to think it's unfair to leave the "in on time" children out....

[flowerpower18]

Hi All

I may just be being the over sensitive Mum here so thought I'd ask your opinions.

My DS's school in the past has not had very good attendance and children being late to school. I don't like being late for anything myself so as you can guess my DS is in school on time everyday.

To tackle this problem the school give points to each class at the end of the week that have the most attendance and punctuality then whichever class receives the most point before school holidays get a cinema trip, which I think is a great incentive, however, what I don't agree with is that in my DS's class its the same children everyday that are late or don't attend school so his class always receive the lowest points and I find it unfair that the children who are in on time everyday and really make an effort don't get rewarded for this....

Am I being oversensitive? or should I bring it up with his teachers?

Also whilst I'm here, I have another bug-bearer that you could help me with. I'm not sure if its most schools that this happens with but my DS is on pack lunch, everyday he comes home with it half eaten because they don't get time to eat all they're lunch. He says by the time his class gets into the dinner hall they have about 30 minutes to eat lunch and have play time. Like most children my DS loves play times at school and because of this he rushes his lunch and leaves it most days.

Should I speak to the school or is this something that will always happen?

Rewards for good attenders aren't the same as punishments for poor attenders

Yes they are.

We are letting the most vulnerable children miss out simply because schools are going for the “easy” route rather than looking at the cause of the behaviour/problem.

Imagine being a child who is battling an illness having to watch your friends all go on a trip that you can’t go on because your ill. Imagine being a young carer who has been late because they have had to get siblings sorted watching your friends get to do something fun in school while your left out? How is that not punishing them?

Sirzy absolutely agree. Or the child whose parents don’t get out of bed in the morning, or who is in an abusive household. The list is endless and excluding them from treats IS a punishment.

It’s effectively judging kids by their parents actions/circumstances, which is never fair.

I think the lunch thing isn't an issue and if he's hungry mid afternoon you can point out why! The whole class losing out because a few parents cba to get their kids to school on time is an issue! But rather than punishing the punctual kids it might be better to work with the late kids to find out why they are constantly late. School is important and if parents don't realise this then their kids won't regard it as important either....cue a whole heap of kids showing two fingers to the education system and never realising their potential.

The lunch thing drives me crazy.

Kids need time for lunch and play. 30 minutes does not cut it.

My dc suffers from ibs and is late for school probably at least twice a week because of it I think this is unfair because it encourages children to exert peer pressure on the latecomers .

TBH I think that all of these attendance rewards are awful. If a child at primary school is persistently late, it's unlikely to be something they really have control over. My child is persistently late. He takes the school bus. No control at all over when it arrives (neither really does the school bus - traffic is unpredictable)

The lunch thing is a tricky one - I would have thought most people would probably finish a packed lunch in 10 mins - perhaps there's too much playing/talking and not enough eating during the sit down bit?