Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

I think I'm about to do something silly, if I am stop me?

38 replies

KatyMac · 11/09/2012 07:51

DD does a lot of out of school activity, she is intending a career outside the normal GCSE/A level/Uni that is planned for by most of her contemporaries.

She is year 10 and started her GCSEs last year

Last year we had problems with homework as it often clustered or was expected in over night.

I was thinking about sending a letter to her teachers explaining she wasn't being awkward or contrary but that sometimes it got a bit complicated and if they let me know there is a big piece of work on I'll move/cancel her other stuff so she can get it done.

It is a stupid idea isn't it?

OP posts:
OhYouBadBadKitten · 11/09/2012 07:53

I think phoning the head of year and asking that she always has at least two days to do it would be the best option. That is not an unreasonable request.

PropositionJoe · 11/09/2012 07:53

She needs to do it herself

Original poster
KatyMac · 11/09/2012 08:12

OYBBK, message rarely get through, not even to her form teacher

PropositionJoe - really? - I just assumed they would think she was pulling a fast one

OP posts:
funchum8am · 11/09/2012 08:21

Overnight hw is really poor practice and as a head of faculty in a secondary I would want to know it was being set so I could stamp it out. Maybe try contacting the head of dept for the subjects that have set it? But be sure your dd isn't leaving it late and then asking for your help first!

Original poster
KatyMac · 11/09/2012 08:28

She rarely asks for help; she just works through lunch/break/form/the bus in order to get it done

She is hard working but I worry about all the pressures on her

OP posts:
wordfactory · 11/09/2012 08:48

Perfectly acceptable OP.

I know lots of DC who do elite sport out of school and they all have arrangments with schools to do homework and indeed catch up on any lessons missed, around their sport.

Original poster
KatyMac · 11/09/2012 08:59

How does this sound? I guess I need another sentence, but I'm not quite sure what.....

My daughter, XX, is in your class this year. Although taking GCSEs she is considering an alternative career path which needs considerable time for studying out side of school.

This means that she sometimes finds it difficult to complete homework especially if it is set over night. She has some time set aside on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday to work on coursework and homework; I believe that during last year she was able to complete her homework to schedule.

However, sometimes, the work mounted up due to the distribution during the term. If it?s likely that there will be ?log-jams? of homework or coursework in your subject could you let me know and I will free up some extra time during the week so it can be completed on time.

OP posts:
Moominmammacat · 11/09/2012 09:00

Do it ... don't ask, don't get. Our comp gave DS a practice room and let him drop a GCSE because he was taking music out of school.

HauntedLittleLunatic · 11/09/2012 09:11

Hmm...personally I think that your current wording leaves it open to 'well if you can free up time on request then you shouldn't have to wait to be asked'.

Schools and teachers may take the view that they are the priority, which despite your dds alternative plans she should still have a solidly grounded education behind her. Schools will also have targets to meet and will put expectations on her to help them meet those targets.

All that said, based upon what I know of your DDs abilities in dance I would expect her to be on the gifted and talented register in the school. They should therefore be aware.

I would perhaps change the last paragraph to give the message that because of her chosen career path her alternative studies are her priority. She will do her best in her academic studies and they can help her acheive that by giving her advance notice so that you can help her manage her time (leave it vague like that - don't be explicit about shifting stuff). You might also want to ask about flexibility should she have a cluster of work from a range of subjects simulateously.

diddlediddledumpling · 11/09/2012 09:16

The school I work in produces a coursework calendar, to show which months over the two years are heaviest in terms of cw. Although it wouldn't be reasonable to ask them to put one together just for you, you could ask if the document exists already. We don't send it out until maybe November. Also, you should be aware that GCSE coursework will probably take up a lot more time than last year's homework.

HauntedLittleLunatic · 11/09/2012 09:26

How about:

My daughter, XX, is in your class this year. Although taking GCSEs she is considering an alternative career path which needs considerable time for studying out side of school.

This means that she sometimes finds it difficult to complete homework especially if it is set over night. She has time set aside throughout the week for her to complete homework and coursework but there are some evenings where she is unable to study. If such homework falls on these eveings she will not be able to complete to your deadlines; I believe that during last year she was able to complete her homework to schedule, but I am concious of increasing demands as she starts to study for her GCSEs.

However, sometimes, the work mounted up due to the distribution during the term. Her alternative studies are, and will remain her priority and as her parents we fully support her in this. We do, however, want to see her complete her GCSEs to the best of her ability. It would be helpful to us if you can advise us in advance of substantial homework or coursework which needs to be done at home. This way we will be able to help her manage her time, helping her to succeed. We may also need to ask for flexibility if there is a cluster of such work from a number of subjects.

I would like to stress that our whilst our priority is helping [DD] to suceed in her non-academic studies we will be supporting her in her GCSE studies and ask for the help outlined to acheive this. If you have any concerns regarding this I am happy to discuss it further on .

Many thanks,

KayMac

I would also be inclined to see if you can get a copy of the homework policy - it is often on school website. Many schools have a policy of not setting homework overnight/setting it over 7 days etc. If you have such I would add in to the paragraph about the overnight homework (i.e. Having read the school homework policy I believe that she should be given a minimum of xx days to complete homeowork anyway).

HauntedLittleLunatic · 11/09/2012 09:28
diddlediddledumpling · 11/09/2012 09:31

In the spirit of maintaining good relationships with the school, I'd say your

diddlediddledumpling · 11/09/2012 09:33

Bah! Your original letter has a much more positive tone to it, which you should keep. No offence, haunted.

HauntedLittleLunatic · 11/09/2012 09:39

Fair enough.

I just thought it had too much detail in the list of days she could/couldn't do homework; And I do think the last paragraph opened her up to being told - well if you can shift stuff around if need be why can't you shift stuff around all year. I do think that should definitely be changed from "I will free up some extra time during the week so it can be completed on time." to "so that we can help her manage her time"

Original poster
KatyMac · 11/09/2012 09:40

I think I agree with both of you......

I'll have a play after work & see what I come up with

OP posts:
diddlediddledumpling · 11/09/2012 09:40

Yes, def agree with that.

PropositionJoe · 11/09/2012 10:09

But why shouldn't she do it herself?

HauntedLittleLunatic · 11/09/2012 10:18

Because (as a trainee teacher) I would think she was trying to avoid homework. The school need to know that the parents are supporting and encouraging this.

senua · 11/09/2012 11:24

Are you going to be specific about what she is up to? The teachers could think that she has her heart set on being, say, the world's best fish fryer and the 'unavailable' days are when she's working down the chip shop. If you add the concrete detail that she is county / region / national level in her dance (sorry, I don't stalk you enough to know where we have got to!) and aiming for XYZ then that would add some credence to the request.

Theas18 · 11/09/2012 11:48

At our school all the kids are very busy with out of school activities, often at a high level. My trribe don't like to ask, but when I've asked for extensions etc they have not had any problems, but I do explain the circumstances.

eg in july DD2 sang with the BRB for a week of performances of a midsummer nights dream- straight to theatre after tea and home at 11 (finished 10.30pm!) . She also then had a full day off a month later when the performance toured for a weekend in spain.

Just " she's a bit too busy" wouldn't have cut the mustard.

PropositionJoe · 11/09/2012 13:05

Surely the schools know their kids better than that, though. If I had a child that was a very high level in an out of school activity, I would most definitely expect the form teacher and head of year to know that, and treat her request accordingly (even if the answer was - no, it's really important that you do this on time).

SecretSquirrels · 11/09/2012 13:54

Even if she is set on another career path she should not sacrifice her mainstream education, she may need a fall back plan.

Original poster
KatyMac · 11/09/2012 16:42

HauntedLittleLunatic that's what I assumed tbh

senua they 'sort of' know teenager=wittering all the time Wink

PropositionJoe Head of year & form tutor, probably. Everyone else, not much chance - & I think that view is held by most of the parents on the SN threads too

SecretSquirrels I agree, I'd like her to get 8 or 9 GCSEs at C (maybe an odd B) whether it all goes wrong or not; but how much can she realistically do with 14 GCSEs?

OP posts:
BitOutOfPractice · 11/09/2012 16:47

I'd go in and see them rather than write a letter.