if you are a headteacher, why is it apparently impossible......

[Ncncncagain]

to give parents a reasonable amount of notice for school events that you expect them to attend or any dumb theme day that requires a costume or magenta coloured clothes ? We have experience of 3 schools (private and state primary FWIW), and the administration in all of them is dreadful. Received emails on Monday from 2 schools asking us to attend daytime meetings this coming Monday and Tuesday. So 7 &8 days notice respectively. Nothing on previous newsletters or term calendars. DH and I both work, no where near the schools. We both have a reasonable amount of flexibility with sufficient notice, like a month, but can't do much with only 7 days. AIBU?

I have experience of 3 Primary schools and one Secondary, all state and have NEVER experienced this. The minimum is 3 weeks notice. In our current Primary it's in the calendar from the beginning of term if it's a parent's evening/ day or even Xmas shows.

I get a few days notice.......if that...... Im a personal trainer, I cant just book time off or cancel clients, definitely not being unreasonable

Last world book Day.....3 days notice and specifically themed too 🤦🏻‍♀️

Our primary school is shocking for this...often we get 24hrs notice. This week I had two days notice of meetings that I have to attend or my DDs can't go on their school trips, its lucky that I'm self employed!

Agree. This drives me mad. My husband has six children and he prides himself on never missing their sports days, assemblies and teacher meetings. But he also has a demanding job that includes a lot of travel and it’s very frustrating that these things are thrown at us with often less than a week's notice. Advance planning is not hard and would really help working parents.Just make a list of all the things you plan to do the following year, pick out all the dates for them and send out a list. Not hard!

Events are nice but the vast majority of heads’ and teachers’ time is taken up with teaching and safeguarding so sometimes sending emails to parents about events doesn’t happen in a perfect way

Given that they've got to notify parents anyway, why does it make any more work to do it three weeks in advance rather than two days? If anything surely it's better as you don't have to field all the complaints.

Our old primary school had google calendar that you could sync up. Really useful.

manicmij inset days and the school year are not set by the school. You know that.

@REDCARBLUE
manicmij inset days and the school year are not set by the school. You know that.

Inset days are set by the school and have some autonomy over term dates.

Academies can do pretty much what they want.

Inset days can be set by the school although many choose to have the same ones as the rest of the schools locally. Also, academies do not have to abide by the LA school calendar, they have complete autonomy.

Our school has an app with a yearly calendar of all expected dates. Things are added as the year goes on but we usually get more than a few weeks notice on the app calendar.

Then they send out reminders via Twitter/Facebook a week before most things.

Inset days are set by the county here. All school in the same catchment

You dont have to attend

We had this at DS's primary school. A letter on a Monday saying the theme day was on Wednesday and could the kids be dressed in one of these colours (none of which are in DS's wardrobe). So I did my best then emailed the school secretary asking why the short notice.

Apparently it was because the teacher hadn't done the letter despite being told umpteen times. To which I replied I thought she was the secretary - couldn't she do the letter and get him to sign it? Surely that's what admin is for. Didn't go down well - she didn't acknowledge me for a week but, surprise surprise, the next letter came out with three weeks notice.

YADNBU. My daughter’s school does this all the time. I work a minimum hour’s commute away and get and email at 10 to say there’s something on at 2 and I’m welcome to attend. I never go because I’m working like the majority of other parents and it does wind me up.

Schools need to get their act together and recognise that most parents work now. Dates can be organised at the beginning of each term, there is no excuse for not doing this. It is really important that parents are engaged in their children's education and schools need to facilitate this and not make it unnecessarily difficult.

Yes school has Twitter/Facebook and Parent Mail and still they can not get information on time.

The best one we had was a Parent Mail telling about event on a Monday that took place the Friday before.

Schools fly by seat of pants, ever changing ever moving goalposts & plans. it's quite impressive, really. I'm ok with it.

If you are a SAHM 1 week is probably OK but if parents both work 1 week is not enough. No reason why organised headteachers cannot send out list of dates at beginning of each term and update on news letter if anything changes.

Schools really really need more staff. All the support staff and Tas amd all sorts are being cut left right and centre. Its not surprising stuff gets missed.

Really we should be cross with government...

YANBU, sometimes we get a message with one or 2 days notice. Once it was at 8.20 in the morning for that day (school photos) and we leave at 8... they always start with ‘remember’ as if we’ve ever been told in the first place 😒😆

**When DS1 was at a prep school we had termly diaries sent out..everything in it..including all sports fixtures, parents meetings, trips, clubs..in the state school DS2 and Dd were in, it was short notice..and in comparison very few events to account for..

Possibly just possibly ... the state school has fewer resources to call on to pull similar comms together ...

So am I. However I don't post smug PA comments about people who can't just take days off at random stealth bragging, whilst dropping in a stealth brag of my own
And neither do I. Haven’t seen anyone do that.

I know lots of people that need more than a week notice to book days off. That's my company policy I am lucky my manager is reasonable and also high street shops not always able to provide polka dot shirts for boys I had few angry toughts about this kind of school events...

This pisses me off too.

I'd expect to know at the start of term unless an emergency meeting of course.