General Chat

My grandson who is 4 years and 6 months old is not having a good time at
school He when back to school on the 4th of january The first week back he came home cover in mud He said the big boys did to him and his frends so we when in school and just put it down to children just being children. Last week when his mum got him from school he come out of school with no coat when she akes for his coat she was told he had not got a coad at school that day and had been out to play without a coat , but his coat was in his class room, he has been bad all weekend with a cold. On Monday he ws better so he when to school ,when his granddad got him from school he said that he had not had any lunch turn out he got his drink in his lunch and was not able to eat it, On tuesday when his mun got him from school he was upset turn out that he had wet hisself in the morning and he was in the clothes that he when to school in. When his mum took him to school today she when in to have a word with his tteacher and all she said was o dear we did not know . Is this a bad school his mum wont to know

Yes, as you say children do seem to be able to find dirt.

Having worked with this age group, I will say that they can be very convincing when telling staff that they do not have a coat. I often tried to get a child to put on a coat knowing it was theirs (as it was named), but would explain to parent/carer when they collected their child.

As for his accident in his trousers, had he a spare pair? Would he have said anything to his teacher? Having said this, we had spares & I would have hoped would have noticed damp trousers as it is not uncommon at this age.

Is it a large reception class? If your daughter is not happy a word with the head teacher might be a good idea.

Hi Sandra,

I would echo what Carol said about going to the Headteacher.
From experiance I found this was the best thing to do.

Does your Grandsons teacher have a classroom assistant.
They are normally very good at spotting if Children are unhappy.
The mid-day assistants should be keeping an eye out at lunchtime to check what the children are doing in the playground.

My Chidren went to a large Primary, 450 pupils who did have problems at times as all Schools do.
A word with the Head is usually enough to sort things out but if it doesnt you can always speak to the board of Governers who do have a say in what goes on in Schools.

I hope things work out for your Grandson.
I worried every stage of the way when mine went into new year groups or Schools but they do settle down eventually.

Teresa

Firstly, when the children went out to play or at lunch, the teacher should have made sure all the kids had their coats on before they left the classroom.

It may have been that you grandsons coat slipped down off his peg & the teacher assumed he never came to school wearing one. In any event he should have been kept in being a reception child without a coat to wear in this weather.

Believe it or not, but many kids do not bring a coat to school, despite being asked too. So that may be why the teacher assumed at the time he didnt have his coat in school, if maybe she didnt see it at the time on the peg.

Some reception kids. when asked will say they have no coat, and deny the coat being held up in front of them is theirs lol.

To the point regarding midday assistants, you cant keep an eye on one child unless you follow them round the playground. Ive had reception children twice now, and when you have around 28 in a class, mixed in with about 5 more classes of similar dimensions, in a playground situation its manic. We keep an eye on the section of children where we are standing & deal with anything which arises. Unfortunately, as we are dealing with one thing, we may miss another.
In damp weather lots of kids slip & get muddy, year twos running past can knock a smaller child over.Very few of these happenings are deliberate. We encourage the kids to speak to one of us if they are upset or worried.

regarding his lunch, did he tell an adult his drink got spilled spoiling his food, or did he pack it back into his bag & go outside unnoticed in the dining room scrum ? If we are told we organise them a baguette, but sometimes we dont get told & the situation goes unnoticed.

As for his little accident, kids dont always let on they have had one, unless there is tell tale signs. If he has dark trousers, if he went outside & they dried, all may lead to the situation not being resolved.

Awww bless his heart...

If he were mine I'd phone the headmistress/master and arrange a meeting ASAP with all the things you've detailed above written down (it's often tricky when you're in there to remember especially if you get a bit emotional..I often have done !)

I'd then ask for her comments on it and see what she says. I'm sure she'll take it very seriously.

There may be some perfectly innocent explanations for what's happened.

I really hope things get sorted out and the little fella starts enjoying school really soon ! x

He has school dinners, his grandad pick him up from school today and he told his grandad that he is afraid of the dinner lady, but will not say why. The head can not see us until next week , I have to take him to school tomorrow hope he does not cry Sandy

Sandy, sent you a pm

Teresa

When my son first started shcool he came home one day, his hair had been cut his shirt jumper and trousers had been cut and my son told me that another child had got a pair of scissors and cut his clothes and hair. I phoned the school the next day explained all this to the Headteacher and she assured me that she would look into it, later that day she phoned me and told me that my son had cut his own clothes and hair. He had a very sore bottom when he came home that day.

So I would sugget that the mother phone the school or make an appointment with the Headteacher they will sort it out. Little boys will always be little boys.
Jane

Sandra

All of us dinner ladies seem big and scary until the children get to know us. :o))

Many a child, especially the small ones gets scared to tell us they dont like something on their plate (& try to hide it or throw it on the floor etc) some are afraid they will be told off if they spill something.

I've seen (& caught) some children in the busy hall decant almost all of their lunch in the bin before making a dash for the door, reasons vary. If a child refuses to eat, or eats very little, we encourage them to eat more, never threaten or force & always report back to the teacher if we feel all avenues have been gone down with to feed the child that lunchtime.

I'm sure his midday isn't an ogre, but lunchtimes at the beginning of school life can be scary, but most if not all children settle & feel comfortable within a few weeks or months.

If as a midday, if "my" children are fed and happy, then I'm happy, the teachers happy & the parents happy. If not we work together to find a solution

Hi My grandson has moved school. His first day was on Monday and his new teacher was great she had him go in to school before the rest of his class, and he was shown around again by her. The headteacher was also there a he had a long talk to his mother and told her his door is always open to mun and the rest of the family. I when down at hometime and i was shown around again, and i was told the headteacher door is always open to me and my husband as we look after him a lot. He has come home from school a happy little boy and can not stop talking about school. We know it is only the first week,but we are so happy to have a grandson who run to school and leaves us at the door on a morning. Thank you to all of you for your help, information and pms Sandy

So pleased that they have found a solution. Not every school is right for every child. They all have dofferent fears and needs. Hope he continues to like it there.

As a slightly different slant on your topic I must say I am always a bit aghast as to why parents in the UK send 4 year olds to school,I understand it is not compulsory until after the age of 5.
Particularly boys.
They just dont seem to be ready.
I find boys find there feet at about the age of 6 and easily catch up to there peers,so my inclination would be to get the little guy out of there.
It wont hurt him in the long run

oops didnt notice your post about changing schools

Tania
I am inclined to agree with you about many children not being ready for school at the age of 4. I did nit send my children until they were 5. However after that I cannot comment as I sent them all to private schools because the C.....ic school I would have preferred them to go to was over subscribed so to get the education I wanted I had to work. Sometimes I used to wonder if I had done the right thing but now each of the 4 in total tell me that I did and even the one who won a place to a very well known C.....ic boarding school tells me what a fabulous time he had. Not OK for everyone I agree but I still think I did the right thing.

However I also know that there are good and bad in all types of schooling, my daughter has for personal reasons not had the opportunity to send her to children to proivate school and had a very similar problem as described on her...her solution was also to find an alternative and the children have done very well. one going in tio the Army in a couple of years.

OH dear I have rambled again

So pleased that the little boy who moved school is happy again. Well done Mum,Dad, and Grandparents.

Hi Tania i must say as his grandparents we said he was to young for school in some ways but mun and dad are not together and she has to work to keep them, so she send him to school and little brother to nursery so we do not have them all the time. Sandy