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?

It doesn't sound like the op would have given the school any of those excuses though so she (and presumably numerous other parents) are being inundated with loads of unnecessary messages because some parents are slack and don't back up the school when they should.

When a reception child becomes so distressed after weeks of this particular dripping tap moaning Myrtle teacher that they climb a fence to escape school then I'd rather they had a supply teacher than the one than her .

Who I might add many parents complained about quietly mostly and some in the know refused to let their child attend that particular class. One little one used to wet herself when told off. Even other teachers in adjoining classroom would step in when they heard certain comments from this b awful woman.

It isn’t unnecessary. Her children are arriving to lessons late. They will be receiving punishments from teachers but as a parent it is her responsibility to get them to stop doing this too. One of the main reasons I behaved at school was because I knew I’d be punished at home if I got into trouble. I’m not sure when or why the shift has changed into “not my responsibility when they’re at school”. They are! You brought them into this world so they are your responsibility. Schools are there to educate not constantly tolerate poor manners and behaviour.

There are awful teachers. In the same way there are awful anything. However, the notion that when your son drops off his child at school they’re not his responsibility anymore isn’t correct.

I wouldn’t check. If it’s important they will call.

or drop the kids at their lessons and make the teachers sign for them- lol

Please don’t think this is me saying I have no responsibility over my child……

This is your responsibility. Sort it out. It’s an easy one.

How is it only the schools responsibility to teach your children the importance of punctuality? It needs to be a combined approach or it isn’t easy to “sort it out”. We are talking about hundreds of students and often very lovely students.

If you have responsibility over their behaviour why are they still being late

Schools are there to provide childcare during school hours. Honestly it's pathetic they're abdicating that responsility.

When I was teaching this was a well know technique…piss the parents off so their kids stop pissing us off 😂

If you have responsibility over their behaviour why are they still being late

You tell me!? Possibly because a parent at work miles away from the school cannot in the moment, drag said child to class. A talk later in the day is no substitute for an immediate sanction and bollocking there and then. I had this BS years ago. I gave my permission for the teachers to throw the fucking board rubber at the child when they played up, but apparently old school hard bastardry was not the preferred pedagogical method even twenty years ago.

I really don’t think I’d be advertising your son’s poor behaviour like that if I were you

So we stand in the corridor and bark at them to get to class, cue parental emails later saying we humiliated them, we singled them out, they had to go to the toilet as they were on their period (here's a bit of insider info, teenagers lie)
Or school has an automated system that sends a notification, to protect their staff and monitor their lates as directed by DfE. Then that is still wrong.
3 schools in my area are now investigating bodycam for teachers as a result of the increasing lying by teenagers blindly supported by parents. It's wearing and upsetting.
I'll give you an example from the last week that personally happened to me.
Student disengaged in lesson , off task. 3 gentle reminders "come on, try your best to get something down" student becomes silly with those nearby, some noise and swearing. I move student to teacher next door as per behaviour policy. All without harsh words or raised voice . Explain task again and return to my class. All normal..
I receive an email to me and the head later that night. I'm a bully , I screamed at her, she wAs upset as she asked me to go to the toilet and I refused and she was on her period (nome of this happened) the demerits need to be removed etc etc
I then spend my morning being interviewed by the head and statements taken from class. Mum doesn't apologise when clear the girl.lied.
THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON.. teachers are now dealing with this regularly. It is unsustainable.

😂😂😂

Every teacher had time to usher when I went to school and they did every lesson of every day

We do. By the time you get to register, you have met them at the door, sat the class down, welcomed them and started the register. If they are late after that, they are really late

My school does not have a changeover time- we're a small enough building, so it should not take kids more than 1-2 minutes to get from one class to another. When my lesson A ends, the other one finishes. I am not ushering anyone because I am opening my next powerpoint- I go to the door, get the kids in, if I see someone in the corridor I tell them to hurry up. I would expect kids 11yo and up not need additional assistance to get to their lessons.

@crochetmonkey74 you’ve hit the nail on the head there. Also,in secondary school we teach in the region of 150-200 different students a week. The idea that I’ll have to time to administer immediate sanctions for the handful in every class that are late to every lesson is simply not practical. Just in case anyone thinks we have time at break and lunchtime we are running clubs/interventions/department detentions/duties/prepping/marking. I think I’ve sat and had a coffee in our departmental office about twice this year.

Reading some of the comments in this thread is utterly depressing and it really shines a light on how much we need to shift the focus on valuing schools.

There are some dodgy schools and teachers out there and I’ve sometimes complained politely and reasonably but the ‘not our problem’ attitudes of some parents is impossible to deal with.