To ask school to stop sending me these texts?

[SquiglePig]

I have 3 kids in same high-school.

They've started to send texts to parents everytime a child is late to a lesson, basically saying 'your child is late for lesson, please don't allow this to happen again etc'

My kids are never late to school in the mornings, ever.

It's my responsibility to get them into school on time, which I do.

I've had the discussion with them about getting to lessons on time but what can I actually do?

I feel like once they're on school grounds I don't really have physical control over how long it takes them to get to lessons even though I keep telling them.

Also it's not a text to my phone it's a text via the school messaging system which means I have to log in to see it.

I'm at work and I don't know if it's something important or not and have to check and I can get in trouble for being on my phone too much.

Please don't think this is me saying I have no responsibility over my children's behaviour in school, of course I do but I feel that I do not need to recieve a text every time one of them is late to arrive to a lesson when I've got them into school on time.

In my day there were teachers in the hall to usher kids to their lessons?

Nothing on the school app is urgent, just everyday running of the place. My school have phoned me for anything important, as when my daughter was ill. I want to know if my kids are late, she would get a "we have to talk" moment if I started receiving messages she was late.
Edit for typo

It does sound annoying. I would say to them, for every message you receive, they lose a pound from their pocket money (if they receive PM). Otherwise, think of another punishment.

Does that apply with everything? Does the school get the right to decide whether your secondary-aged child is too ill to be in school, and take it out of your hands?

This is literally what the school do, you decide whether your child is well enough to be at school in the morning, if through the course of the day your child becomes ill the school make a decision as to whether they should be sent home or not..

It's amazing how many pupils can't go from one lesson to the next without a prolonged toilet visit and if she goes, girls are the worst for this, the rest of her little posse has to accompany her. When they're questioned it's usually 'women's problems' as an excuse and heaven help any teacher, especially male, who dares to say anything. The very same girls can go to a concert and stand for hours without the need for the loo, odd that.

My DIL got in quite a state two years ago, because she and other mums and grandparents were accosted at picking up time day after day by some teachers. Bearing in mind this was reception and year one.

"Mrs Jones, Sean didn't sit on the mat nicely, didn't sing along, was blah blah."

My son eventually went in when the head yet again asked for a meeting. He was quite blunt after listening to her and said.

"When my children are dropped off they're your responsibility until 3pm we'll take care of the rest"

Things settled down miraculously after this.

I don’t understand why the OP doesn’t speak to the kids and tell them to get to lessons on time or there will be consequences. I think OP should contact the school to get a clearer picture as well.

Pupils achieve when school and home are on the same page.

Ask school for a meeting with the children there find out what's going on.

You need to raise it with your kids, they need to be on time. And whilst no, strictly it's not your responsibility to make sure your kids get to class on time, it's your responsibility to make sure your kids are growing up into well rounded, responsible adults who can manage their own lives, and good timekeeping is an essential life skill.

Each time you get a message from school, you tell them, tell them it's unacceptable, unfair on their teachers, their classmates, and you as you keep getting the messages when you're trying to work.

Yeah I had a few detention for lateness. Seems a sensible thing to do.

Surely the schools just need to dish out detentions for those who are late to class consistently ..

This attitude is a huge problem in this country nowadays, where parents want all of the rights but none of the responsibilities of bringing up their own children.
Given that we don’t really know the op’s side of it people are kind of jumping here! Obviously it depends on whether she’s talked to them or there’s something else but people assuming the kids are disruptive in general is a bit mad- my two sons had a few lates, we’ve sorted it out now, but some were 2 minutes late which considering they only let them into the school 15 minutes beforehand and all the lockers are in the same area, seems extreme. One of my sons was totally at fault, he’s a dawdler, but the other was nervous in the locker area so waited until most were gone, so yes a few minutes late, but hardly the school trouble maker as people AIl here are assuming op’s children to be!!!

I was going to write a long comment about how parental support is so vital for schools and that behavior cannot just be the responsibility of the teachers and staff. We need help from home too. If you don't support us think about what that shows your child about discipline and responsibility. I could go into to lots of detail but have decided I'm better spending my time looking at other employment. Twenty years of teaching is about enough for me I think.

Children need to have consequences for their actions. You can't just rely on school detentions.

DD2 says the same - on the rare occasions she has been late it's always been the previous class overrunning by few minuets - bells for me not for you lot- or 'just a word' for her or PE particularly swimming or HE didn't allocate enough changing time/clear up time- or they've locked some doors to playground so expected short route isn't there or packed corridor -usually start of year and y7 ding it - slowed them down.

Or for her mates as she doesn't use them the access to toilets is so restricted they've queued most of break or lunch to get in before they are locked again and only got in last minute- they aren't available during lessons without passes and someone to unlock.

I wonder if they are giving enough info so OP know what child it is - as DC secondary did e-mails and text your child' - and with three in the school we'd be left to figure out who it meant.

Same here lol. And when I was growing up if you got a second detention it would be a Saturday morning detention!

App messages are never anything important so don't let them interrupt your work.

Lesson lateness is a school issue that they need to deal with. If I was told this as a parent, I wouldn't mention it to my kids or get involved. I realise that will infuriate some people but I'm just not bothered. My kids are good kids and well parented at home. If the school imposes rules, they need to work out how to implement them effectively.

I would block the texts and, after checking what the issue was with DDs and it wasn't anything they would reasonably control, suggest the school allows more transition time between lessons and stop bloody texting parents about ridiculous things.

Bloody Edulink. I used to get a notification every time DD2 was set homework and there was no way to control for what you were notified, so you would have to wade through the shite to find the important trip letter you needed.

I hate the prior assumption that teenagers are a problem and every fucking thing in their lives has to be controlled. I hated it when I was one and I hate it as a parent of them. So, so glad to be done with state secondary schools. They are certainly far worse than they used to be since the advent of free schools and academies. Most of them can take a flying leap off a short pier as far as I'm concerned. I used to be a champion of state education. Not now.

Schools are too big. My friend a teacher who had to lug everything from one end of the school to another said she had trouble keeping up at 50 never mind the children. She used a suitcase on wheels after needing physio and surgery for injuries caused by lugging stuff through corridors, up and down staircases.

Our children don't have lockers so they're lugging too.

What I teach my kids is reasonable discipline and responsibility. Not that it is reasonable for basically good kids to be made an anxious wreck and unable to learn due to forgetting a ruler or being late to a lesson because a previous teacher made them late or because there are 145243542 kids in the corridor at once because schools are far too big and overcrowded.

Not blindly following utterly ridiculous rules set by overpaid right wing wankers running Academies and the weak acolytes who do their bidding and are doing their utmost to fuck up the mental health of Gen Z. Who, because they are excellent, will be all right. But in spite of school, certainly not because of it.

Just check on your break. If there is an emergency they will phone you not send an app message

Still with the school on this one. Also set an example by your own timekeeping.

I imagine the point of sending you a message each time is to be annoying. Just like it’s annoying for the teacher (and other pupils) when pupils arrive in dribs and drabs and miss key information that they need for the lesson that then has to be reexplained and wastes time. A handful of pupils being late all the time affects everybody’s learning and it is currently a huge problem in our schools.

I would pass this annoyance on to your children: money knocked of pocked money for each message received/ x amount of time knocked of gaming time for each message received. You’ll be amazed how quickly they can improve!

It's ridiculous! No idea why they would do that.

Shall I put ‘weak acolyte’ on my CV? 🤯

Not sure I teach to ‘fuck up the mental health’ of Gen Z which my children are part of.

Anyhow, you can’t please everyone so I won’t try.

And yet we wonder why so many teachers are leaving and your children end up with supply teachers……

We do. Parents ring up and say they’re not doing them or believe their child “only went to the toilet” or “the corridors were busy” or “their friend was upset so they walked them to lesson” and every other excuse children come up with. Lots of parents don’t support the school’s sanction policy and don’t want to sanction their own children at home either so behaviour/punctuality never improves.