Is it acceptable for a child to be given a detention for being too early to lessons?

[Carsgoingby]

Interested in other peoples thoughts on this - twelve year old turning up ten minutes early every time the lesson is after break / lunch. Teacher has repeatedly asked them not to.

Arriving ten minutes early at the end of a break is taking ten minutes of precious time away from the teacher. Have you asked why they are doing it? I often hated lunchtime as I wasn't particularly social although not being bullied. We wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near a classroom during break.

What is making him want to get away from the playground and into the classroom? - that is the real concern here.

Well maybe they have but you wouldnt usually identify a problem such as bullying etc and then still punish the child for trying to protect themselves from it by turning up to class early. You would usually find alternatives for the child to access.

My first thought was that the child might be being bullied in the playground.

I interpret this as your child is in an out of bounds area... And is continuingly going there despite being told otherwise under the story of being early to lesson. Detention is for defiance, not punctuality. There are other places they could go... If they're not happy during social times, contact the head of year, they'll help with social clubs etc.

T h the teacher being grumpy about a student arriving 10mins early feels like a huge fuss out of nothing.

It would have been very easy to ask the student to wait outside Wo making such a huge fuss as a detention.
As for wanting to get more time from the teacher than allocated 😂😂😂😂 I’ve yet to find a student who thinks that way tbh. MOre likely, as PP have pointed out, that the student is lonely/bullied/anxious about being late etc….

I wish OP would enlighten us. It's all a bit pointless without more information.

No a detention is an awful idea, the teacher needs to find out why they are going there early when no one else is, it's not bad behaviour it's sad behaviour :-(

That is ridiculous. If it bothers the teacher so much why doesn’t HE/HER go elsewhere? I presume the child is waiting outside the class. The teacher doesn’t own the corridor. do not understand people saying it’s ok as he has been told not to. For me, what is the issue with it in the first place? Teacher sounds like a complete jobs worth and I wouldn’t be happy if this was my child.

This

I would expect the teacher to talk to the kid during the detention about what’s going on.

Given that the vast majority of schools have broken up, I’m assuming the detention has already happened.

I'm guessing bullying. I used to try this and literally go ANYWHERE except the playground. Toilets, library, next lesson, staff corridor looking for staff to "help" with my work.

@Mydpisgrumpierthanyours

While that is often the case it isn’t always. We have several students who have learned that they can disrupt lessons by arriving early and ‘setting the tone’ as it were by messing with stuff, hanging around to distract the teachers and harassing the rest of the class with ‘banter’ as they arrive. Sitting and eating at the desks and leaving a mess behind.

It is annoying once. It is a major problem if it happens continually.

Maybe the teacher has work to do in his/her classroom.

So get on with it then. Unless the child is actually being naughty or disruptive To the point where the teacher can’t go about whatever he is doing , I really don’t see the problem. Maybe the child is very time conscientious and worries he will be late. I know when I was in school I would dread walking into class with everyone else seated. I’ve never known people be told of for being too early. It’s nitpicking.

Basic safeguarding, children need to be under supervision.

Is there a reason the child keeps turning up early? I needed to sit at the front because of my hearing but if I wasn't early I wouldn't get a seat and this was despite the teachers having been told I had to sit at the front.

I agree with the PP who said it’s because they are in an out of bounds area, repeatedly. Students at my school are not allowed to be inside during lunch or break unless it’s specific designated areas such as the canteen and library. Staff are either busy doing something or having their own lunch & we don’t like kids hanging around unsupervised.

If your dc is doing this because they have no one to hang out with or are being bullied, then you need to speak to their form tutor & also to them to come up with a plan for what they will do

Possibly the child keeps chattering and they can't get on with it. Perhaps he/she just wants a bit of alone time to decompress or eat their lunch. They don't have to be available every moment of the day unless there is a good reason. Perhaps they don't want to be alone with a student in case allegations are made against them or rumours started - not necessarily by OP's child but by others who see them.

Once you let the kid into your classroom:

A) they are under your supervision. If you were planning a quick dash to the loo or the photocopier, now you can't unless you escort them out first - & no, that doesn't mean hanging around the corridor unsupervised.

B) you can't make confidential phone calls, join zoom meetings or - if a KS3 student - cue up a 15 certificate video clip for your GCSE class in two periods time.

C) you will get a bollocking from SLT for breaking the 'no kids in classrooms at break', which is a blanket ban in most schools, so they don't blow themselves up in a lab, or nail themselves to the wall in a workshop.

D) you are putting yourself in a seriously dicey safeguarding situation, as you are now alone with a child in a scenario where you are both breaking scho rules.

So yeah, if the kid is a repeat offender it needs investigating to see why, but a sanction may very well be apt here.

If they were asked not to repeatedly, then I think detention is appropriate. But I do hope the teacher asked them why they are doing this. It maybe annoying if the teacher wants some peace to wok/have a break/eat lunch, but it does sound a bit worrying if the student doesn't want to spend time with friends.

I think it is really sad that the teacher has done this without trying to understand what is going on.

If this happened to my child I would a) want to understand why my child was doing this and b) want to discuss with someone at the school why the school chose that course of action.

I would be very surprised if my school did this, the staff seem generally really kind.

I think it is really sad that the teacher has done this without trying to understand what is going on.

Nothing in the OP suggests that the teacher hasn't.

Perhaps the teacher knows what is going on and has decided that it warranted a detention. Who knows.

It’s acceptable for a child to be given a detention for repeatedly doing anything a teacher has asked them not to do.

I think it is really sad that the teacher has done this without trying to understand what is going on.

how do you know that they haven't tried?