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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU? Dentention for low score?

95 replies

ThrowAwayQP · 22/01/2019 08:13

Okay; I’m a long time lurker. Made this account to ask all you kind people to sound out this issue we and DH are having.

DD is in year 7. Yesterday we had a text from school saying that she had a detention for “inadequate progress”. DD has never been in trouble before, no issues at parents evening and we always make sure she does her homework so was a bit confused.

I asked her what happened when she got home, and she explained that her teacher set homework to revise for a short test in lesson. Apparently they needed to get a certain score in the test or they would get a dentention and she missed this score by two marks. She says there was another pupil in the class who got much lower but everyone else met the score; so she and this other boy were issued the detention.

It didn’t seem fair to me to set a detention for a score on a test so I rang the school to enquire and to be fair the class teacher emailed me within about half an hour.

The teacher said, and I’m quoting here; “It’s not a dentention per se, but a mandatory revision session that I’ll be running. It’ll be an opportunity for [DD] to have another look at what’s she’s struggling with in order to ensure she makes the progress she needs to to meet her target. If you are not happy with her to do it after school, considering her age and the dark nights we can arrange it for a lunchtime instead; but in line with the policy she will be attending at some point.”

I was actually happy with the response; since it looks like the teacher will actually be going back over lessons in this time and explained to DD it wasn’t a punishment but meant to help her.

DD is stil pretty upset by the whole thing tho; and when DH got home he still thought the school were being unreasonable in making the session compulsory for her.

So... what are your thoughts; people of mumsnet? Do I get back in touch with the school or no?

OP posts:
TeddybearBaby · 22/01/2019 08:52

I actually think it’s great and would love it for my son who is in year 7 as well.

I’m not sure about how it’s been worded. The email was much better. I think I’d have just said there will be a test and anyone who is identified as needing support will come back to me.

ETanny · 22/01/2019 08:53

I'd have an issue with her being told it was a detention and worded like she was in trouble. If it's not a detention, don't call it that.

I think teachers forget sometimes that how they word things can have such an impact - especially on a child who is rarely in trouble.

greenelephantscarf · 22/01/2019 08:56

I think it's ok.
my dc's school had similar.
they announced a (maths) test 2 weeks in advance and told dc that anyone below 85% will get detention. school organised revision groups. test was very basic and no one 'failed'

Seeline · 22/01/2019 08:59

Mine have a compulsory re-test (usually at lunchtime) if they don't meet minimum scores, and are expected to re-learn the stuff they had to learn before. Not particularly helpful if they just didn't understand what they had to learn. I think it sounds a very supportive school.

Bluntness100 · 22/01/2019 09:03

No, it's specifically punishing the stupid, a "great school" does not bring everyone up to some minimum level, they set appropriate individual goals, particularly they do no punish those who are struggling

This is nigh on impossible given average class sizes versus staff. Every pupil of course needs to meet a specific standard, otherwise they just find the follow on work more difficult and drop even further behind. And the teacher can't dedicate their time to helping the people struggling and ignore everyone else.

An extra revision session is not punishment. It's awful you think it is. It's time the teacher is dedication to support that student away from the class.

BlueJag · 22/01/2019 09:05

Year 7 is a tough year. They get detention for all sorts.
Also they demand a lot more from them. My son has had detention for not having a purple pen, not underlining a date etc.
Also he had gap sessions(I suppose this is what your dd is having)
He was in danger of dropping set in maths. He had about 3-4 sessions and got an exceeding after.
I know it can be upsetting but they really have to rise to it.
They can feel easily embarrassed but it may help her to not be in that situation again.
Leave it alone sounds like it may do her good. Smile

Waspnest · 22/01/2019 09:07

I don't know where I stand on this really. I think it being after school is definitely treating it like a detention (DD catches a school bus so she'd have to do something pretty bad for me to agree to her staying after school). Is the teacher holding the sessions because she thinks your DD has potential in the subject but not demonstrating it or is it just a question of everyone has to reach a certain level? Maybe your DD is just not great at the subject, why should she be good at everything.

This is what pisses me off about the whole targets thing - kids are assessed in Y6 possibly in a primary school obsessed with KS2 SATS results and they're then expected to live up to those results for the next 5 years even though most of the subjects are ones they've never even heard of before let alone been assessed for. Nothing like piling on the pressure early, no wonder we have so many mental health problems in teenagers these days.

Crazybunnylady123 · 22/01/2019 09:07

Your child should be made aware that it’s not a punishment. This actually happened to me. I got issued a detention as I got 19 out of 20 in a french test. I didn’t go, I dropped french in year 10. Only detention I was ever issued with. Ridiculous. It should be offered as help and to be honest I would of gone if it was extra help and not a punishment. Positive encouragement works more than punishment.

sirfredfredgeorge · 22/01/2019 09:10

An extra revision session is not punishment. It's awful you think it is

If it's not optional, is out of their time, and requires messages sent home to the parent about a "detention" it certainly is.

And why does the child who just meets this arbitrary standard on the one test not get the extra attention, they might be able to do better too.

Individual goals and teaching are really, really difficult to provide, but just focusing on a couple of low standard pupils is not the route, and neither punishment for non-achievement. Punishment is very rarely a good motivator, especially when the punishment is for attainment and not something actually in control of by the pupil.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 22/01/2019 09:10

It is a good thing the teacher is doing this.

The text was shite though.

I wouldn't complain about the session itself but I REALLY would email and explain that the wording of the text, the way it was perceived by you and the students was that Stupidity will be punished and that is ABSOLUTELY NOT ON!

I can fully imagine my having made an additional revision session for the basics of a topic compulsory but I would have worded the text to explain why the session was necessary. The teacher obviously can communicate better, her second attempt was perfectly clear!

Karigan195 · 22/01/2019 09:10

So what does your DH think it’s ok to fall behind on that subject? Teachers offering additional almost one on one teaching. People pay tutors a fortune for that. Tell her and him to stop whining and go take advantage of it as a learning opportunity

whiteworld · 22/01/2019 09:12

So the teacher is spending her own time to hold a revision session for two children? How mean of her!

But it's bizarre and unhelpful to frame it as a detention/call it a detention. Our school do not hold mandatory revision sessions.

CherryPavlova · 22/01/2019 09:13

I’d welcome a teacher being sufficiently bothered that they went the extra mile to I really my child’s achievement. Is your daughter capable of a higher mark? If so, why didn’t she get a higher mark?

RB68 · 22/01/2019 09:14

Your DD either struggles or didn't do the revision - get it arranged at Lunch if eve a problem but this teacher is giving up time - take it with open hands and make sure child knows in future if she is struggling to ask and if she didn't do homeowork = lesson learned

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 22/01/2019 09:14

I think the reframing of it has made it ok this time but I wouldn't be happy if it continued as a regular feature! Although I applaud the teacher for trying to keep the class all up to speed in the subject, it is a bit of a divisive way to do it - perhaps some extra homework would have been a more subtle way to achieve it.

lotusbell · 22/01/2019 09:15

I'd be happy with the message from the teacher too, although not sure why they refer to it as a detention since that is a punishment. Just call it a revision session. Sorry, I do not understand your last question, OP. What do you think you need to contact them again? Do you mean because OH is still unhappy? My son is year 7 and I'm struggling to get him to put more effort in with homework and realise that he has to study and revise not just read what he has to learn! Do they actually teach children what it means to revise? Methods etc? I always struggled with revising at school!

Aventurine · 22/01/2019 09:18

At my dcs' school some kids don't revise at all for tests, so i guess if they said "Don't worry if you get a low mark, we'll help you after school to learn it" they'd never bother. The difficulty for the teachers is knowing who got a low mark from lack of effort and who got a low mark because they are struggling. Is your dd struggling or is it possible she's capable but could have revised a bit more thoroughly? Maybe help her revise next time as they are still learning how to revise, test her on it to see if she's learned it etc

YetAnotherSpartacus · 22/01/2019 09:19

Whenever anyone mentions 'the policy' I always ask to see 'the policy'.

bsc · 22/01/2019 09:19

The teacher is helping her catch up/keep up. Why would there be a problem with this?
As long as the test score expected is pegged to their ability (i.e. the very low ability aren't expected to get 70% the super high ability don't have a pass score of 50%) I think this is the right thing to do.
The earlier a problem is identified, the longer there is to correct it. Secondary school isn't like primary, it requires a different set of studying/learning skills, and sessions like this help pupils understand what is expected of them and how they can achieve it. Win-win, surely?

MaegorT · 22/01/2019 09:20

This is a great opportunity to help her be resilient. If she feels like she has been unfairly treated, coach her on what she can (and can't!) say to the teacher, to advocate for herself. She needs to learn how to stand up for herself. You're there as backup if she needs you.

I know she's 11 but you need to start fading out the calling the school when things don't sound quite right. Save your energy for when things sound massively messed up.

MumW · 22/01/2019 09:26

I think the teacher made a mistake by calling it detention.
If she'd called it a clinic or something then it wouldn't have seemed so bad.

BertieBotts · 22/01/2019 09:26

Does she know how to revise effectively? If she did revise yet didn't perform on the test then her revision skills might be lacking. It would be worth looking up some techniques and helping her to find some which work for her. I never learned how to revise at school and I found teachers just seemed to expect us to magically know how or figure it out. I was bright enough to coast without revising until the year after GCSEs and I never really recovered from that which was a shame.

Or she didn't understand the material sufficiently to begin with, or she had a bad day and fluffed the test.

XmasPostmanBos · 22/01/2019 09:28

I think she must have been told it was a detention initially. If the teacher had said anyone who fails this test will have to come a do an extra revision session she wouldnt have thought that it was a detention.

babydreamer1 · 22/01/2019 09:29

It's fine, be grateful this teacher is willing to give yo her own time to make sure your DD doesn't fail. It may help her to grasp the subject 1:2 instead of in a large class setting.

I had a maths teacher who kept me behind every break/lunch after her class for a month leading up to coursework then exams. I passed with a C which I would t have done if it weren't for her extra effort. I needed a C to attend my uni course which shaped the rest of my life.

ShanghaiDiva · 22/01/2019 09:29

I think it's fine, but it should not be called detention (which suggests a punishment) - coaching or revision session would be more appropriate.
At ds's school some teachers did make pupils sit another test in the lunch hour if a satisfactory mark was not achieved the first time. Teacher would go through the errors from the first test and then set the second one. I thought it was a sensible approach.
If I were you I would not get back in touch with the school.