England world cup at school

[AddingUp]

DC is in primary school and they do not care much for football anyway. As a family, we are boycotting the World Cup as a boycott due to their human right abuses.

We received this email late on Friday from the head:

"I am aware that a number of children will want to watch the England world cup game on Monday. Therefore we will be screening the game in one classroom per year group for those who wish to watch the game and those who do not wish to watch it will undertake alternative activities in the other year group classroom."

So basically they are stopping all teaching for the football.

AIBU to email the head and inform him that I will be picking up DC early if school is not going to teach him anyway?

My OH teaches Y6 and they are doing this tomorrow for the first England match. They're also decorating the room where the football is on with Pride flags and they've had class discussions about the Qatar regime and the issues with holding the tournament there. Instead of flouncing out of school with your DS, why not use the opportunity to inform him. Plus it sounds like the school are making good provision for the children who don't want to watch or aren't allowed to.

My DD is taking her book, and I presume she'll have access to her school tablet so she can ignore the game.

Her choice... apparently Mens Sport is boring to watch (Womens Sport is tolerable for half an hour or so, she prefers playing)

Are they going to stop teaching for all of the England games? There are quite a lot and I’m sure no one is that interested in the early games. Semi finals and beyond I could understand.

This Iran game is the only England game that will be played during school hours. Including any possible knockout stage games.

Crack on then, I doubt the school give a damn!

Yep all of them, no teaching for every other game that's in the evening!

Educate yourself before asking nonsense!

None of my children’s schools are doing anything for it. I find it bizarre that for a first match they would do anything anyway. Let alone for where it’s being played.

Yep, our school has confirmed that there will definitely be no teaching during any of the other England games after the first one. Check the schedule before getting your knickers in a twist 😂

Given that there are other activities available, unless you know your son wouldn't enjoy them that's just cutting off his nose to spite your face.

I'm by no means a football fan (especially if this particular World Cup) but, this. The school have taken a pretty good approach to it, all things considered. You'd just be marking your child out for ridicule.

My DD's school are doing the same. She was moaning as she doesn't like football. I said well do the activities and she said well I don't want to not join in 😂

I get your irritation. The World Cup means nothing to me, and at our secondary school we have drum into them to always be on time and never miss lessons and yet they are cancelled for football.
However, I appreciate a lot of the kids will welcome this concession and may even engage more with school as a result.
Swings and roundabouts!
(The human rights abuses are another issue entirely and imho have exposed a lot of hypocrisy and hollow rhetoric)

I can understand your desire to make a stand and that you might feel frustrated that your best efforts at home are being undermined by the school's decision, but I don't think that emailing the head to say that you are picking up DC early if school will really scratch that itch.

Are you worried that your DC might watch the match with their mates, have a great time, and somehow grow up ignorant of international human rights abuses as a consequence?

A more constructive thing to do would be to suggest to the head that the concerns with the match being in Qatar are discussed with the older students in school during their lessons or assembly (it has quite probably already come up), or to discuss with your DC during home time. But don't try to pull your kids out of watching the footie at school over this -- you've got your wires crossed.

Why? It's a decision based completely on practicality.

England are playing a world cup match during school hours, and lots of children will want to watch it. Presumably you know both of these things. What that means is that absences will be much higher than usual because lots of children will be allowed to stay off to watch it. You don't have to approve of this to understand that it's exactly what's going to happen. As a consequence, many schools are acting to minimise the absences.

The only children who would be kept off school here are the children who would misbehave or try and sneak it on their phones anyway if secondary. Split across three school all three are doing nothing.

It’s the first match it’s hardly important. If it was the finals then maybe but it anit the women playing so we won’t get that far.

But this is a primary school being talked about.

Regardless, schools are still under pressure to try and keep attendance high. That means that it makes perfect sense for a headteacher who understands that attendance will drop that day to implement a plan that means parents don't have to keep their kids off to watch the match. You don't have to approve of it, but it certainly isn't bizarre.

Did you boycott the World Cup in Russia ?

Maybe you could chain yourself to the school gates with a “Down with that sort of thing” sign.

I’ve never been for cancelling any lessons in school for any sporting event and can’t say any of my children’s school ever have done. And in my childhood I only remember once and that was going in early to watch the match.

Two of mine are primary. So two out of the three schools are primary and our old primary are also not watching.

Which is fine, but one of your reasons pertained only to secondary. And nobody said all primary schools were doing it, merely that for those that are, it's actually incredibly obvious why they've made that choice. Not bizarre at all.

It’s a shame they didn’t make any such recognition of the gymnastics world championships held in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago where we won multiple medals. Was my DD allowed to watch any of that in her GCSE PE class… nope but has to watch football tomorrow 🙄

I agree it’s absolutely ridiculous and I’d be furious if it was my kids school.
They make it so difficult to take your kid out of school for anything saying they can’t miss a moment of their education but then pause it for a football game in a World Cup that is full of controversy.
I could maybe agree if it was a final but are they going to do this for every match?
I may also be biased as I’m not British and hate football and the whole culture surrounding football. Hope they lose.

So you don't want them to watch and you don't want them to not watch it!

I admire your confidence in the team !