To be cross with school

[Backofbeyond50]

Dd2 doesn't find school easy. She is ASD and suffers from anxiety. So much so that her attendance is low.
So in the last year she has received two detention slips for another child.
I let the first one go as she actually handled it quite well and got the detention cancelled with support from a friend. But the 2nd time has made me cross.
AIBU

More information is needed here. How can they get detention for another child?

Child has same 1st name and two separate teachers got them confused.

Do you mean she has ASD? I suspect it isn’t who she is...

Ummm
Your DD has detentions meant for a similar named child? How does that even work ? As the child concerned is told to attend detention.
How can your child be made or asked to attend for a detention for a different child ?? Something not sitting right here...

If you think travers can't tell visual difference when giving out detentions to a similar named but different child , your school has bigger problems - so email into school, take it up with head of year ...

• teachers

YANBU.
They really need to get their act together. This is utter carelessness, no wonder you're angry. I have a son (now adult) with autism and I remember the struggles only too well. Difficult enough as it is without daft mistakes being made.
I feel you should talk to the teacher and ask for their reassurance that this mistake won't happen again.
School should be doing everything they can to reduce DD's anxiety, not adding to it. Well done to your DD for sorting it out the first time though. Hope she's ok

@Blondie1984 yes she has recently been diagnosed with Autism. Still getting my head around the terminology.
Basically on the first occasion she was issued with a detention slip clearly intended for the other child. For the more recent one she has thankfully not had a slip as her not been in school but I received a notification. Thankfully she has no idea and I will be keeping it that way.

Thank you for replies

Your DDs ASD and anxiety are irrelevant to the situation.

Somehow a mistake has been made and she has received someone else's detention slip. Depending on how your DDs school actually allocates detentions will determine how much of an issue this is. If it is a case of them getting a.physical detention slip during the class, then it is very unlikely that a teacher is going to mix up two students just because they have the same first name and something else is going on. Alternatively if its done through an online portal then there's more chance of a mixup if the teacher goes to find "Jane Williams" on the class list but instead assigns the detention to "Jane Smith" because they are the first Jane to come up and they don't double check, in which case it should be easy enough to fix with a simple conversation with the teacher.

At DDs school they don't get a physical slip, if they get detention then the teacher fills in a form on the online portal with the offence, what kind of detention it is- ie in school hours or after school - and when it will happen. The parent then has to acknowledge they know about it (if your child usually gets the school bus and misses it because of detention then it is the parents responsibility to ensure their child gets home and they acknowledge that when "accepting" a detention) before it occurs. There is also a comments box on the form so you can leave the teacher a message regarding the detention (eg if the child had a Dr's appointment so you request the detention is changed to the following day etc). If my DD was given someone else's detention then it would be simple enough to respond to the teacher and clarify.

Oh that's bad if school - I'd be worrying about those teachers

So first time she was given debut on online inputted for another 'Jane' and second time she was at hone so couldn't possibly be DD

Convo with school needed definitely

• detention not debut

I’m not sure I understand the first occasion but on the second, all you need to do is email the teacher or her form tutor and say a mistake has been made. Please rectify it.

The second one clearly has not affected your DD as she doesn’t even know about it because the child it was intended for is still the one going to the detention and is clearly just a minor error clicking on the wrong name for parental notification.
If you inform the form tutor, they can send an email out to her teachers to remind them that there are two pupils with the same name and to be extra careful. Problem solved and your DD is none the wiser about it.

Although I understand why detention slips would cause your DD to be anxious, I would be more worried about what other things are being mis-recorded against your child, or your child's info being mis-recorded against the other.
So I would be following up with head of year asking for a) the records to be checked for accuracy, and b) something to be put in place to encourage teachers to check they have the right Jane Smith.
It might just be a point of school emailing all of both Jane Smiths' teachers informing them there are 2 so be careful.

@Backofbeyond50

Dd2 doesn't find school easy. She is ASD and suffers from anxiety. So much so that her attendance is low. So in the last year she has received two detention slips for another child. I let the first one go as she actually handled it quite well and got the detention cancelled with support from a friend. But the 2nd time has made me cross. AIBU

Has she received the detentions for her poor attendance ? How is that related to the detentions ( meant for another child) if not?

Sorry OP, I think you've got us confused..

Could you clarify ?

The detention on both occasions related to misbehaviour and disruption in lessons when she wasn't even in school so a complete mistake.

It is relevant because she wasn't in school when the detentions were earned. Plus if someone is struggling to attend school and has low self esteem than being greeted with a slip for someone else's detention is not the best way to encourage said child back to school.

It was just a mistake, though - not ideal but teachers are only human like the rest of us and errors happen. It's not personal to your daughter.

I know but it does make you think what else is on her records that doesn't actually relate to her.
I am not going to make a fuss but I have Emailed the school to check her records.

It is a really rubbish mistake and I would make a fuss in your shoes. I also have an anxious child and something like this would really bother her. It is not good enough (and a mistake like this would not be tolerated in any other profession).

Did you complain and get it sorted OP? If nothing, please use your local authority complaints procedure for schools. Your child is being treated unfairly and in a discriminatory way due to her name and SEN means she cannot explain it wasn't her. Rev up your complaining to formal status of school have not resolved and apologised

Getting names mixed up can lead to more serious issues, and so you should complain.

No not at all. They should be muddling students up and of course it will add to her anxiety (completely unnecessarily and avoidably so). On another note, if you haven't already apply for an EHCP. The asdm, anxiety and low attendance should be enough on its own to secure an assessment (although you may have to appeal).

What a load of fuss over a basic admin error. She just points out the mistake. Job done.

GDPR limits the use teachers can make of surnames. You can’t use them on any register planner or notes that are being used at home, for example. Therefore teachers are much less familiar with them
Than they would have been a few years ago.

No big deal

@0None0

What a load of fuss over a basic admin error. She just points out the mistake. Job done.

GDPR limits the use teachers can make of surnames. You can’t use them on any register planner or notes that are being used at home, for example. Therefore teachers are much less familiar with them
Than they would have been a few years ago.

No big deal

Well hinging detentions to a similiar named child for the actions for another child is pretty shit schooling snd pretty shit of the teachers. Especially assuming it is the SEN child that got the detentions, who couldn't argue against it, That's pretty disablist practice. Big breach of equality act. I think OP has good reason to call it what it is and complain formally

If you think it is ok, I'd worry about your practice