To complain DD’s head when schools are struggling, and teachers are frazzled

[PointySetter]

I can see that last term was an incredibly difficult time for teachers, and while I did email some concerns last term - I don’t feel I was given satisfactory responses. Schools are now closed, so I wondered if I should put in a more serious/formal complaint - or just give the school a break.

My main concern is about the safety/wellbeing of the children. New arrangement for drop and pick up of children has led to the following situation. There is a car park next to the school which parents use. As children are released at pick up time, children (Yr5) are released into the road serving the car park. The cars aren’t driving at speed, but I’ve seen 4 or 5 children run out in front of a car to their parent who is waiting on the opposite side of the road. I complained, and the heads response was to say that - as the children are older - and allowed to walk home independently - once the child has been dismissed, it’s the parents responsibility. However the teacher dismisses the child into the road, and the child (excitedly) runs across the road to their parents. The school (begrudgingly) then asked parents to not wait across the road after my complaint, but towards the end of term it was happening again.

My next concern is that my daughter was absent twice last term. One was a lengthy absence, and I needed authorisation - but I got not response until I promoted about 3 days later. Later in the term I emailed a second absence - however again I received no acknowledgement of my email. My concern is that if my daughter was walking to school, and didn’t arrive - and need the security of knowing that an absences are acknowledged by the school.
My third concern is that she has a reading record book, which I believe is supposed to be a two way communication, but is never - or rarely written in. I wrote a note in the book stating that my daughter had already received a flu jab, and wasn’t on the list to have one at school. There was no tick/response to my comment. My daughter asked a question in the book about her story - again no response. Book titles, page numbers, comments are only written by my daughters. Throughout her time at the school, I’ve only viewed her school books twice, and we never visit the classrooms to see displays etc (precovid times) as parent evenings are held in an office with no opportunity to view books/work. Should I complain?

@PointySetter

TBH it is a bit rubbish. Although I accept that I am being moany. The other thing that grated me was they released an Xmas video where they had added a clip art banner that completely obscured the faces of the children performing. Not just for a couple of seconds - but for the child’s whole performance.

That will be to do with safeguarding. No every parent will have given permission for their child to be recorded and the video shared.

I think it's the parents responsibility tbh - by age 10 they shouldn't be running in front of cars.

The reading record isn't the place to mention flu jab. You need to email school directly - school secretary would deal with that admin not the class teacher.

Now isn't the time to complain.

Do you have an awful lot of time on your hands?

I would seriously consider going private if you are such a high maintenance parent.

Reading stuff like this makes me feel so sorry for teachers. Imagine if every parent in your child’s class decided to complain about their own inconsequential “issues”.

@Stinkyjellycat no absolutely not to do with safeguarding!! I know the mum of one of the children it happened to and she was dumbfounded. Even the teacher commented to the class - why’s that banner there?

I think it's all petty. At YR5, children should know better. Shouldn't run across the road when they see the parents, they are not 5 anymore.
Absense, if the child hasn't turned up and parents didn't phone/email, they will contact the parents. We had answer phone system for absence, we could leave the message and that was it. We never got acknowledgement, never thought of anything.
Reading diary. You said it's not just this year, it's all her school life. Then why now, when the school is in chaos and struggling?

@PointySetter

TBH it is a bit rubbish. Although I accept that I am being moany. The other thing that grated me was they released an Xmas video where they had added a clip art banner that completely obscured the faces of the children performing. Not just for a couple of seconds - but for the child’s whole performance.

Probably on purpose because some of the children might not be allowed to be published on film.

You are being very unreasonable.

None of the things you mention will even be relevant until at least February half term. The only one that is even important is the road safety issue, which does merit raiding again when or just before it becomes relevant.

Can you get a rota of parents to do a voluntary crossing patrol?

@PointySetter

Yep very real, but I just simply wouldn’t do these things as a teacher! I just wouldn’t! I worked in a private school though, and the parents would have simply exploded if I’d sent home a video of their child performing with a banner over their face...

It is not a matter relevant to teaching and learning. It's annoying but it's nice of them to have sent it at all.

@2020out - no it want safeguarding. Other parents complained about it, and the teacher said it was a mistake.

If your child wasn't in registration and the school hadn't had notice from you then the school,,would ring you to,ask where she was .

The car parking road issue....make sure you're not parked across the road...let others parents think for themselves and their children

Reading record...it's been hard to listen as much and write due to covid ..trying to keep a distance etc

I'd leave it for now if I were you

I'm a teacher of over 20 years experience

Hmmm. Now really isn't the right time. Address the reading record concerns at parents evening - in fact, why didn't you ask about this at the last one?

The road issue sadly is not to do with school. It is down to parents and students responsibility to be road safe. Unless the school door literally opens onto a road with no path in between (unlikely).

The banner would be because that child's parents either hasn't signed or agreed to public displays with their child in - very real reasons so why should they miss the school performance just so it can be recorded. If they are puzzled, The parent concerned needs to check what permissions they agreed to at the beginning of the school year. Ours always asks for a signed sheet agreeing to have photos taken and another check box for sharing. If the form has not been returned, our school would obscure the child to cover their own backs. And rightly so. I didn't send mine back in error once and not one photo of our children went on the school fb page. Even in group photos on dojo, mine were much harder to find.

@2020out it is nice, but it’s not nice for the children who were performing and had a banner over their faces - it was about a third of the class. These children then performed slightly later in the video with no banner - but only for a very short section.

@PointySetter

With the absence, I requested a two week absence as I was caring for someone vulnerable. I didn’t know if it was authorised, and I was with DD 2 hours away from the school, and I didn’t hear back until I phoned 4 days later.

It you'd already gone anyway ...so if I was goi g to be unauthorised were you goi g to come back ? Does it matter if it was or wasn't ?

@minisoksmakehardwork definitely wasn’t safeguarding as the same children appeared in a short section later with no banner.

Seriously? You want to complain about that?
The first issue, as explained by the school, is nothing to do with them.
The issue is with the parents and their children.
As for the other issues, needy much??
The school would have read the email, there was no need to respond.
Same for the books.

Schools are not closed! What makes you think that they are. Just because your child is not attending on site does not mean that the teachers have nothing better to do.

@Lulu1919 yes, because if it was unauthorised, I would have returned and sought alternative care for my DM. I could have been fined.

Am I being unreasonable?
Yep you definitely, definitely are.

Okay, I see that but here’s another list of none problems like a Xmas video no-one really cares about...

@Mumski45 schools are closed to most children. Of course I realise teachers are still working/implementing home learning. It’s not ‘open’ - if it was ‘open’ my DD would be in!

Oh god! You've clearly got a lot of time on your hands.

YABU complaining about any of these points it's unnecessary. You don't have to worry about them for the next term anyway now do you. You'll be able to sleep at night.

People are dying. Have a day off

[quote PointySetter]@2020out it is nice, but it’s not nice for the children who were performing and had a banner over their faces - it was about a third of the class. These children then performed slightly later in the video with no banner - but only for a very short section.[/quote]
Maybe next time you can offer to pay for a professional videographer for the event?

It's hard to film while managing 30 children.

Ok:
Parents waiting across the road and children running into it. That's the other parent's issue and not yours surely? Wait where your supposed to wait, teach your dd road sense and let other parents worry about themselves.
And the school did mention it to parents so have listened to you.

Emails not being acknowledged, not good but a friendly phone call to ask what the best way to communicate with them is, would be more appropriate. Our HT has two email addresses, one is rarely looked at so it could be something like that.

Not writing back to you in the home school diary..... she's in a class of 30 I suggest you need to lower your expectations here.

So you have a handful of very minor irritations. Certainly not a matter for a formal complaint. At best a friendly chat with your child's teacher. You might find that you get some phone calls during lockdown so you could raise them then.

I assume your school is now closed so the traffic problem won’t be occurring, neither will the 2nd problem. As for writing messages in reading records and not seeing books, I think you need to get over it. There are lots of children in class and checking reading records would be a massive waste of the teacher’s time. What do you think the children should do while their teacher is looking through all of the reading records for notes from parents? Email the teacher if you need to contact them!

I’m amazed that you all think - having sorted your child out with Christmas outfit, learned their words, practised singing with them - to be then sent a video of them performing with clip art over their face - is perfectly fine. And no, it was not a video permission decline as I’ve explained earlier...