Can school force my child to stay in during lunchtime

iamana1ias

Kat, are you saying that the rule about allowing children out at lunchtime or not allowing packed lunches should be challenged?

Surely you can see the sense of keeping all the kids on the premises?

peachyprice

KatP wrote: »

I'm surprised how many people think the OP should not challenge a rule she disagrees with. I do not think that it is an acceptable example to set to a teenager that we should blindly accept anything someone in authority tells us.

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Keeping children on-site isn't an unreasonable rule though, it's sensible rule that is implimented by many schools

Forcing children to have school dinners is unreasonable, and I don't think anyone here is agreeing with that.

JBD

iamana1ias wrote: »

Kat, are you saying that the rule about allowing children out at lunchtime or not allowing packed lunches should be challenged?

Surely you can see the sense of keeping all the kids on the premises?

Not neccessarily, uptil very recently my son's senior school allowed students out of school ,with a lunch pass in order to go home. It has changed now as they no longer have a lunch hour. As far as I was aware there was no trouble caused by this. People seem to assume that all teenagers will automatically turn into granny bashing, binge drinking thugs the moment they are released from adult supervision. Perhaps they should be judged as individuals.
kat, I agree with everything you have said.

juliescot

There are a number of schools near me, only two keep the kids in at lunchtime.

The children who do leave the schools seem to have no spatial awareness or social skills as they treat the streets as part of the school, blocking access to shops, wandering across roads becoming a danger to themselves and drivers.

The streets around the schools are covered in litter, empty bottles and cans, fast food wrapping etc. It appears that some schools totally abrogate their responsibilities over children during lunch breaks which IMHO they should not be doing.

Zazen999

KatP wrote: »

I'm surprised how many people think the OP should not challenge a rule she disagrees with. I do not think that it is an acceptable example to set to a teenager that we should blindly accept anything someone in authority tells us.

We shouldn't be teaching them to break rules, but we should teach them to challenge unfair/nonsensical rules through the appropriate channels. If we don't we will end up with a nation of sheep blindly doing as the government tell them whether that is right or not.

It is terrible what we put up with already in this country without doing anything but grumble, compared with say france where they would be out on the streets protesting. We need to stand up for ourselves and not allow those in authority to trample us. Rules should be made for the benefit of the majority, it doesn't seem that the rules imposed here have been or that they have been well thought through or accompanied by proper consultation so in my mind both Mum and Son are right to challenge the school and make them aware of the affect this rule has.

If we do nothing, those in authority believe that what they have done is acceptable and will continue to come up with gradually more extreme rules erroding more and more freedoms. It is a good time to remember the poem first they came:



First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

I think you are fighting the wrong battle; keeping kids in school is a good thing [if only they could keep them in all evening as well]...hardly akin to genocide.

JBD

juliescot wrote: »

There are a number of schools near me, only two keep the kids in at lunchtime.

The children who do leave the schools seem to have no spatial awareness or social skills as they treat the streets as part of the school, blocking access to shops, wandering across roads becoming a danger to themselves and drivers.

The streets around the schools are covered in litter, empty bottles and cans, fast food wrapping etc. It appears that some schools totally abrogate their responsibilities over children during lunch breaks which IMHO they should not be doing.

I can see why local residents may not be happy with this situation. Perhaps the pupils responsible for causing the litter should be made to pick it up. Personally I hate litter although adults seem to do a lot of it as well. I'm not sure why these children are lacking in spatial awareness and social skills. personally I believe children are not allowed out enough nowadays and they don't seem to learn basic living skills .
When my older son was at senior school they operated a lunch pass system, with parental permission. This was a privelege and was revoked at the first complaint against that pupil. My son often used to walk home to eat his lunch. the school also had a system where the teachers would be outside the school gates supervising the pupils, in fact they still do this at home time, they go up to the traffic lights and to the shop in the other direction to ensure the students are polite and well behaved to passerby's. Of course they can't follow them home but it is nice to see .The vast majority of schoolchildren in our area do seem quite well behaved [not saying they are all angels though].

juliescot

JBD wrote: »

I can see why local residents may not be happy with this situation. Perhaps the pupils responsible for causing the litter should be made to pick it up. Personally I hate litter although adults seem to do a lot of it as well. I'm not sure why these children are lacking in spatial awareness and social skills. personally I believe children are not allowed out enough nowadays and they don't seem to learn basic living skills .
When my older son was at senior school they operated a lunch pass system, with parental permission. This was a privelege and was revoked at the first complaint against that pupil. My son often used to walk home to eat his lunch. the school also had a system where the teachers would be outside the school gates supervising the pupils, in fact they still do this at home time, they go up to the traffic lights and to the shop in the other direction to ensure the students are polite and well behaved to passerby's. Of course they can't follow them home but it is nice to see .The vast majority of schoolchildren in our area do seem quite well behaved [not saying they are all angels though].

Pleased to see that some teachers do get involved.

The two biggest schools in my immediate area let the children out at lunchtime with no supervision whatsoever. Both schools have a small row of shops near them which effectively become no go areas during lunch as there are several hundred (yes I do mean that) kids hanging about eating snacks and dropping litter. I am not suggesting that there is any great malice in this just a lack of respect for others.

This lack of respect is sadly not confined to children.

juliescot

Wonder how the OP is getting on with the issues raised?

VanyaHargreeves

Well, I think it's completely fine to keep the kids in at lunch - my school does that, too. It doesn't make much difference.

I can't quite believe that packed lunches aren't allowed though.

Abbafan1972

I do agree with the head not letting pupils out at lunchtime, but to force them to buy the canteen food is ludicrous.

I have never heard of this happening before Both of my kids are in primary school and are allowed packed lunches. I couldn't afford school dinners as would cost me £17 a week and we are not lucky enough to qualify for free school meals.