It’s kicking off on the class WhatsApp…

[Creamice]

So limited number of tickets for (after) school event.
It is now sold out. Parents are upset that other parents have bought tickets for their younger children meaning that school pupils can’t all attend. Though I suspect there were never enough tickets for all pupils anyway…
should younger (preschool) siblings be allowed to attend? And if so do they need tickets? Discuss.

People are going to “raise it with the headteacher since kids are being discriminated against”.

everyone is DISCRIMINATED against these days lol

I think that if there are a limited number of tickets it should just be for the school children.

Why don't you kick off the discussion by sharing your thoughts, OP?

I suppose for me it would depend on the event. If it was for something educational, then the school should limit the tickets in order to prioritise students. However if it is was more like an event to raise money for school funds, and it was made clear that tickets were first come first served, then fair game!

Not something I would bother getting involved with, but very thankfully there were no class WhatsApp groups when my DDs were at school. I always think they sound absolutely awful.

Please don't order people to "discuss" as though you are setting an essay for an exam or coursework. It's patronising.

Sorry, I don’t have a ticket. Don’t want a ticket and read that it said limited. So assumed not everyone would get a ticket. Not everyone would want one and that everyone would behave like adults!
I am just shocked at the insanity of it all.
Until now was a very normal WhatsApp.

Yes, was a fundraiser. So it’s great they have sold out.
This is not the event. But every year they have a dance with only approx 100 tickets. Nearly 400pupils alone so obviously not every child can have a ticket and everyone is very “normal” about this and no one threatens the headteacher or pulls the discrimination card!

This might be outing as it was a reasonably famous event they used to put on, but anyway.
Our primary school (400+ students) used to host an annual fundraising event which was a 'first come first served' thing. There are a few famous musicians with kids at the school, so they'd do a 1 hour set, one of the chef parents would do a BBQ (think Amandaland!!), one of the footballers used to do a 'training session' with the kids etc.
I think it was limited to 800 people, so in theory it would be 1 student + 1 parent. Of course, what actually happened was people logged on and bought the maximum they could (5 tickets) and then have their aunty/neighbour/grandad/dog walker come and attend whilst the kids and parents who actually attended the school could never go.
Now that was drama!

I should add, because of the uproar they don't do the event anymore which is a shame as it used to raise thousands for the school

Couldn't agree more. It's become aspirational these days .....

And offended find offence in everything.

Thank you. Good to see I’m not alone in thinking that “limited” tickets means they will be first come first served and that if you didn’t come first you aren’t actively being discriminated against! I don’t have a ticket because I didn’t try to buy one.

Surely they just need to say maximum 2/3 tickets per family?

It does seem badly thought out to have an event where only a small percentage of the school community can attend. However, kicking off in the WhatsApp group isn't the best way to deal with that.

Always 2 tickets per family at ours, and you can put your name down for any spares if they become available. Seems sensible.

First come first serve is fair enough.
Single parents wouod have to bring a preschooler or toddler along....

Is this a school organized event or is it a PTA event? It's pretty bad form if the school organizes an event and doesn't allow for all relevant families, e.g., appropriate year groups, to participate.

I am so glad I am not a headteacher.

It depends on the event. 'Dance' is very vague. Is it a family event? In which case of course parents and siblings can also get tickets. I can't imagine it's not a family event if people are taking their preschoolers, who would agree to look after a bunch of preschoolers at a school event whilst their parents bogged off?

It's a better system to limit tickets per family imo. Our school has a 2 ticket per family rule. It's just fairer that way.

It’s so annoying with a ”Discuss!”

Especially when OP doesn’t share their own view.

But not if you have 3 children at the school.

Why? So Parent A with one child can get two tickets but parent B with three children can only get two as well? Which child do they leave out?

Why isn't 'first come, first served' a fair system? It's how most things on sale work.

It’s a Halloween Party for the infant school but not the junior school. I wouldn’t have expected to take my preschooler as it’s a school event. But if parents had to attend (they don’t - but many children might prefer parental presence) then I would have needed to take my preschooler too as I wouldn’t have childcare. Though I have no skin in the game as I was never going to buy tickets for the event.
parents don’t need tickets for this event, but can attend.
(Dance is another event in the evening which obviously one would expect people might attend as families so lots of school families won’t be able to go as not enough tickets for whole school community).