To think the way the school did this is unfair?

[Idkwhattoputhere]

Comprehensive secondary school. Yesterday all children with no detentions over the whole year went on a trip to a theme park. Those who did had to stay behind.

Detentions work such as a behaviour point (chewing gum, being rude to teachers, swearing etc) is an automatic detention.
Equipment/homework points are not, however if they get two of these over a 2 week period then this does result in a detention.

DD managed to get no behaviour points for the whole year. However a month or so back, she left her whole bag on the bus. Therefore she didn't have any of her books, and got a point for each of the books she didn't have (5 in total). She then had to serve a double detention.

The issue I have with this is that DD's friend (according to her- she's been to my house! and to DD) manages to get an equipment or homework point fairly regularly. However not in the same 2 week period. So she got to go on the trip whilst DD didn't.

AIBU to think this is a bit unfair? Imo either the school should have made it so it was for students with no points at all, or DD should have only been given one point (as it was one incident of forgetfullness not 5) and would therefore still be able to go on the trip

Yes that’s very unfair.

Doesn’t surprise me though, seems blunt punishment with no consideration for extenuating circumstances is de rigueur in some schools.

It’s the same here at my dSS school although now year 11 and has left.
His is an academy, they also couldn’t go the prom if they had had detentions or isolation.
They are an academy with “positive discipline” aka you forget something and you get in trouble.
Unfortunately it’s all too common these days

I started reading and thought I was going to say YABU, but I do think that's very unfair. I think under that system she should have got 1 point for the missing bag.

Though I think the whole thing isn't great.

It is unfair. Schools seem to be becoming incredibly strict lately

Surely, this is punishing the students twice?

Very unfair, YANBU

Very unfair and I would raise it with the headteacher. The whole point is to encourage good behaviour and reward the well-behaved pupils. This would have the opposite effect as if you lose a few points due to a genuine mistake not behaviour based then it may be tempting to give up and misbehave! Or at least not bother. They have a similar system at my daughter's school but it is based on behaviour . There should be some discretion for circumstances.

Presumably you knew about this before the trip? Too late for your daughter now but I would have said something beforehand, you never know, they might have relented. I had a similar situation once that I felt was unfair and the school didn't listen to my point, rules were rules, no argument. I never forgave them and bad-mouthed their unforgiving system to anyone who'd listen! I'm not recommending this btw! I suggest an email outlining what happened and that sometimes things aren't always clear cut. They might look at individual cases in the future if they care about the students.

Hmmm. Her tutor should have given her one negative (and written her a note for the rest of the day). We have Positive discipline in our school. Common sense helps!

That's crap. So, if a child makes a mistake in the first week of the year there is absolutely nothing they can do to redeem themselves and will be punished for a second time at the end of the year?

What are the school hoping to achieve with such idiocy?

That's awful OP. That system does nothing but demotivate children. On the basis of one incident of forgetfulness it seems very harsh to give her a double detention and then punish her again at the end of the year by excluding her from the trip. Most children subjected to this system would understandably feel as though they had been unfairly treated. I would make a point of taking her to a theme park in the holidays to make up for the outing she was forced to miss.

Yes, that's unfair.

It’s not well thought-through in terms of the detail. I think it’s fine to have a trip for those with either flawless behaviour/conduct, or, if you think that is harsh (which I do) set a different limitation on it - you might say, for example, a three strike rule and you don’t get on the trip. But the two week rule is silly as a basis for this trip, for the reasons you outline here.

It is unfair. DD's school had a similar trip last week. You also had to have over 96% attendance over the year. Did feel sorry for dd's best friend who couldn't attend as she was hospitalised during the school year.

I have had a child in an academy (don't know if this school is one?) never again if I can help it. The stupid system made no allowances for his autism and actually fed the behaviour that they were trying to eradicate. They seriously said that if he continued to be late (he used to dawdle deliberately to arrive after the others because he couldn't cope with them) he would be kept in at break and possibly not allowed to prom. That was a result to him as he loved being away from the other kids. He was late even more and they would not accept it was their doing. They threatened him with not going to Alton Towers. He wasn't going to go anyway, it's his idea of hell. There was just no reasoning with them at all. It was a huge relief when he left there. When I found out the local junior school was becoming an academy run by the same group I changed our application for DS2 and sent him elsewhere. I was lucky he got in. I've since heard reports of similar crap from the juniors, kids getting sanctioned for the wrong sock colour, shoe style etc. Like a 7 year old can help which socks his parents buy. DS2's school has an end of term trip for everyone. The school year ends with a clean slate and everyone having a fun celebration together. It's really nice and positive.

This sounds like a very petty school. The system needs changing because is it really unfair.
Could you bring it up with the PTA or go straight to the head?

That's the 'problem' with well defined and implementedrules, someone loses out. The rules can't be fudged just because My Child is a loser, or maybe that's what you expect.

I and a friend made an appointment with the Head of year over this at my DD's school. Both our children were way below average on behaviour points and way above average on achievement points.
The theme park trip was decided on a five week period so those getting behaviour points regularly behaved and got to go. My DD forgot her calculator once and didn't get to go.
HOY agreed it was a flawed system and they stopped the trips

Her tutor should have given her one negative (and written her a note for the rest of the day)
This would have been better. Did she speak to her tutor about it?