To email DD's form tutor and say he needs to try to fix his mistake?

[TravellingSpoon]

Before I start, I know that yeaching is very stressful right now.

Dd is in Yr 7. Over the holidays she was given various extra activities to do which would earn merit points. She needed to do lots of different activities which each took a while ( she read 10 books for the book bingo, designed a poster for eco school and wrote a poem and a small essay about a topic of her choosing). In the booklet it said that each task completed would be worth merit points.

When DD went back to school she asked her form tutor what she needed to do with it. He said he didn't know as he is a new teacher and new to the school, but that he would find out. She asked him again and he said he had forgotten but would find out. He has emailed this morning after I chased him about it to say that the cut off date was Friday and Dd has missed it. He has apologised but I want him to speak to the person organising it and explain, rather than kind of shrug it off.

I know it seems small, but DD worked really hard over it. She is anxious in general but it has been compounded as she has gone to a new school without her friends from primary.

Aibu to ask him to fix this, as he is the only person who knows DD did this work in the holidays.

Yes, respond to his email saying that you and your dd were fully aware that the cut off date was on Friday, which was why she brought the completed work in before that.

It's not her fault that it wasn't submitted - she asked twice how to do this and wasn't provided with the necessary information. Fair enough and thanks for the apology, but that doesn't rectify the situation for your dd.

I would also say that if he isn't able to sort this out, please could he advise who you should now contact?

It isn't a little thing. It's quite a big thing, esp as your dd was brave and engaged enough with it to ask twice.

Absolutely email the head of year. Whichever staff member organised the rewards challenge will want as many participants as possible.

He's probably too scared to put his head above the parapet and look stupid but teachers are human and forget stuff all the time so his colleagues would understand.

Contact HoY. Explain that your daughter did the activities but wasn't sure what to do with them. Say that she asked her form tutor, but being new, he wasn't sure either. Your daughter thinks she's now missed the deadline, but please could HoY extend the deadline in the circumstances?

The chances are that the HoY will get it sorted, and probably without any great fuss.

It's tough being in a new job and having lots of questions you don't know the answer to (probably even harder at the moment as there is probably far less informal contact between staff, so every question has to be emailed). Whilst he should have realised it was a big deal for your daughter, it was probably in a list of about a dozen things he needed to find answers to, and may have seemed less important than some of those.
Some schools avoid giving new staff year 7 tutor groups if they can, to avoid the blind leading the blind.

Lifesalongsong
Yes, raging. The op’s dd is new to the school and has worked hard during the holidays to do this work. Her efforts and her needs have been completely dismissed by this teacher. That’s unacceptable.
If you’d happily accept such lackadaisical teaching for your child, crack on. But don’t accuse me of ‘overreacting’ for wanting and expecting better.

The chances are that the HoY will get it sorted, and probably without any great fuss
THIS

and for all the 'raging' that goes on- I would say to those PPs- one day, your child may be a young, naïve teacher who makes a mistake or who is maybe (gasp) a bit rubbish in the first years of the job. As a teacher , you learn quickly by making mistakes, and it's helpful if to get the benefit of the doubt sometimes - without people raging at you and thinking the absolute worst.

I wouldn't be raging, but I would be a bit concerned that the teacher felt it was fine to just tell her she missed the deadline (when he was the one who missed it) and not proactively contact whoever was organising the project, explain his mistake and let op's dd know it was sorted. Even if he's an NQT in his early 20s who hasn't worked a day in their life before. It's not about experience, it's about attitude.

However, this does sound like something very easily fixed and no doubt it will be and the teacher will learn and move on!

@Adirondack

Lifesalongsong Yes, raging. The op’s dd is new to the school and has worked hard during the holidays to do this work. Her efforts and her needs have been completely dismissed by this teacher. That’s unacceptable. If you’d happily accept such lackadaisical teaching for your child, crack on. But don’t accuse me of ‘overreacting’ for wanting and expecting better.

How on earth do you get not flying into a rage equals not doing anything about the issue?

Are you not aware that other ways to resolve problems exist? Like pretty much everyone else who has posted I'd either ring or email the school and calmly and politely ask them to ensure that the problem was sorted out.

Are you one of those embarrassing parents who scream and shout at the poor teachers every time something doesn't go your way, you do understand what raging means I assume

I would definitely send a polite email asking him how he intends to resolve the issue.

I work in a school with no parental support( for 9 years I’ve wished for parental support. Having read some of these responses maybe we are better off without some of this support/rage!

Thanks everyone. I emailed the head of house who was the one who originally sent the booklet to DD. She is also new to the school and apologised and when DD came back from school she said that the HOH had come to find her in RE to take it from her.

I wasn't raging and I didn't want any trouble but I just wanted DD to get the credit for the work she put in. I thibk the tutor realised he had made a mistake and maybe was too worried to ask how to make it right.

Its all sorted now anyway, and DD is happy.

Email the head of year. It’s a school deadline it’s not like they can’t adjust it for your daughter.

Good news

That’s a good result.

Hopefully the HoH will address it with the form tutor. This is a good time in his career to learn that the best way to deal with mistakes is to own up right away and sort it out, rather than cover up and blame shift.

"I thibk the tutor realised he had made a mistake and maybe was too worried to ask how to make it right"

You could well be right @TravellingSpoon but if so I would be really worried about that. As a qualified teacher and an adult he needs to own his mistakes and not allow a child to take the fall for his error.

@TheTeenageYears

"I thibk the tutor realised he had made a mistake and maybe was too worried to ask how to make it right"

You could well be right @TravellingSpoon but if so I would be really worried about that. As a qualified teacher and an adult he needs to own his mistakes and not allow a child to take the fall for his error.

I agree. And if he’s too scared to ask for advice on a simple admin error, how will he ask for support on behavioural management or even safeguarding issues?

@TravellingSpoon

Thanks everyone. I emailed the head of house who was the one who originally sent the booklet to DD. She is also new to the school and apologised and when DD came back from school she said that the HOH had come to find her in RE to take it from her.

I wasn't raging and I didn't want any trouble but I just wanted DD to get the credit for the work she put in. I thibk the tutor realised he had made a mistake and maybe was too worried to ask how to make it right.

Its all sorted now anyway, and DD is happy.

I’d say the teacher was too lazy to make it right.

I’m a teacher- I’m not bashing. I know how easy it way hits to accept a child work who has put a lot of effort in.