The Mock Turtle

That is a long day. A is 9-3.30 (8.20-3.55 if you include the bus journey) and he is shattered this evening.

An hour a day is a lot to fit in.

F probably has about an hour or two in total for the whole week!

It doesn’t always take the hour but we’ve always been told to not let them spend more than 30 minutes per subject if they’re struggling.

That seems like an awful lot of homework for that age.

Cube is Y8 now but last year he got maths via Hegarty once a week and then the odd bit of homework from other subjects. Maybe about 90 minutes to 2 hours weekly. They've changed to a new academy this year so I don't know if he'll end up with more. His day is 8:30-3:15.

H had a bug cry after her first few days in year 7 about missing primary school friends, she went alone too.

She is in year 9 now and still has the odd wobble about friendships etc. Her day is 8.40 - 3.05pm.

I hope they all settle in well, it's a hard time. I found the first few weeks of H in year 7 quite difficult because I worried about her a lot.

We had our first tears last night! Something to do with netball and being put in the wrong section during PE so she thinks she'll not have a chance at being in one of the netball teams. What is baffling is that A has never show any desire to do any form of extra-curricular team sport before now and wasn't on a single team at primary or in any of the sports clubs, so I'm not sure why she's getting herself quite so worked up now!

It’s all so fraught, isn’t it -I hope she’s ok. J seems to be ok so far, but he’s absolutely knackered.

Do you think the netball is new friends related, Flora?

George had his first detention today. For playing tag at break. There is a no physical contact rule. He reckons only about 5 people in his form haven't had a detention so far.

Oh no! Poor George - was he ok about it, or highly indignant! Clearly going in hard early on the detention front!

A had a slightly disastrous day with extra-curricular today, but mostly coped ok (and managed to get herself home after missing her first train when her afterschool club was cancelled, but they messaged them on Teams when she's not allowed her phone on, so I'm not quite sure how she was supposed to pick that up).

Oh bless her. Like Tex said up the thread, you can't anticipate everything for them so that's great that she dealt with it.

George was annoyed that it ended his streak Every one of the kids from his primary school has had detention now. The second day the boy he sits next to got a detention for picking up his pencil when it fell on the floor. Apparently he should have asked for permission first. So after that I had told him he probably would get a detention at some point but as long as it wasn't for forgetting homework, answering back (or something else serious) we wouldn't be cross and he shouldn't worry about it or take it to heart. He said the detention was actually fine, it was a 30 minute lunchtime detention (the "least worst" one) and they "just read books on comfy chairs"

That is utterly ridiculous (about the pencil). Are they at school in 1946?

That would absolutely infuriate me.

Oh my god.

I wonder what happens if they actually do something bad.

Blimey, that would just breed simmering resentment here!

We have a series of Academies here that have very similar rules (O.ut. Wo.od). You are only allowed to look forward or down at your work, looking to either side or out of the window gets you a detention. They have the highest number of suspensions in the UK.

Christ, there's some kids in Will's class I'd like to send. Xenophobia and outright assault doesn't seem to warrant anything.

I don't know how people teach in those schools. The chaps' school is ridiculous (but not no-looking-out-of-the-window bad) and they both hate school as a result. The SAM got two detentions in his first week for getting his books mixed up and bringing the wrong ones. I can't imagine ever doing that to a Year 7, and I'm a frosty old bitch.

They are encouraged to scream in the children's faces and when put in isolation they don't give them school work. They just sit there, not in lessons and not doing any work. Although the schools do get good results it's only because they've forced out all the children who might not do so well.

Of my 4 local schools 2 of them belong to that Academy. Within 20 minutes I can count another 5.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... discipline

The academy near you sounds awful, Kleio. The number of exclusions is a huge red flag!

G's school is also an academy. Named after a fairly fascist Tory party donor He seems to be finding his feet though, he's planning his timetable homework without prompting, is positive about most of the teachers and likes their lessons (in particular his RS and history teacher who gave him a praise email this week), is talking about a few more friends and got chatting to a boy in his maths set who turns out to live on our street. He also found there deli bit at school and had a falafel salad sandwich yesterday