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Original poster

do seniors and primary usually mix?

36 replies

Angeliz · 18/01/2010 14:14

Hi all,
i am wondering if i'm over-reacting already but i have a big niggle at the moment with school.
Mine are at a school which goes from nursery up to year 6. This year it seems to be that the senior kids are there alot and have priority over our school. My eldest (year 4) doesn't get an afternoon break anymore as the seniors are using the outdoor area, she also has to change in a storeroom on another day as the seniors are using their changing room and every time i go there are teenagers roaming in the corridors which worries me too!
I have raised it but to no avail. So........opinions?

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Original poster
Angeliz · 18/01/2010 14:24

Anyone?

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AMumInScotland · 18/01/2010 14:33

So the kids from the senior school are coming in and using the junior school facilities?

I think my problem with it would be the things that your DC are not getting - they ought to be getting an afternoon break, and they ought to have reasonable changing facilities.

Who have you raised it with?

Original poster
Angeliz · 18/01/2010 14:36

I have raised it with the head and dd's teacher. They make the right noises but nothing yet!
Yes, the senior school kids come and use facilities and seem to have priority!

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annh · 18/01/2010 14:38

You said your school goes up to year 6. I presume the teenagers you are talking about are therefore from the senior school based in another building? Am also assuming that this senior school is part of the same group as the junior school and not some random school using the facilities? It seems bizarre that the younger children, who are more in need of running around in the afternoon, are being denied break at the expense of the older children. Presumably this has also lengthened your child's lesson time? I would go in and speak to the Head and raise your concerns in a non-confrontational way. Perhaps this is some sort of short-term solution to a redevelopment project in the senior school?

annh · 18/01/2010 14:39

Sorry, cross post! When you say "right noises" what are they saying exactly?

Original poster
Angeliz · 18/01/2010 14:40

Yes it's part of the same school and the are not on the same site.
Our children have a 'break' in the classroom and do silent reading, (dd reads enough and i'd like her to be getting ten minutes fresh air tbh)
We are going to raise it again.
Thanks for replies.

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islandofsodor · 18/01/2010 14:41

Many schools don't have an afternoon break in juniors (my children's school has just abolished it) as in KS2 they ahve to do more hours some cut the afternoonbreak for an earlier finish.

i think it is nice when children from the senior school are around. It gives the seniors a sense of responsibility and the juniors look up to them.

In our case though the juniors use the senior school facilities, not the otehr way round as such.

Original poster
Angeliz · 18/01/2010 14:42

Well her teacher said that the case is often the younger the children the less rights they have,
the head was playing up the ten minute break in class.....actually they've not even made the right noises have they, ? just fobbed us off!

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Original poster
Angeliz · 18/01/2010 14:43

Oh, i hadn't heard of no afternoon breaks at all.

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annh · 18/01/2010 14:50

Yes, it's not common to have breaks in Year 4. Most schools cut them out after year 2 but if your school has had breaks and now suddenly they don't, then I would be asking why. Having said that, it sounds as if there is a choice of staying in ss or going outside which must be difficult to monitor given that it will require staff in th elassroom and outside? Maybe they have just had to cut back on the staffing budget? Not sure about the other things, it sounds as if something has changed with regard to facilities, timings or something and even if you don't particularly like it, the Head should surely be man enough (or woman enough!) to expin it to you?

annh · 18/01/2010 14:51

Sorry, very odd spelling mistakes in that message!

islandofsodor · 18/01/2010 14:53

We had a new head and were just informed that as from September there woudl be no afternoon break fromYear 3 onwards but but they would finish 10 mintes earlier as it disrupted the session.

stealthsquiggle · 18/01/2010 14:59

My DS has no break in the afternoon (Y3) but I do empathise about older children taking priority - DS is in the pre-prep department of a prep school and their timetable gets randomly re-arranged for the convenience of the main school which annoys me - yes the younger ones benefit from the facilities that come with the main school, but we pay fees too...

marialuisa · 18/01/2010 15:11

DD's old school was 3-18 on one site but the primary children didn't get moved around to fit in with the senior school-so infants and juniors each had a dedicated playground which was not used by seniors at all. There were also separate changing rooms for primary and seniors. Her current school is a much bigger set-up so the shared facilities are fewer again-pool, music school, dining hall only. It sounds as if your school has run out of space?

Original poster
Angeliz · 18/01/2010 16:26

thanks again for replies.
TBh the space is the same as it's always been but over the last year our kids seem to have been pushed aside to give the seniors more facilities.
I will talk to them again as it bothers me. I'll let you know an outcome but am not hopeful as i think they just don't listen!

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ShoshanaBlue · 18/01/2010 21:19

Our Key Stage 2 children have no break at all (because of finishing the same time as the rest of the school).

Original poster
Angeliz · 20/01/2010 09:14

Well the school is like a fortress now, they have new measures and parents aren't allowed in at all unless we go and sign in. I can understand these measures to an extent but have a real issue at the moment because senior kids are roaming the school and an incident i brought up regarding this has been brushed under the carpet......
am seeing red today!

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MmeBlueberry · 20/01/2010 18:07

And so you should sign in. They can't have non-checked adults wandering around, even if you are a parent.

Original poster
Angeliz · 20/01/2010 19:02

so what about unsupervised fifteen year olds?

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Original poster
Angeliz · 20/01/2010 19:03

(am all for the security obviously)

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MmeBlueberry · 20/01/2010 19:04

They are pupils on the roll of the school.

Original poster
Angeliz · 20/01/2010 19:06

so they should have free run? This is a infant/junior school btw, not mixed.

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annh · 20/01/2010 19:24

I am very confused now. What are the senior pupils doing that you are unhappy about? I admit that if their school is in a different building, I am unsure why they are in the junior school and would be pushing that point strongly. If facilities are shared, then they are presumably moving between classes. Do you feel that they are intimidating the juniors in some way? I am also unsure why they need to be supervised in the corridors. Wouldn't most 15 year olds just ignore the juniors? All this talk of roaming and supervision is conjuring up some Lord of the Flies type scenario in my mind.

MmeBlueberry · 20/01/2010 19:32

Is the Junior school out of bounds for the seniors? Do they have a purpose for being there.

You really haven't explained the situation very well. It is hard to get a picture of it.

I teach in an all-through school, and the junior buildings and playground are definitely out-of-bounds to seniors as they have no reason to be there, unless doing a job for member of staff. The shared facilities are more in the senior part of the school, but juniors would only be there with a member of staff, or en route to a timetabled lesson.

As pupils move up through the school, they are given more responsibility, so can move around the school unchaperoned. Obviously, if asked, they would have to be doing something purposeful.

Original poster
Angeliz · 20/01/2010 19:39

sorry, i know i'm being a bit cryptic!!!!
The seniors are there alot more now there is a new head. They come round to use sports facilities and chnage there.
TBH, i never thought much of it but there was an incident where there was a boy of 15 calling an 8 year old names, and offering to show a younger child pictures of naked women on his phone. Now this is being dealt with we've been told but this is why i'm now nervous about the amount of time the older kids are there. I'm not saying the're ALL like him, heaven forbid, just that it's raised concerns for me where before i didn't have any!

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