although many, including myself, will work through part or all of their lunch.

You can't say for sure how other behaviours have been dealt with and you're making all kinds of assumptions. Not very nice to assume the adult who dealt with it is not a good teacher; what are you basing that judgement on? Have you seen them teach? Done a book scrutiny? Are you a qualified Ofsted inspector?

Part of the reason people leave teaching is because anyone feels they can judge.

Spaniel, he was genuinely perplexed. They were sitting chatting, legs a bit intertwined. Ds teased friend, friend 'pushed' him and they collapsed. No one hurt physically or in feelings. But I suppose someone could have had their eye out.

There aren't many professions where pretty much every decision you ever make is scrutinised, judged and questioned.

Op, if the teacher had let it go she'd have ended up with 30 children 'teasing', pushing and falling on the floor.

Year 4 So 8 or 9? Does a child of that age have any concept of how long 10 minutes is?

Seriously?

Of course they do. The clock on the wall is a good giveaway for starters!

I know a lot of v good teachers including my best friend and my sister. Some aren't good. No one judges a teacher's every decision even if they're particularly bad! I have 3 children and have had little cause to complain. This one is not particularly good, sadly, but hey, you win most and you lose some. I've been accused of all sorts on this thread. It's ok because I'm secure enough.

There is no school where teasing or pushing people over and landing on top of them is acceptable behaviour - even if it is a joke rather than a fight. Your ds is having you on if he says that he doesn’t know he shouldn’t be doing that.