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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you mention this to school

23 replies

PuttingDownRoots · 17/07/2023 19:16

I'm AIBU more for voting!

DDs surname is spelt wrong on her school report. This is likely due to Autocorrect as our surname is one letter different to a very common word... of which it is also a homophone. It is a common problem.

If we mention it to school it wouldn't be a complaint, more an awareness to double check on things as she has been upset previously if she's received awards/certificates with the incorrect spelling.

YANBU... bring it to schools attention
YABU... leave it.

OP posts:
Merryoldgoat · 17/07/2023 19:18

Definitely tell them.

We are very careful at my school to get names correct. I’d absolutely expect to be told.

academicallyblonde · 17/07/2023 19:18

I’d mention it. I’m a teacher and I just found out on Friday I’ve been misspelling one child’s surname all year. If no-one had brought it to my attention, I’d have carried on getting it wrong.

WhatADrabCarpet · 17/07/2023 19:18

Tell them.

naughty40me · 17/07/2023 19:19

Just politely tell them.
I grew up with my surname spelt wrong absolutely everywhere! Lol.

People don't mind if you just tell them.

Screamingabdabz · 17/07/2023 19:19

Yes tell them - it is important that official information is correct.

Mylobsterteapot · 17/07/2023 19:20

Yes, I’d drop her teacher an email and say “Thanks for DD’s report, it’s great to read about her strengths and areas to improve. Just to make you aware, her last name is actually spelt ABC, not ACB as appears on her report.”

kayserah · 17/07/2023 19:20

Tell them. What if they spell it wrong on exam board entries and that ends up on her GCSE certificates

LuckyPaisley · 17/07/2023 19:21

I'd tell them because depending how the report is done, the name might have been sourced from a database, rather than typed by a member of staff, in which case the database needs updating.

CurlewKate · 17/07/2023 19:21

Mention it.

AnotherThingToThinkAbout · 17/07/2023 19:23

Yes, tell them. This happened on one of my reports (auto correct did it, possibly after it left my hands... not sure). It was checked several times by at least four people but missed somehow. It was only in one place where the name was used.

The parent just politely asked for it to be corrected and reprinted.

I am sure the school will be happy to change it.

ConnieTucker · 17/07/2023 19:27

Just send an email. Point out there has been a typo with her name, please can you have a reprint.

Original poster
PuttingDownRoots · 17/07/2023 19:28

I was expecting to be told it was a fuss about nothing!
Her official records are definitely correct... the report includes database printouts as well with the correct name. The mistake is just on the cover letter.

I will have a chat with her teacher.

OP posts:
CaptainMyCaptain · 17/07/2023 19:28

I am a retired teacher and I would definitely want to know.

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 17/07/2023 19:29

I think it’s fine as long as you are polite about it 😊.

Cuwins · 17/07/2023 19:35

Yes I would as long as your polite about it. Both my names are commonly misspelt- sometimes even when I spell them out, people just automatically add letters but the one I find most irritating is when they are replying to an e-mail which has my name written in it and still manage to get it wrong!

Tessabelle74 · 17/07/2023 19:41

I once received a school report with my son's name at the top but another totally different name in all the comments! I didn't even bother flagging it up as it was another nail in the coffin of our relationship with them and we left that term! To this day I have no idea if any of the comments were for our son or the other child! Definitely point it out, at the very least a school should be spell checking official documents!

WGACA · 17/07/2023 19:42

I would tell them and ask got a reprint.

DinosApple · 17/07/2023 19:45

Definitely tell them, I pulled a report out of the pile last week as the surname was spelt two different ways on two pieces of paper. The teacher sorted it (I'm a TA.)

Epicstorm · 17/07/2023 19:45

Retired teacher and I definitely have wanted to know.
I’d definitely have asked my child’s teacher to amend any mistakes on certificates etc. it matters!

unicornjewels · 17/07/2023 19:47

Yes tell them and they can print another one for you. This happened to me in the past, parent just asked for a new one as she likes to keep them and I was more than happy to oblige!

AnotherThingToThinkAbout · 17/07/2023 19:48

Definitely point it out, at the very least a school should be spell checking official documents!

In this case, it sounds like it is the spell check that likely made it wrong.

In our case, teachers write the reports and check them and then they go through several other pairs of hands to try and make them as perfect as possible. I know in our school, one of the steps is the other person running a spell check.

It is absolutely not great to end up with an error. But I don't think one error, though unfortunate, is a sign that no care was taken. Getting it corrected is right. The teacher apologising is right. But seeing it as part of a bigger malaise is probably unfair.

Your case sounds terrible though. The name thing is bad enough but I would like to think my reports are personalised enough that a parent could tell whether they were written about their child even without a name.

Libmama · 17/07/2023 19:58

I’m having this exact thing at the moment. My ds is only 4 and at pre school but his teacher has consistently spelt his name wrong all year. His name is Isaac but she’s spelt it Issac. Shes written it on pictures he’s done etc and I’ve never said anything as most of them go in the bin anyway but he’s brought his writing book home tonight and she’s been writing Issac for him to copy 😫

FoodFann · 17/07/2023 20:05

Tell then and ask for it to be corrected, she may need that report in the future and it needs to have her name on.

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