Concerned about DD being a school office 'runner'

[NotMondayAgain]

Hi all, I just found out that later this week DD is going to be a runner for the school office for a whole day. She is in yr 8 and said all yr 8 children are made to do this for one day and they miss all lessons that day and instead do their homework or reading when they are not running errands.

I saw the headteachers last week at a school meeting and asked him about it. He admitted the reason is that they do not have enough staff to run messages around etc so they make the kids in yr 8bdonit onebday each.

I feel quite angry about my DD not learning anything for a day. Headteachers loads of schools do this and it is normal. Is he right?

Thanks

I remember this in Y8 and the dc loved doing it. Only for 1 day

My ds school does this too. He loved it.

Just taken his mocks and it doesn't seem to have had an effect!

Year 8 is best year as not disrupting year 7's settling in and not disrupting gcse lessons.

DD's school do it. The year 8s each take a day to be duty pupil. It's only one day in the year and they love it. DD1 was also asked several times to show visitors around. We were proud that she was viewed as polite and articulate and the responsibility was good for her. Doesn't seem to have affected older DD's GCSE prospects this year...

I did it in year 9. I really enjoyed it and I got to do it with the boy I fancied

My DD does it once or twice a year, in Y7 and Y8 at a Grammar. Maybe even in higher years. They do it in a pair. They're supposed to go and see the teachers to collect anything they've missed.

I'm a visiting music teacher and I love schools that have 'runners'. By using these pupils on duty I can quickly get messages to my pupils if I need to swap their music lesson times, or send for them if they're late/forgotten their lesson.
Most of my secondary schools do this.

Happens at both the secondary schools my children have been to. They all quite enjoy it! Although in their schools they do it for half a day and it's shared between yr7,8 & 9.

They bloody LOVE it. Great for confidence and problem solving too

Think yourself lucky, we were sent out of school to collect hot meals and deliver them to people's houses.

At DC's school they do this for half a day each, in Y8. Large year groups means less time missed.

Is it any worse than primary school children being "monitors", "prefects", and so on? When I recently visited a primary school, I was shown round by two very capable year 6 pupils, I think it was in lesson time as well. The same pupils were on duty in the school office at lunch time.

At my primary school, children often had jobs such as collecting dinner money from the other class teachers and taking it to the office, asking the teachers which lunch they wanted, setting up the hall for assembly, supervising the younger classes during wet play.

I slums t say they are learning nothing. I imagine it's quite a good experience. I certainly wouldn't have a problem

^wouldn't - sorry no idea what happened here

Er... I don't think that what you meant to type or where you meant to type it

I'd have loved to do this!

Try being in a private school, where kids have to come in specially on a Saturday to show prospective parents around or be part of gym, drama or sports displays. The cool girls would all hide in the loo, but DD enjoyed it. Ditto sixth form where prefects had to manage the dinner queue.

It's all good. IRL they need to be prepared to help out, perhaps in menial roles, in just about any job. Who hasn't manned a photocopier or laminated the day before a major presentation/launch, if it is all hands on deck.

Never mind taking messages round the school, one morning in year 6, I was hoiked out of class to go home and deliver a message from the head to my mum, to ask her to come and see him about a temporary teaching post. I was far too polite to mention that we did actually have a telephone at home and I'm sure the extra two-mile walk was jolly good for me.

One of the schools we looked at locally uses students as runners and I would have had no problem with it, had any of our DC gone there.

My secondary school did this, that was 30 years ago. It was an honour to be chosen.

Do they not have emails? Crazy.

You know teachers are busy teaching and not checking their emails?

Messages like ‘assembly cancelled’ and ‘please be in the staff room at 12.30’ are no good sent by email.