Primary school detentions

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Wallasey
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:28 am
Location: Wirral

Primary school detentions

Post by Wallasey »

DS2's primary school has sent home a letter today saying that because of the problem getting some children to do/hand in their homework each week they will be introducing a weekly detention for an hour after school for those who don't hand it in. Apparently this is good preparation for secondary school, although they aren't clear as to whether this good preparation is for doing homework or attending detentions!

It won't affect my DS because he does his homework; after all it is only the two pieces a week. However, he is in year 5, and I don't know how far down the school the detention threat applies. It concerns me that the children who aren't doing their homework are being punished for an unsupportive home life, and I can't believe that it's legal to keep primary school age children in a detention for an hour after school.

Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of this?
arealfarmer
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Location: Gloster-born'n'bred !

Post by arealfarmer »

I can't believe that it's legal to keep primary school age children in a detention for an hour after school.

I can't either and whilst I am not generally in favour of parents interfering in school procedure , I would in this case . Your child is not the property of the school , nor the state . ( hence our refusal to have daughter weighed last week :x )
MoneyPenny
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Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:27 pm

Post by MoneyPenny »

I don't know about the legality of it. Must check that. But in senior school, if a child gets an after-school detention, a letter is sent home to inform the parents when the detention is (usually the following week) and the form signed to acknowledge that the parents know what the detention is for and when it is. Also to allow the parents to make sure travel arrangements are made for the child. This is important especially for Year 7 pupils. They would never get a detention the same day.
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Section 92 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 provided significant new scope for schools to impose detentions.

The Act refers to "pupils aged under 18" - I can't immediately see any reference to primary school children, but the imposition of the penalty has to be "reasonable in all the circumstances," one of which is the pupil’s age.

See section 90 onwards.
http://www.england-legislation.hmso.gov ... -pb2-l1g92
Etienne
Wallasey
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:28 am
Location: Wirral

Post by Wallasey »

The homework is due in on Tuesday and the detention is set for each Thursday, so there will be time to give notice to parents. I can't see the reasoning behind it; it's so negative, homework isn't even a legal requirement at this age, an hour is ridiculously long and the educational value of some of the homework set is questionable! I wonder what's really behind it all. There have been incidents recently where children have been told off for not wearing correct uniform. Again, not a legal requirement and not something in the child's power to rectify.

It was interesting to read the act, although despite pages of information it is quite vague.
Bexley Mum 2
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Location: Bexley

Post by Bexley Mum 2 »

At our primary children who don't hand their homework in have to do it at lunchtime/playtime. A form of detention I guess, but more practical at that age.
Wallasey
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:28 am
Location: Wirral

Post by Wallasey »

Yes as I understand it that's been the policy at this school until now. Is the change to inconvenience the parents as well as the children? Or to provide an hour of free after-school childcare!
magwich2
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Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:33 pm

Post by magwich2 »

We have just had to move our DS from a state primary ( which was at the top of the Sunday Times best school lists) because although everything was pink and fluffy at his school and homework did not seem to matter, we knew that this was not the case at other schools in the area.
As DS was in direct competition with these other schools for places at the local super-selective we felt we needed to send him to a school where he had to work hard and where being pink and fluffy was greeted with the derision it deserves!
He is now terrified if his homework is late or inadequately completed, scared stiff if he forgets any of his correct attire, thrilled if he gets lots of housepoints, oh, and did I forget this bit, no longer bored stiff and actually interested in a challenging day!!!!!!!!!
NOW we have some chance he might pass the 11+ exam!
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

For slightly lighter reading, this is the guidance given on Teachernet:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschoo ... detention/
Etienne
mad?
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Location: london

Post by mad? »

We too have a 'pink and fluffy' primary with no uniform or homework. Frustrating for all but a few in my experience. I agree Wallasey it seems a very negative way of putting it. A slightly gentler warm up to high school reality (we had no warm up at all which was awful...) might be better. But I do think there should be a warm up at some point (post SATS?), 'this is what it will be like so get used to it'. Getting the pink and fluffy balanced with the real world is tricky but in my experience the primary school skewed too much towards the former.
At age 9 or 10 I would expect parents to still have some involvement in ensuring homework is done, so those children who regularly don't do it are likely to be those with the least parental support at home. Penalising them for this seems fruitless but positioning it as an opportunity to catch up by have a 'missed homework hour' or 'homeowrk club' after school would give them the chance to complete the work in a supportive environment which may be lacking at home. If they didn't like this, then perhaps they would do the homework in the first place.
That said, in our school, when there used to be homework, the parents of those children who repeatedly did not do it would never have let their children stay at school any longer than legally required, seeing no benefit to the whole thing and feeling undermined by any authority other than their own...hence the change to no homework at all.....
mad?
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