'Naughty' child? Labelling – does it happen?

I am often approached by concerned parents with comments like “he’s been in quite a lot of trouble recently and we are worried that he is getting a bit of a reputation.” It always horrifies me that there are schools where this does happen. It reflects upon the school culture quite badly in my view, since my belief is that every child deserves a fresh start every day. In this way, labelling is simply not tolerated, it is not an option. If a Headteacher hears it going on, they should intervene to prevent it recurring. I have to say that in my experience the vast majority of my contemporaries would feel the same way. If you feel it is happening to your child you should most definitely approach the school about it.

No money? Children at school? Can they help?

Money is tight and I am worried about costs associated with school. Can they help at all?

It is worth remembering that your child may well be entitled to free school meals. Every school office will be able to give you the appropriate form to fill in to apply. It may seem like a small thing but those £1.70 s do mount up quite quickly and suddenly you are into a debt of £50 or so which is difficult to find.

As far as other costs go of course there aren’t too many in the state sector. School trips are a part of the school curriculum and, as such, it is actually not legal for schools to make a compulsory charge for them. The way schools get around this is to say to parents that a voluntary contribution is required to cover the cost of the trip and that if a sufficient number of voluntary contributions are not received then the trip cannot go ahead. In practice, in an area where it may just be around 10% of the pupils that are unable to make a voluntary contribution, a school will usually be able to find the money from somewhere!

These days many schools have a family liaison worker attached to them too and she will usually be a good source of advice about benefits, grants and dispensations that may well be available to you. Ask at the school office for an appointment.

The usual advice applies if things are tight – talk to the school about it. They will at least try to help. The worst thing to do is to pretend there isn’t a problem and wait until you have incurred all sorts of debts before contacting them.

'Summer' Holidays - you're having a laugh!

Does anyone else look out of their window, check the forecast, listen to the latest August weather predictions and wonder why the hell the Government persist in keeping the 6 week summer holiday during August?

Our summer vacation, both in terms of its length and its placement, has more to do with the historical need to employ child labour in gathering in the harvests than it does to weather patterns in the 21st century.

Indeed, year on year we now swelter during June and early July whilst still at school, only to endure week after week of grey skies during the summer recess!

There, that's off my chest then....

Swine flu and schools this autumn

Swine flu is a real hot issue in schools just now. Towards the end of last term, the prevailing climate seemed to change inasmuch as GPs appeared to be increasingly reluctant to actually diagnose it – probably as a response to the media coverage and the general scare mongering that seemed to be around.
The latest advice to schools seems to reflect the fact that the condition is essentially uncontainable – i.e. schools should continue to open as normal even if there are suspected or indeed actual diagnosed cases.
During August there is expected to be a growth in the number of cases nationally and the Government have already pre-advised Headteachers that they will be issuing new guidance on 24th August in the UK in respect of arrangements for the start of the autumn term. In truth, no one expects that the guidance will do anything other than to advise schools to open as normal in September, although I guess there may be the proviso that where a school is being affected to a significant degree either in terms of teachers or pupils, full or indeed partial closure may be a permissible option for a short period.

school assemblies - do they have to go?

I don’t want my child in school assemblies. Do I have a say?
Absolutely.
Schools have a statutory obligation to perform what the law calls a ‘daily act of worship’ and, in the UK this needs to be ‘mainly of a Christian nature’. Now, in practice, nobody ever actually checks up on or enforces this and in today’s multicultural and secular Britain it is true to say that the overwhelming majority of schools are probably interpreting this statute to fit their own context.
However, every parent has the right to withdraw their child from the act itself and it is the school’s responsibility to accommodate this wish as well as to provide the pupils with an activity and the appropriate level of supervision.
Your school should be able to provide you with a copy of their own collective worship policy and tell you about their own daily assemblies.

Separations and effects on kids

My partner and I are breaking up and I don’t want him picking the kids up without my permission. Is there anything I can do?
Schools are very used to this situation. Often, break ups will be unpleasant for all of the parties concerned and clearly the school’s overriding concern is to protect the emotional and physical wellbeing of the child – it certainly cannot ‘take sides’. In situations like this, the school will invariably encourage the adults to reach agreement so that the school is not being used as some sort of a pawn in the game of break-up chess! Bottom line, unless there is actually a court order in place that states anything to the contrary, both parents will have legal, parental responsibility and a school cannot do anything other than apply fairness in the eys of the law in such a situation.