Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

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

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Children being kept in at lunch for spelling test mistakes

60 replies

loobee · 12/02/2019 13:46

Thoughts please?
My 9 year old daughter has been kept in last week for getting less than 7 out of 10 in a spelling test. She practised them at home and got 8 out of ten (hard spellings!) but on the day she didn't get the minimum score of 7 and therefore missed 20 mins or so of her lunch break. As a result she didn't get to eat all her lunch and came home hungry with leftover lunch. She was upset.

I'm furious. She is being punished for under-achievement in the same way she would be if she was behaving badly, when she hasn't behaved badly at all AND she had practised them.

I've requested a meeting to discuss this with her teacher. Has anyone had similar experiences?

Surely this is against a child's right to being treated with dignity and respect, not shamed for their test results despite good effort?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

MumUnderTheMoon · 13/02/2019 20:21

I don't think children should be punished for not achieving an arbitrary pass rate. I would absolutely complain and make it known to school that I would be looking into making a more formal complaint about this practice. You cannot punish a child into learning.

Moussemoose · 13/02/2019 20:25

Nonsense.

Primary school tried this with my child I told them in no uncertain terms what I thought. Spelling tests don't work, spelling needs to be taught in context. The teacher agreed with me. They only gave spelling tests to make parents happy and parents expected punishment!

I explained my child would not be engaging with spellings out of context. The teacher again agreed.

I had this conversation several times during primary schooling.

lornesausage10 · 13/02/2019 20:36

I'm a teacher and I don't think this is a particularly good way of teaching spelling at any rate and I'm absolutely horrified to see that your daughter was kept in for getting 7 out of 10.

With that being said, it is really important to get the teacher's perspective on this matter. It may be a school policy that individual teachers have little say in at the moment...

longtompot · 14/02/2019 17:15

Being kept in as a punishment is wrong, but being kept in to go over the spellings and help learn them I don't see an issue with. I remember many moons ago when I was at primary school I just couldn't get long division. I was kept in at break time (can't remember if it was dinner or short break) and the teacher went over it with me, one to one, and I eventually got it. I can still do them to this day, and I really struggle with most math. I hope your meeting went well.

Foraminutethere · 14/02/2019 21:23

Rivertam speaks sense. If it is additional learning no probs. Ours keep them in if they didn't do their spelling homework but not if they get less than a certain amount. So if they cam show they have tried at home, they don't miss any time. Maybe suggest that.

They should absolutely be given chance to eat lunch though - did she genuinely not have enough time?

Cheesycheesytwist · 14/02/2019 21:30

Terrible terrible policy op I'm not surprised you're upset. That goes against how I feel primary school should be (nurturing, encouraging, fun!) and would make me seriously judge the ethos of the school if my complaint was ignored. All that will do is convince children they "can't do" spellings and destroy their confidence. Hope the school take your complaint on board.

hellogg87 · 15/02/2019 06:20

This is awful! I understand how you feel. I am surprised by many of the replies here. How does this policy really help your child learn?

RancidOldHag · 15/02/2019 06:37

How long is the school lunch break?

I think your DD's slow eating may be a red herring here, if the break is a typical length.

Also, what happened during that 20mins? Punishment or practice?

And a word of caution - your RL friends will tell you 'oh how awful' when they are talking to you, because they would wouldn't they?

MaverickSnoopy · 15/02/2019 06:53

And a word of caution - your RL friends will tell you 'oh how awful' when they are talking to you, because they would wouldn't they?

Is that what some people do then? I answer questions honestly. If I disagree I might word it carefully but I'd never just agree with a friend so not to upset them and let them go along their merry way. If always try and find a way to help them see the other side.

OP if it's meant in the spirit of helping them then it might be useful, although what about kids who consistently struggle with spellings and are and will always be at a lower level? Surely this isn't the right approach for them, would be so demoralising for them, week after week being stuck inside and made to feel hopeless. This is never going to be a one size fits all solution.

EdtheBear · 15/02/2019 07:53

Things to remember school lunch breaks are typically 40-45 minutes, long gone are the hour long breaks of the 80's.
Some school do two sittings for food, ie older children play first the a bell rings to tell them its time for them to go to the dinner hall. So depending on when she was meant to eat and when the detention took place she may well have missed her 'eating time'.
Can children realistically be expected to sit alone and eat while their friends are out playing?

Anyway if a child is struggling with any form of learning keeping them in under the guise of help will still be seen as humiliating punishment in the eyes of the child.

Flip

1 2 3