Your Opinion please - 5 year old's school

[ScarletRed]

Okay, I think I am just venting but I need some insight on whether all schools are like this.

My 5 year old is an August baby and at the last parent 'consultation' we were told that he is still emotionally immature compared to his peers.

They have asked me to send him into school in polo shirts as he takes too long to get dressed into his shirt with buttons after sports/PE.

The school policy is to drop kids of at
school gates and go - not a problem. At the end of the day it's a different matter for me. My child has forgotten somthing or the other e.g his PE kit or his homework diary or his school bag or his wellies or he didn't hand his nomework in and so I go back in with him to hunt down missing items or hand in things that need to be handed in. The school has made this such a hassle for me it's like I am running the gauntlet.

Last week he lost his homework diary at school and this week they gave him a new one and they expect me to pay £1.00 donation towards it.

Now they have set me homework....they want me draw up a list of things that he needs to remember and hand it into them so they can laminate it for him!!!!

Am I being overly sensitive?

No. If his diary has been lost at school, then they should be supporting him in finding it, it's not at home, so you shouldn't have to pay. The list itself isn't a bad idea, as you can get him to do it with you, reinforcing what he needs to do, but it's very common for kids to forget stuff, especially at this age.

Possibly a little. I'd personally be pleased they were involving me - though hacked off the be charged for something which is lost in school.

Hard though. DD2 has a July birthday, and we were always very aware of how young she was.

Good luck, he'll get there. Laminating always makes things better.

Thanks TheVisitor, with the diary I do feel that the school should have made an effort to find it but he has two teachers one does Mondays & Tuesdays and the other does the rest of the week so I feel that communication between the two has caused a lot of the problems.

The Monday teacher asked for the laminated list. She has also got him on a tick system which the 2nd teacher didn't know anything about.

5 is a bit young to have responsibilty for a homework diary - certainly round where I live (Suffolk). They get them at Middle School (Year 5) and have to pay £3 if they are lost (home or at school)which I have no problem with - but at 5 I think that is a bit extreme.

I don't think it's too young...my DD is a July baby and she'syoung in her year. I think it's tough to let go with helping them out practically. I know I was always loitering around..my DD is in year 2 now..she's 6 while most of er class is over seven already.

BUt DD looks after her own homework diary and has done snce year 1 age 5.

I tell her "You have three things to remember today...put your homeork in the tray, put your book on te teachers dest..etc etc...

reiterating the three things is good. The buttons..that's nt unusual...my DD still struggles with hers...polo sirts make their lives easier.

I think children start school too young in this country. At 4 and 5 there is a huge variation in maturity amongst kids. I have 2 August kids - DS is 5 and DD is 3 - but she is almost at same level of maturity as her older brother. My view is that if a child of this age is too immature to remember to bring out hats, gloves, scarves etc, school have to deal with it. If you need to march in to get stuff do it with aplomb and without embarrassment. The laminated list could be helpful (I get a bit hacked off though with schools getting parents to do allsorts - isn't it their job?)Sometimes just have to swallow it and get on with it.

My DS`s uniform is a polo shirt - thank goodness - if he had to button up a shirt I dread to think what sartorial disaster would occur. Can he get away with having top few buttons undone and lifting shirt over head? I think it'sa bit rough on him to wear something different from everyone else - but if he's OK with it then maybe it's not a problem.
I think it's unacceptable to charge you for a lost diary on school premises. Fair enough if lost at home, but if they can't keep tabs on a labelled diary on their turf then how can they penalise you? For all you know another kid could have nabbed it and that's not your or your DS's fault. £1 isn't much but on principle this is mean.
Good luck I also have a head in the clouds year 1 son so know what it's like.

Thanks nellieellie - at the moment I am just getting on with things as I feel so down about it but - yes the principle of the book being lost while it was in their care rather than the monetary value of a £1.00.

I feel that my son is on a losing streak with the school.

I can see the list be lost soon too.
Wouldn't it be better if the teacher ask the whole class: Has everybody given me their homework? put their work on my desk? don't forget your PE, your clothes...?
you get my drift. It probably takes 5 min/ day.
Like it use to be when we were little?