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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Did you get any of your child's work home at end of term?

21 replies

winosrus · 11/08/2011 17:34

Am curious what happens to others as my DS hasn't brought home any exercise books from school (ever he is year 4) only two or three random bits of art. I would really LOVE to have some of his books for mementoes and to see what he has been doing, but they have a policy of keeping the kids books for a year in case of OFSTED and then binning or shredding all their work! What message does that give to the kids about all their hard work and why can't we parents choose. Arent they the property of the kids?
What happens to your kids work? And should I say something to the HT or does it look like pushy parent?

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2BoysTooLoud · 11/08/2011 17:41

Goodness I have never thought of them shredding stuff.
My ds is in year 1 and some stuff might be nice to have the option of keeping.

TheMonster · 11/08/2011 17:44

I'm a secondary teacher and the policy at our school is to offer the pupils their books or they go into recycling. I think about 40% of my pupils took their books home.

mrz · 11/08/2011 18:17

All my classes books went home at the end of term. In the years we have expected Ofsted we have kept work until after the visit and then sent it home.

EuphemiaMcGonagall · 11/08/2011 18:49

I have an attic full of DD's work.

Shitter · 11/08/2011 19:02

there was quite a thread about it a few weeks ago.

here

littlebrownmouse · 11/08/2011 19:06

We keep a more able, a middle ability and a less able each year for one year, all other books are sent home. If children really object to me keeping their books, I always cave in and let them take them home and try to persuade another child to let me keep theirs. After a year, the books are given back to their owner.

tiggerandpoohtoo · 11/08/2011 19:08

My DD was in reception this year and all her books were sent home at the end of term.

Elibean · 11/08/2011 19:08

We had reams of artwork, poems, stories, a maths book and writing book, and various other odds and sods. dd throws none of it away, either

I don't think its ever 'pushy parent' to ask a question, is it?

Elibean · 11/08/2011 19:12

'throws none of it away, either'? I think I need some sleep!

Lifeissweet · 11/08/2011 19:16

I teach in a Primary School and we don't send the books home at the end of the year. We keep a sample for the archive so that OFSTED can see them and the others go in a skip. I think it's horrible and really sad to trash our children's work like that and have said as much to the Head, but he insists that it's policy and that's what we do. I got told off last year for sending the writing books home, but some of the work was lovely and I know how much I enjoy reading through my own DS's books when they come home.

I'm not sure what lead to the policy. I heard a rumour that a couple of parents complained about the marking or something one year. I think it's a poor excuse.

bluegiraffe · 11/08/2011 21:00

oh crikey Lifeissweet, I hadn't even thought about this being an issue - guess I have been looking forward to boxing up my DD's infant school work alongside my whole school/Uni career's worth - after having read through it all (and mine, again) with tears in my eyes ...!

I really, really hope that my DD's new school policy isn't to skip it all - how tragic :( (plans to go up in loft before September and get the books down and dusted ready to show DD what her Mummy got up to at her age!!)...

stillsurvinghols · 11/08/2011 21:10

Surely our children have as much right to their work as we do with any other company holding information on us. I find it annoying that it should be binned without them / us having the option to keep it. We did get books at our school but I have to say that it was only the best bits of work in the books. I'd have preferred to see some of the crappy stuff to as I think this can show a child how much they have improved (and a parent to) when you look back. I am though just please that DD gets to keep hers. She has portfolios from another school and when we moved I stuck them on her bottom shelf and never did anything with them. She now collects them and occasionally she'll enjoy looking back through them on her own and then coming to show me bits she remembered doing and enjoyed.

SE13Mummy · 14/08/2011 20:17

My class took home all their art work, science, handwriting, topic etc. books and any literacy/numeracy books that were completely full. Their most recent literacy and numeracy books have been boxed up for their Y5 teacher to look at in September (mainly to ensure that there is a very clear reference point in terms of expectations and levels). Once the books are finished with, they'll be handed to the children to take home.

I did keep one piece of art/science/literacy work that my class did in July - they know it will be put on display in the hall in September and are thrilled. Once it's no longer on display they will be able to take the work home.

Ponders · 14/08/2011 20:39

IME it depends on the Head. with the old school head when my older children were at primary, they were instructed to bring in carrier bags & everything (apart from a few samples) was emptied into those - a lot more than we wanted really but we had the choice to keep or bin.

subsequent head was awful - controlling, paranoid, didn't seem to like or appreciate the kids at all. Under her regime everything was recycled (in the interests of the environment according to her). when challenged she said "it's the school's property, it's our decision" (so no intellectual rights then )

It's very sad because we have some hilarious stuff from the earlier years

Hulababy · 14/08/2011 20:44

DD has just finished Y4 and she came home with lots of her used books and some art/craft stuff. She brings other art stuff home throughout the year too.

I work in an infant school and we always send home all their work at the end of each term, and finished books - unless going up to next teacher - at the end of the year.

We have no shredding policy in DD's school or where I work and I know of none locally that do either. I think it is dreadful that children's work is discarded in such a way. It shpuld be down to parents if they want to keep it or not.

sphil · 14/08/2011 21:18

We get topic books and the target writing book. DS2 ( who is autistic and doesnt write yet) gets a book of photos of things he's done in the year, which is lovely.

JacksonPollocks · 14/08/2011 21:33

I work in a school and our books go in recycling. It's sad but it was borne out of the amount of problems we had sending books home. We had formal complaints about marking, progress, peer-marking... everything. EVERY teacher spent ages answering questions like:
'Why do you allow other dc to read my dc's work, they've marked it wrong/ I don't want other dc seeing it',
'Why is there a tick at the bottom of this page when they haven't done x, y or z',
'I have found a number of days that he was in school but there's no work in the maths/ literacy book'
''I feel this work has been challenging enough'
It got quite nasty, confrontations at the gate, formal complaints, letters to answer, staff v. upset... and we are a good school with outstanding teachers we really caring staff. OFSTED gave us less hassle over marking!

Insider333 · 16/08/2011 02:56

JacksonPollocks is right. I'm a teacher and the unofficial policy is that books especially don't go home at the end of the year because of the "comeback" that often results, both from well-intentioned parents/carers and those just looking for trouble ;o).

When asked by children and parents what happens to the books, they're often told that the books are kept for inspection - 2 higher ability, 2 average ability, 2 lower ability usually are, the rest go in the bin!

Have a look in the school's wheelie bins towards the end of the school year ;o)

Highlander · 16/08/2011 08:54

DS1 is Yr1 and got all of his work home. Pretty appalled at the lack of free writing and comprehension exercises.

traceybeaker · 16/08/2011 19:56

Blimey...............we get invited in and can take home what we want.

TalkinPeace2 · 16/08/2011 20:58

my kids school put the whole lot in a skip - even stuff DD got a special prize for.
with DS we knew so he smuggled most of it home in the last weeks

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