Found out DD went to a netball match and was left unattended, wwyd?

[npg1]

We pay for private education as we thought it would be better, however I am having serious doubts.

2 DD's aged 10 and 6yrs old.

DD enjoyed school until yr3 and then it changed for some reason. She doesnt like PE and is in the D team (A-D teams, A being the best.) The school doesnt see to focus much on the D team, they are just shoved to the side. The a's get loads of help and support and always playig matches. Im not too fussed as DD isnt the sporty type.

Yesterday they went to a school about 25 miles away for a netball match. They were taken down there on a coach with 2 teachers and all the teams. When they got there the D team were left at the sports hall with the other team from the school which was a B team. The teacher then said she was going outside with the other teams and other teacher! They were then left to play a game on their own with no support and got thrashed 31-1 with no guidence and taunting from the other team.

I only knew about this because the head master phoned me this morning and apologised and said it should have never had happened and it was completely wrong and the situation is being dealt with. I didnt say much at the time because I was in shock but now im totally fuming and dont know what to do. I am awaiting an email from one of the mums which has gone to the headmaster.

Any help would be great please

[learnandsay]

Here's a team of grown up women who volunteered to get beaten at football 43-0

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-21749312

It's interesting, but I don't believe schools should be teaching children the right way to learn how to get a thumping. Is there merit (in either of these cases, for an argument which runs along the lines of: if this sport isn't working out for you then maybe you should try doing something else.)

[follygirl]

I don't really see what the fuss is all about.

My dd played away at another school. She is in the A team and the B team were also playing. There was 1 teacher from her school and a few parents who were there to support their dds. The teacher from our school refereed the B team's match and our A team were refereed by the other school's teacher.

Our A team played against girls who were in the year above and yes they did get beaten. They didn't get any coaching of course although I suppose they did see/hear some parents encourage them.

The other girls were fairly well-behaved. Didn't appreciate their ref shouting at us and asking if we 'posh parents' had a coin for her to flip, but there you go.

Losing didn't upset my daughter at all. To be honest the standard of netball at our school is so poor that they are used to being beaten. Luckily they take these things in their stride.

Fwiw yes she is at an independent school.

[npg1]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. Yes perhaps I have over reacted but as I said dd isn't happy there so perhaps it is the final straw.

The fact is that every single match they have ever played therebhas always been a teacher from our school to support the girls. The hm said because they were under staffed that day the pe teacher took the decision apon herself to take them all down there and leave the d's which was was unsatisfactory

[rabbitstew]

If all teams had one adult umpiring, all teams had someone to play against, all teams were playing at the same time, and the B team playing against the D team were from a younger year group with there being a reasonable expectation that they were not too far apart in ability, then I agree that the fault really lies with the host school for allowing very unsporting behaviour. If the D team hardly ever get taken out to play matches against other schools, however, it would have been kinder and more supportive for one of their teachers to umpire that game, rather than have them both go out to support the stronger teams outside.

[cumbrialass]

We send 15 teams to a tennis tournament each year.

We don't have 15 members of staff to send with them

[jo164]

Either a mistake was made and the wrong teams ended up playing eachother - or the opposition school put out 2 different year groups with an A and a B team in each (perhaps years 5 and 6). The D team could have been playing the younger year's B team. Whatever the situation, they were supervised in what is a very usual manner - it is a very lucky/rich school that can afford to send a member of staff with each team when 4 are playing at the same time. I don't think that this is something to complain about. It sounds like the teacher umpiring could have been more helpful to your school's team and made her pupils behave in a more polite manner. I can't see how this is going to get you out of giving the school a term's notice? It is a very minor thing to pull your daughter out of school for - but perhaps this for you is a final straw? You are however being unrealistic if you expect all teams to have their own menber of staff at matches. Perhaps you should check this out at any future school before sending your daughter there if it is this much of a deal breaker.

[rabbitstew]

But the OP has made it clear that her DD has not been happy at the school since year 3. She is now 10. So this is very clearly the icing on the cake.

[teacherwith2kids]

Rabbit,

I had assumed that:
Teacher 1 is with A team
Teacher 2 is with B team
Teacher 3 (other school) is with C team and
Teacher 4 (other school) is with D team

because, otherwise, as you say, there are 2 teams left completely unsupervised.

The B team for the other school may be a mistake, may be a B team from a lower year, there may have bee a round robin in which the different lettered teams play one another...certainly nothing to get so het up about that the OP is withdrawing her child....

[WishIdbeenatigermum]

THEY WERE SUPERVISED
You are coming across extremely badly. Unless there are underlying issues you have no chance of having the notice fees waived but they'll be delighted to get rid of you.

[Notquite]

If primary school netball where the OP is is anything like secondary netball here, I can see her point. DD was grasped firmly round the throat and told to 'fuck off' by an opponent last year, under the nose of the teacher/umpire from the other team. Her exerience generally seems to give the lie to the notion that a) netball is a non-contact sport and b) that umpires are there to ensure fairness.

I don't really know what to make of your specific complaint OP, but if you're pulling her daughter out if the school I'm assuming there are other things you're not happy with?

[rabbitstew]

If I were a teacher expecting a D team to play against a B team, I would NOT leave them to the other school's teacher to deal with on their own, given that I would KNOW they were likely to be outclassed. What is the teacher at the other school supposed to do about that when she knows nothing about the abilities of my school's players????? She has no way of evening it up and making it more fair. Fine if you have two B teams together, but why on earth put the D team against the B team??????? That doesn't seem remotely like adequate supervision to me. Babysitting, yes, but not giving the person responsible the ability to make a fair match out of it.

[teacherwith2kids]

Rabbit, the OP has confirmed that they were supervised and refereed by a teacher from the other school .

[titchy]

Rabbit they WEREN'T unsupervised!!!!

[rabbitstew]

teacherwith2kids - do you really think it's reasonable to take 4 teams to a school only fielding 2 teams, an A and a B team? And then to leave an unsupervised D team to take on that school's B team while 2 of your teachers supervise the A-team match with the other school also supervising that match? And what was happening to the B and C teams during all this? Were they just playing against each other instead of the other school??? It all seems a bit bizarre to me.

Or maybe the other school did have more teams, but the teachers choosing who played against whom can't tell the difference between the letter B and the letter D???????.....

[clam]

I'm curious as to why anyone is surprised that a private school has spent its time concentrating on the fittest/most able/talented. Isn't that what you pay for?

[Verugal]

Very precious reaction.I was in my school D team for Netball in year 6 and we were thrashed by a year 4 B team from another school. I don't recall any lasting trauma.

If a child is in the D team for Netball it suggests they're not very good at it. I doubt that the outcome of the match is really going to have much effect on her Netballing achievements. I'd just use the incident as an opportunity to talk through taking the rough with the smooth and acknowledging that failure happens and is ok.

My inability to throw or catch a ball didn't have a huge impact on my later life choices and general well-being.

[titchy]

Tbh I think you're being rather precious. I thought from the title of your post she was abandoned. In actual fact none of them were - you're just miffed that a teacher from the other school was in charge, rather than one from your school, and that your pfb child's team were slaughtered by a better, albeit nastier, team. Hardly your HTs fault!

What would your reaction have been if your dd's D team had beaten the other school's B team? Just as Furious?

[clam]

And you'll have a very hard time proving breach of contract too.

And to whoever it was saying that the Head should "apologise more." How, exactly? By saying " really sorry," instead of just "sorry?"

[stealthsquiggle]

I presume you must have other, more serious issues with the school to be taking DD out at such short notice, but IMHO you have no chance of them waiving the term's notice if this is your stated grounds.

[teacherwith2kids]

If only 2 teachers were available, for 4 teams, would you have preferred
a) The C and D teams not to have been sent - perpetuating what you complained about in your first post, that the A & B teams get more opportunities to play matches or
b) Teachers from the other school to referee two of the 4 matches?

Given that the matches were played on a Wednesday - a school day - and that presumably there was a full teaching load for the staff remaining in school for the afternoon, would it be better for the refereeing to be shared as described in b) OR for classes expecting teachers in school that afternoon to be taught by supply teachers or 'covered' in another way? You do seem a little unreasonable in the demaind that a teacher should be devoted to your child's team of ?7 or so even if it meant that classes back at school had no-one to teach them...

[teacherwith2kids]

(And why should your teacher referee always - how is that fair to the other team? Surely they deserve to have their teacher referee sometimes??)

[teacherwith2kids]

So the fault of the school is not sending 4 teachers with 4 teams. What other matches were on that day? Are there enough teachers to manage that? Could 4 teachers be spared for these matches without jeopardising other teaching / other matches elsewhere? ust because you would LIKE there to be 1 teacher per team does not always make that possible.....

[npg1]

Because at every match we always have our teacher refere our matches and also for support and encouragement

[teacherwith2kids]

So there were probably 4 matches to referee (A, B, C and D). Your child's school sent two staff. The other school probably provided 2 staff, or maybe a couple more. Your child's match - the D one - was refereed by the other school's staff, while other matches were refereed by your school's staff. Where is the problem?