To ask if you can think of an excuse which will get 11yo off PE for the rest of term?

[HelloKittyGirl]

Just that, basically. What would get her off games for a few weeks?

It's a good life lesson for her to learn.

What about when she gets a job, there might be a part of it she doesn't like. She can't just not do it!

Mine is off PE with broken collarbone. She's spending lessons doing little jobs eg collecting stray ping pong balls in the sports hall.

I really think it's a terrible idea to collude with your child in lying to teachers. Your DD won't respect you for it.

Tell you what OP, I will give suggestions about how your DD can be off PE for a few weeks if you can give me suggestions about how mine can be off History for a few weeks. She doesn't really like it and would rather do a bit of French instead.

If it was a broken limb then she'd probably be excused and be allowed to sit in the library. Especially if it was castless and not to be jostled. Bit extreme though, just send a weekly note.

Erm, isn’t participation in PE mandatory in UK schools? My understanding is that unless your child has a severe disability or breaks a limb or something extreme like that then they just have to join in like all the others.

Why does she not want to do pe? You need to tackle the problem at source not cover it up. Is she being bullied? In pain? Ill fitting clothes? Overbearing teacher?

Please don't let her skip a much needed lesson for no good reason.

I say all of this as someone who hated PE at school... Two things immediately spring to my mind:

1. All you'd be doing is teaching her that she can opt into what she participates in at school and what she doesn't. This week it's PE, next month it might be science that she doesn't want to do. It doesn't set her up for the real world after school, it's not like in a job you can just not go in because you don't feel like it that day and then choose which parts of your job you're going to do and which you leave. It also encourages lying as an acceptable position, which isn't exactly great.

2. Whatever you feel about her current level of exercise, PE is also about getting out in the fresh air amidst the school week and perhaps more importantly working as a team, even when other people's skill level are different from yours. (Also a valuable skill for the real world!)

Personally I'd reconsider what exactly you'd be reinforcing and promoting if you go along with this.

Ffs 🙄

God these responses 😂 Did none of you ever skive PE? My Mum always wrote me notes. I got plenty of exercise, I just hated competitive sports. Didn't mind if we did gym or running.

My daughter had genuine reason for missing out on a lot of PE - she still had to change into PE kit, attend the lesson, and was usually doing something like ref'ing or point scoring.

Yeah, I dodged PE, and got a good honest detention for it - no hiding behind Mummy's skirts for me!

PE at my school was awful and I did end up being permanently signed off from doing it.
I'm no worse off for having missed it either.
People underestimate how badly some things at school can affect kids
Sorry OP my reason wouldn't work

'Can'tbearseditis' would probably do it.

@Lavender24

God these responses 😂 Did none of you ever skive PE? My Mum always wrote me notes. I got plenty of exercise, I just hated competitive sports. Didn't mind if we did gym or running.

Haha, thought the same. 😅 Then when the child is able to I'd recommend learning to forge your parents writing and signature!

I hated PE at school and would have loved not to do it, I can’t say doing PE taught me anything that I couldn’t learn in other ways, the only thing it did do was to turn me off any kind of physical activity for many many years.

Why doesn't she want to do it? I understand preferring to do something else, but getting your mum to lie to the teachers is a bit much.

It'd be far better for her for you to get to the bottom of her issues than giving her an excuse to avoid it.

Too many girls drop out of PE, this can have negative effects for them in the long term. A good article here

www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/nov/08/girls-engaging-school-sports-solution

In our school you don't get to sit in the library if you aren't participating. You are a ref, or score keeper, or line judge. Funnily enough not many kids don't do it, because they know they'll be doing part of the lesson anyway
Same in my kids' school

God these responses 😂 Did none of you ever skive PE?

Not for more than half a term, no. But I did have a nice hustle in writing notes for classmates 😂

No don’t do this.Its morally wrong and it tempts fate if you make up an illness.

@HelloKittyGirl

I don’t have a problem with it to be honest. I never liked PE either and she already gets plenty of exercise walking to and from school everyday. I’m not worried about her fitness levels. If she’d rather spend the time in the library doing homework, I’m happy with that.

Good for you it's nice to see a mum supporting her child.

PE at school can put kids off exercise for life. My son was like this, he wasn't into football or rugby which covered most of the PE sessions and suited the football lot but did r cater at all for anyone else. My son did loads of exercise out of school from black belt tae kwon do to street dance and was fitter than all of the football lot combined!! He did have a problem with Achilles tendonitis though which was a real nuisance and very painful but as a long term reason for getting out of PE was fab.

If I'd been let skip PE, maybe I wouldn't have been left with a lifelong visceral hatred for exercise. Every single sport, I was either the worst or the second worst in the year. You can imagine what the bullying was like. From the other kids, but especially from those sadistic bitches of teachers.

I never really liked games either.
But she’s only 11!! She’s got years of school P.E ahead of her.
What’s the long term plan?? She can’t never do PE again.
I think she’s a bit young to start in on lying to get her out of stuff.
And I agree with Pp that it’s unlikely that skiving is going to result in a nice, warm hour in the library.
My Dd is rubbish at team sports. But her getting as much physical exercise as possible is important.
I do sympathise but I’m not sure this a sensible solution.

They make our kids get changed into PE kit anyway if they are excused and watch from the sidelines.

I was thinking this too @Lavender24!

Yes, she’ll be sent to the library to work. Other than for swimming where she gets to sit in the viewing area (but can still read or get on with other work there on her lap if she chooses).

She’ll still get plenty of opportunities to learn sportsmanship, etc. We’re only talking about a few weeks.

As for whether I’d let her skip maths, I don’t see that as comparable. Most further education courses, degrees, jobs etc. will want to see a good GCSE maths pass. Not so PE.

Break her legs?

Sorry, poor attempt at a joke. Honestly OP, it's not a good idea to teach her that it's ok to lie to get out of things.

What happens after a few weeks?

It is exactly the same. Its a school subject (whether examined or not) that is part of the curriculum. Subjects aren't optional.