Detention

[Rachna83]

My daughter got a 30 min after school detention due to not having PE kit twice. She borrowed school kit. She has since told me she lost her kit so I will need to buy her a new one. I asked for some clarification from school as I felt detention was harsh. They explained it was school policy and all children are aware. I get that and the need to be responsible at that age. I asked what policy they are following as I couldn't find anything on the website. I was told PE policy. I asked for a copy but she was very reluctant but eventually said she would email. I followed this up and was sent a screenshot of a Microsoft word page with the relavent section I thought this odd so have asked for the entire policy as a pdf. This has been met with a blunt response of it's not relevant and the part sent is all I need to see. Now my child has already done the detention but I am finding this really odd. Should schools have something concrete or can they just issue detention for something like this?

I would say that is a pretty standard punishment. My DD school they get a behaviour point for the first time they forgot and a detention the second time. If they forget football boots, it’s a straight detention.
I assume that the policies can be found on their website somewhere.

There should be a policy available online on their website. Behaviour codes can be way too strict and inflexible imo but they should have it available if they want to enforce it. Fwiw my local school had a zero tolerance approach....it was an absolute nightmare and ultimately ended with the school in special measures. Often the stricter the behaviour code the worse performing the school is and they lay the blame on the kids. But they have to have clear guidance available to parents or you could make formal complaint.

The detention for repeatedly forgetting kit isn't unusual at all, it's what most schools do.

Refusing to allow a parent to view school policies on request, however, is very poor practice.

That's harsh. Op isn't disrespectful at all just querying the policy.

Did you sign a home-school agreement saying you would support the school's behaviour policy when your dd enrolled?

Expecting students to bring required clothing is not unreasonable. A 30 minute detention is a mild inconvenience. Schools can absolutely issue detentions for reasons such as this.

I appreciate all the responses. There is a behaviour for learning policy but this is very vague. There is nothing else on the website. No behaviour points given prior.

Behaviour policies are usually available on the school website. Have you looked there?

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What do you want the school to do?

Then ask the school to provide the full behaviour code or wind their necks in. It should be available somewhere not a screenshot that isn't available to parents I general. If they haven't ask the senior leadership, governors why it isn't available.

If the behaviour and sanctions policy isn't on the website, or easily available you can inform the head of this as it is their responsibility.

If they are shirty with you go to the governors. But if the head is being difficult the governors will be difficult as well.

But you need to be thinking about what are you expecting to get out of this?

I don't want to create a fuss as I also work in education and know how annoying it can be. My daughter has already done her detention. What I want is clarity and a clear behaviour policy. If the PE policy does not state the sanction then what is it that the school is following. It seems a very ad hoc system.

Surely your response to this is to work with your dc to understand there is an expectation to have their PE kit with them to do PE in. She has failed to do so, not once, but twice.
I couldn't give a monkey where it was written down. It is more than reasonable (as others have said, once would trigger detention in some schools), so my response, as a parent, would be to remind my dc of their responsibilities, and help them set up systems, if they are organisationally challenged,

In my mind, the teaching staff should be able to make a professional judgement of when they need to issue a detention, without having to go away and check if each individual incident has been written into a policy first.
There's no way I would be wasting the school's time with asking to see where it is written into a policy.
What are you hoping to gain from that ?

Oh dear you're one of those parents 🙄 can't you just support the PE staff and tell your daughter to take her kit in! You are doing her no favours by not supporting the school with a basic rule.

It’s a bullshit policy but it is common across schools.

So your daughter has lost her PE kit, neglected to tell you this and is trying to wing it at school by borrowing their stuff - repeatedly? And your primary concern, is whether the school have a ‘policy’ on this?

Why are you cross with school, it’s your daughter who’s “lost” her kit?

Teachers are not paid to and don't have time to respond to silly queries like this. Time spent dealing with nonsense like this is time not spent planning lessons and supporting children. Schools are at crisis point- there is no capacity to waste placating fussy parents. You might think your email will only take a few minutes for a handful of staff but when dozenss of parents do this schools can't cope.

Next time you feel the need to email in with your random opinion about a teachers decision @Rachna83- please don't. If you can't cope with that then please educate your child at home so teachers can concentrate on trying to maintain a passable standard of education with minimal resources.

@Rachna83 every school will have a behaviour policy and it seems rather a standard thing..:/ no pe kit. Detention.

If you mean it must specifically say that.... I don't know that will be the case? Individual departments would draw your attention to overall behaviour policy.

You are making a mountain out of a molehill. That's standard in my dcs' school too. If the kit is lost rather than forgotten you need to write a note for her. What a fuss about nothing.

The students will have been warned they will get a detention if they forget their PE kit or don't bring a note. Everything doesn't have to go through mum at this age.

Jesus they are following normal schools policies.
No pe kit = detention in every single school I've worked in

You're "that" parent.

Oh FGS 🙄
Definitely “that parent”.
It’s a detention for forgetting it once here. But you’d be happy as it’s written in a word document on their website.

In any case, school can’t write out every possible infraction. I daresay there isn’t a written policy for sticking your naked arse up to the next classroom’s window?
Or standing up and making elephant noises in assembly whilst spinning.
I don’t know about you, but a detention to 2x forgotten PE kits sounds quite predictable 🤷🏻‍♀️