To think the Headmaster should realise that rural schools don't run like a town school (transport related).

[Sunnymeg]

I'm not personally affected by this, as we drive DS to school. DS goes to a rural secondary school, three quarters of the children travel to school on transport provided by county.

The school buses are all times to arrive by at least 8.45am. In previous years, GCSE students have caught the bus as normal and gone straight to the exam rooms. However we have now been told that GCSE students have to be in school by 8am. No reason has been given. I can only assume that it is to give school time to do their admin etc and make sure everyone has turned up.

We received an email about this over the weekend. The secondary school is in a village location and I would imagine that lots of parents already have their own work commitments and probably work in one of the two nearest town's, both some 20 miles away from the school.

The more I think about this, the more unreasonable it sounds. The Head has only been in city schools, previously. Some children have a journey in excess of 20 miles , due to the rural location.

I cannot understand why he is doing this and why he has only given a few days notice, what does he expect people to do. The majority of them will probably continue with their existing routine and put their children on the bus.

However the kicker to all this, is that the email says that if children don't arrive by 8am their names will be taken and repeat offenders will not be allowed to attend prom!!

I’d put good money that he is a “fast track” headteacher fresh from some scheme or other.

Fast track schemes only exist because the chronic shortage of people who want to be headteachers is a national crisis, and you don't need to look much further than this thread to get an idea of why when you see all the gleeful schadenfreude at the idea of the headteacher getting his comeuppance.

There's a huge amount of projection going on. It sounds like the HT has badly misjudged the context and further exacerbated the problem by failing to consult or communicate his proposal properly. That's a mistake, and it needs to be put right. That's it.

There aren't many other comparable roles, running a reasonably large and complex organisation, where there are quite so many people (apparently including strangers on the internet who don't even know where this school is) eagerly watching and waiting to rip you apart when you make a mistake.

Fast track schemes only exist because the chronic shortage of people who want to be headteachers is a national crisis, and you don't need to look much further than this thread to get an idea of why when you see all the gleeful schadenfreude at the idea of the headteacher getting his comeuppance
I agree. It's not surprising at all why not many people seek headship.
A new head couldn't have misjudged something, no there needs to be a load of people rubbing their hands ready to circle like vultures.

The schools I went to started after 9am and finished after 4pm so the milk tankers could get round to the farms before the school buses (and it meant the children could help with the milking before school).

Will be interested to see what backtracking the head does tomorrow.

I went to a rural school with a large catchment and the majority of kids had to take the bus. But getting to your exams was entirely your own responsibility. We didn't have I register. All exams were set within the school hours and took account of buses, if you had a morning exam you went on the bus and afterwards you stayed at school and studied till your bus home. Same in the afternoon but you didn't register for school and if you didn't turn up for your exam then that was your loss and on days with no exams, you just stayed at home. This was in Scotland. Are GCSE pupils still required to attend normal classes?

This is the Head's third Headmaster role. The other schools were in a town and a city. He stayed for about two years at each school. I don't know if this sounds like a normal career progression, or whether it might be an indication of problems at his previous schools.

Semi rural Scotland here, near Dundee but in Angus. DS's catchment secondary school is 14 miles away, 40 mins on school bus which is the only transport option. Nearest primary to us 5 miles away, kids took school bus from age 4.
I was worried about bus being late for exams (it's late fairly frequently) and asked school, they said they would delay exam start for half hour or if very late pupils from that bus would be taken straight into a separate room to sit exam, so they understand problems and have contingency plans.
MadAssHatter our school have given study leave for 2.5 weeks during main exam period so they don't need to go in if don't want to and any outlying exams pupil is allowed to take day off before as well. For afternoon exams DS has to catch bus in morning as there is no other way of getting him there. Similarly he has to wait for bus home after a morning exam (but generally goes off and hangs around town with pals)

We have no bus apart from the school bus. DS would have to cycle along twisty lanes and then cross a roundabout on an A road or walk several miles across the fields to be in school early. If the bus doesn't turn up and DH and I are both at work DH has to skip off early or we have to sell a kidney to pay a taxi.
We live in a rather naice rural village about 4 miles outside the county town, it's hardly the Highlands of Scotland. This thread has made me realise that this is an issue for far more families than I had ever realised

Notevil - on a crowded city bus the other day a mum was complaining about expensive school uniforms. Soon half a dozen people who didn't know each other joined in. Most were complaining about 1)useless blazers and 2) schools insisting on clothes with school logo from specialist shops when supermarkets sell perfectly good cheaper jumpers without logos.
Interesting bonding session on the number 45!

We’re 10 miles from our secondary catchment school. Dd gets a bus at 8am and gets there around 8.30/8.45 depending on if it’s on time. She’s usually a few mins late for registration - along with a bus full of other students!

The more people who talk about how wrong single supplier arrangements for uniforms the better!

Then perhaps the Govt will put some penalty for schools which break the extremely clear policy that no maintained school shouid have that arrangement. Because without it penalty, it seems more and more schools are openly flouting it.

suñny
It could be for a number of reasons (and some could be problems), but that is irrelevant to their current school

Maybe they relocated?
Maybe they found they didn't like city headship?
Maybe they wanted a school in a diffetent context?
Maybe they are the type of senior leader who bounces round category 3/4 schools, always moving on half way through the special measures process?

The head has got it wrong on this one. Deal with that issue and then move on. Nothong good in schools comes from people speculating about the careers etc of staff.

We have had an email from the Head of Year 11, not from the Head teacher.

Dear Parent/Carer

GCSE Arrangements May/June 2018

Further to the email 4th May concerning arrival times for GCSE students, we have been contacted by some parents who have voiced their concerns about the difficulty of complying with the timings where they are reliant on school transport to enable their child/children to get to school on exam mornings. When this plan was drawn up, the potential extent of the problem was not fully appreciated.

It then goes on to say that they are sending out a form for us to complete , stating how our child will reach school on every day up to half term and how they will travel in for exams after half term. Asks for children to carry a mobile with them and to let school know their number.
8
Email finishes asking that where it is feasible, children should arrive at 8am or as close to it as possible.

No mention of prom.

Forgive me, it's almost half a century since I sat my O levels, and we travelled from a large catchment area by tube or train, bus, and foot, to get to school and back every day, in the days of British Rail and London Transport, so were able to get ourselves in to school and home again as usual for both morning and afternoon exams. I'm sorry if this has already been asked and answered, or if I have misunderstood, Sunnymeg - presumably children who have exams only in the afternoon will have to use school transport to come in in the morning and hang around school revising till their exams. How long are the afternoon exams? Will students who rely on the school buses be able to use them to get home after the afternoon exams ?

" we have been contacted by some^ many^ parents who have voiced their concerns"

It's a start - at least they're listening

Love "When this plan was drawn up, the potential extent of the problem was not fully appreciated." So diplomatic, with no mention Re just who was not fully appreciating...

Ha ha thats admitting they cocked up but turning it round back on to parents to have to re-explain the bloody obvious and basically plead thier case. They already know kids cannot get in quicker if they use school transport/local bus. Why do they need to be told twice?

I would be asking them "which part of there is no other means to get to school except school bus dont you understsnd?" 😁😁

Absolutely no need for kids to be at school for 8am. How do they think other schools manage it?

Maisypops I was trying to answer a question further up the thread about whether the Head was on a Fast track programme, as another poster has pointed out there could be many reasons why his career has gone in this particular path. I genuinely know nothing about how it works.

Are they supplying said mobile to each child or is it another demand on parents funds?
Are they going to be checking up on the forms- so if the child is brought in by car 1 day this half term will it be then expected that they are able to be brought in by can on every exam day?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if these forms are shoved in a pile and never looked at again.

Love "When this plan was drawn up, the potential extent of the problem was not fully appreciated." So diplomatic, with no mention Re just who was not fully appreciating...

There was a thread on MN a few days ago about use of the passive voice and how school children are being taught not to use it.

This is a good example of why we still need the passive voice.

When this plan was drawn up, the potential extent of the problem was not fully appreciated.

Translates as "When this plan was drawn up I was too thrilled with having another opportunity to lay down the law and didn't bother to check the practicalities."

What on earth is the point of accounting for precisely how each child is getting to school before and after half term? Surely all they need to know is that they will use whatever their usual mode of transport is?

Why would parents of GCSE students, be putting them on busses?

How else do you expect them to get to school?

I'd want to mess with their minds by sneaking ridiculous entries onto the form, e.g.:
10th May School bus
11th May School bus
14th May Pram
15th May School bus
16th May Model T fFord
17th May Helicopter. Please ensure landing area is cleared.
18th May Pumpkin coach pulled by magic mice
22nd May Royal Coach, provided the confetti's been cleared
23rd May Penny farthing bicycle
24th May Lift in Lotus Elise SC

To be fair, due to the rural nature of the catchment area, school have always recommended that students carry a mobile phone in case of emergency, so I haven't a problem with this request. I took the email more as we need to know where you think your child is, in case they hadn't turned up. They have asked for the route number of the county buses and the names of the companies who operate the mini buses and taxis that ferry the children that life up dirt tracks that the buses cannot reach.