Meeting with Head Teacher

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toesxed
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Meeting with Head Teacher

Post by toesxed »

Hi,
I would be really grateful for your thoughts on this, Please?
So I have a meeting scheduled with the Head Teacher to discuss absence from school due to acting/modelling. The school day is now longer due to the age of my child and getting to central London for auditions/castings will be impossible if they cannot be excused from the tail end of the day when a meeting is scheduled.
In addition, the HT did not want to give permission for absence for one day for a confirmed job and seems disapproving of these pursuits. Do any of you have any arguments that I can put forward about the merits of acting which will convince a Head who is negative about it? How can I sway a HT also about the benefits of say tvcs and modelling as opposed to more "serious" theatrical work? I am shocked at how unsupportive the school is and for my child to nearly loose a confirmed job was incredibly stressful. We have got to the point that if my child is called for an audition, we would question if there is any point in even going (should absence be granted for this) and if they were pencilled and then confirmed, absence would not be granted :(
Thank you so much for your help x
Cyrenna10
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Re: Meeting with Head Teacher

Post by Cyrenna10 »

Our head, and indeed our school as a whole, was initially very sceptical about DD being signed to her agency. They even had a meeting with the governors about her where they agreed to 5 days a year, or so I was told. The actual outcome from the governors was 5 days to begin with to see if the days lost affected her education. It didn't and she is now treated brilliantly when it comes to leaving after lunch or authorised absence. I'd speak to your local EA and get their stance on it and bring that to the hard. Our LEA said they would go ahead and licence DD without heads permission but the process is smoother WITH. It's an argument that I still feel would have swayed him if we had need to. Good luck.
faffy33
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Re: Meeting with Head Teacher

Post by faffy33 »

I think its important to explain to the HT that this is something your child enjoys so the experience is just as important for her future as the half hour of times tables. My daughter is desperate to have a career in TV/Film so I made it clear to the school that this was a hugely important part of her education. Good luck!
Shenks
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Re: Meeting with Head Teacher

Post by Shenks »

First post so....From what I have observed of my own kids when they are auditioning and working on jobs they are gaining a huge amount of soft skills and life experiences from their acting activities. I believe these apply whether they are working in the theatre, or doing commercial work. By way of examples that I might highlight to a head:
1) Working in a professional environment rubs off on them - looking after themselves, warming up, being on time, the value of practice, being focused on the task as part of a team. These are things that schools teach - and now the kids get to apply them in real life which should reinforce what the school does.
2) Resilience from learning that a knockback from one audition is really an opportunity to be available for another role.
3) Organising their own time to make sure they do their homework and fulfil their commitments. Less time on Fortnite, more time on Mathletics.
4) Making friends from places and backgrounds they may not otherwise encounter.
5) Travel to places they may not have been to before.
All these things will make them better equipped as an adult to face whatever comes their way.
Good luck with your Head.
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