Punishment in school

[KatusM]

My child is attending year 2 in England. Yesterday he lost his break because we have not signed his reading record 5 times. He was not able to go out to the garden and was told if he did not tell me to sign his book he would lose his break again.

He is in a required curriculum level so this was not a boost club. This was a punishment because we did not sign his book. He read almost every day. He has no issue with reading. He completed his year 2 spelling target tests. So I believe he is on the right path.

I sent a very upset email to the school, of course they ignored me. I assume they will try to catch me in the school pick up and tell me a story why this is important.

Today morning my child had a breakdown about this and cried because if I did not sign his book he would lose his break again.

I am really considering taking this further because they do the same with numbots. If a child does not manage to complete 5 mins a week they lose their break.

Who shall I go to? Apparently other parents already put concern into the school but they ignore it.

Am I the one who overthinks this?

No it doesn’t.

This is appalling.

l was a teacher for 25 years. This is why kids hate school and there is so much school refusal.

It seems not to matter that he had done the reading which is the importsnt thing, but that his stressed parent forgot to sign the book.

Where is the educational value in
punishing a child for a parental oversight?

I’d contact the school, if no joy the governors. They seem to have lost the oversight as to what’s important here.

It’s pathetic what our education system has become.

Just speak to the teacher (nicely) if you are that bothered by it. I recently challenged a detention and had the Head of Year rescind it as they agreed the points I raised. I know you can’t change what has happened but you can make sure the book is signed as is required now. Sounds like the teacher got fed up of asking if 11 other kids had to stay in too. Just wait until one of your kids gets a high school detention after school. They are far more inconvenient as it means they miss the school bus home.

This is what l’d suggest.

Olay them at their own petty game.

Why on earth don't you just sign his book?

Because you are buying into their shitty pointless damaging educational excluding polity

The educational value is the reading. Not the signing.

Becasue on one occasion she forgot. We are all human.

I cannot believe how many posters are parroting 'just sign the book'. I honestly think that people have lost the ability to think about what is reasonable, logical and fair,

To make a small child lose a break, we all know how important rest time and fresh air is, because the parent didn't sign the book once is ridiculously petty. At least have a system in place whereby first time a note is put in the book, second time there'll be sanctions. I expect this'll be - but teachers don't have time for this! - get a stamp or sticker, put it in the newsletter, be a grown up.

This is pathetic and petty and achieves nothing - except it's another reason parents are losing respect for schools and teachers. Yeah, let's punish the child who has done the reading but the parent hasn't ticked the correct box! I'm willing to bet there are parents who sign the book even though the child hasn't read. That's ok though because the books signed!!'

But you've 'forgotten' to sign it 5 times? Why don't you do it as soon as he's finished reading? The fault is yours not the school's.

This is probably why kids learn to forge signatures much younger than they used to.

You keep saying that your child is punished for something you have done, that applies to lateness and uniform infractions too.

Are you sure he missed his entire break? Usually it is 5 minutes and some children deliberately fuck about so that they get to be inside with a teacher/LSA/TA as they cannot be left unsupervised and it is a pain in the arse to watch your conversation when the staff are meant to be having their break.

It doesn't matter how many times you have done something and how many times you missed it this time. Hopefully now either you will always remember or your child will remember and get you to sign it.

@makeanddo I'm willing to bet there are parents who sign the book even though the child hasn't read. That's ok though because the books signed!!' and those will be the children who get awarded a certificate in assembly for reading x many times at home, too.

What does that teach them?!

Children should be encouraged to read and find joy in it, then it will become a lifelong habit. We should be teaching children that reading is fun, exciting and a way to travel to wonderful worlds through books.
Punishing a child for not getting a reading record signed is NOT the way to achieve this.
I have worked with children in schools for 12 years and specialise in promoting reading.
Use a carrot instead of a stick to encourage reading at home. Make it a joy not a chore . A good school with a good strategy for promoting reading does not use punishments for missed reading.

I know your dc is at standard op, but the school have to blanket punish. They can't say "everyone who didn't get their reading diary signed except for the clever kids must loose break". That would be discriminatory. I used to volunteer as a reading guide at our local primary school for years 1 and 2, mostly focusing on the children who needed extra support. The children who were below standard had blank pages on their home reading diaries, whilst no surprises that the children who were exceeding expectations had theirs' signed daily. Some of the kids would blank refuse to read to parents, so loosing break really is a way for school to back up the parents by putting in sanctions for not doing "homework". I don't actually agree in a child loosing a break btw. Unless they are bullying, they need breaks to unwind and socialise.
It doesn't matter how long hours we have to work, a supervising adult can and should still find 5 minutes at dc's bedtime to have a chat about the day, a quick read and signature and a kiss goodnight. If that can't be managed then there is something wrong.

this is more or less exactly what i did tbh.

The book went in and came home mondays, so monday night, i signed it for the whole week.

( we did read every night though, so wasn't being dishonest)

I read with mine every night. She got level 8 GCSE English and Lit.

Never signed her bloody reading record. It’s not the signature that matters. It’s the reading…..

@Longdueachange I know your dc is at standard op, but the school have to blanket punish. They can't say "everyone who didn't get their reading diary signed except for the clever kids must loose break". That would be discriminatory. But isn't it discriminatory to assume all children have the same access to books at home / parents with the same capability to sign / parents with the same level of literacy to support reading / parents with time that aren't working all hours of the day / any other multitude of reasons.

Everything should be adaptive.

It is harsh but those are the rules. Signed each day or missed break. For all they know he didn’t do the reading each day! Is it fair to get a speeding fine when you go just 1/2 miles over fair? Many might think not but those are the rules. There can’t always be negotiations

But the rules in this case (that not reading at home results in missing break time) are, frankly, stupid. The children who will be punished most by this policy are the ones whose parents don't give a shit and will never read with them. They won't care that the child has to stay in, and the child has no power to change that.

Do primaries punish 7 year olds for uniforms? Why?

Ours had a dress code. Kids wore it everyday no issues. They didn’t get ‘punished’ if they went in blue shoes though.

Persistent lateness is a parental problem not a child problem. The children shouldn’t be punished.

Theyre little kids. They’ve got enough of this unecessary shit coming up at secondary.

After spending 12 years specialising on reading focus I.can tell that there are many children who do not live in a cosy home where they get " a chat about the day, a quick read and signature and a kiss goodnight".

The OP is right. There are better ways to engage children and parents.

Thinking the same thing here.

It’s over the top. I work in Year 2 and have never seen that. We encourage reading at home at least 3 times a week but there’s no punishment. We have the same chn that are falling behind being the ones that never have their book and never read at home and are late to school. You can see their lives pan out ahead of them. It’s not their fault.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow yes when parents allow/dress their child to come in wearing a sparkly black cardigan that we didn't see until she took her coat off when the uniform was say a red jumper or cardigan.

Or they wear Argyle socks instead of tights or socks that fit the uniform policy. The school has a uniform, it is published before you even apply, children should wear it. This isn't her shoes ripped on the way home and we couldn't replace them last night stuff which is understandable however if that was a secondary school then that would be isolation so they need to consider that in future.

I’m sorry l don’t understand your post.

Who wore the sparkly cardigan?
Who wore Argyle socks?
Who’s shoes got ripped?

As l said DD’s school had a uniform/ dress code. But it wasn’t the end of the world if someone wore the wrong shoes.

There were no sock rules.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow my daughter's primary didn't "punish" for wrong uniforms - but they would get told off or made to feel like they were being naughty.
I hated that.