School closures in the UK

ronaldo


Joined: 14/11/2007
Posts: 372

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 00:33

Why are there so mahy school closures in the UK ?. Is it health and safety or because most of the staff still get paid when they are off Work.?

Ron

billyboy1


Joined: 01/06/2009
Posts: 590

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 00:44

The head of my sons school sent out an e mail to us parents stating basically that the school was closed due to health and saftey.



The maintenance men had to walk into school from home to evaluate the situation...the paths etc were ice between the 2 campus's.



He shall be posting onto the school website tomorrow evening, to let us parents know if school will be open or not on monday...



I would prefer my son to be home safe and do work on the pc, rather than risk his safety...also where we live trains are still disrupted, (he gets the trains to and from school) and i would also be concerend that ...my son may be able to get to school, but if there is a change in weather during the day, would he be able to get home....



His school has been closed since wednesday, and yes he has been out playing in the snow, but he has also been doing work on pc thru sam learning and moodle (school work sites)

Cyprusquest


Joined: 09/12/2008
Posts: 428

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 00:49

Many schools in the West and Midlands were closed because there was no safe access

MsGarnet


Joined: 04/01/2009
Posts: 989

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 04:42

I used to walk miles to school and back whatever the weather - put wet raincoats or soggy shoes on the radiators and wore gym shoes inside - we live in such a pathetic, nambypamby nanny state now, that schools are afraid a pupil will slip on ice on their property and hurt themselves, and being such a litigeous society now, they will be sued........pathetic.......all the schools here are closed



You can't even play conkers at school now without wearing safety spectacles, crash helmets, knee and elbow pads and full body armour!!!!!!!!! We are raising children to be afraid of anything and everything......

Panchocat


Joined: 29/11/2009
Posts: 1333

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 10:12

The point being missed is that if teachers cannot get into school due to weather conditions and traffic chaos then children, who live near the schools and can walk in, will not have adequate supervision and the safety cosiderations are obvious. You would be surprised at the attitude of many parents who take legal action against schools when their child is injured in scool. I expect a tirade about the easy life of teachers will now ensue and to those not in the profession that will always be the case. Those who do know the real hours including, the so called long holidays, that teachers do work know that the "Critics" will always react in this way! As for the news comments about thousands of working parents having baby sitting problems, well hello, many teachers are also parents. Also from news reports many of these thousands of working parents are also unable to travel to their place of work, so surely in the nanny state we live in they are capable of taking care of their own offspring

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 11:51

The school where I work opened on Wednesday and we had a multitude of parents complaining because they said it wasn't safe. Unfortunately we did have to close the next day, the site was like a skating rink. Panchocat is correct, if the teachers cannot get in, then the school can't run. Especially at primary schools, where they have to have a certain amount of staff to be able to run the school safely. Hopefully it will be back to school tomorrow, but we have to wait for the site to be checked. Parents would soon have something to say if their child went to school and slipped and injured themselves.

Woodspeckie


Joined: 25/01/2009
Posts: 2263

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 12:39

Panchocat. Agree with you about tirade about teachers, my daughter in law is a teacher she is in school at 7.30 every day and doesn't get home until 6pm 4 nights and she only lives 1/2 hour from school. While she has been off last week she has been working and also giving her two children work to do, the working parents who have had to stay at home should educate their children too.

YeniTom


Joined: 29/12/2009
Posts: 198

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 13:06

One school near us sent out a letter to all parents stating that no matter what the weather the school would not close.

Speaking to some locals, apparently they had planned enough to secure the caretakers and the required staff. I don't know the full story but I salute the efforts of the school and its staff in trying to keep as normal as possible.

karakum5c



Joined: 18/03/2008
Posts: 1021

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 13:42

My son has been off school for a whole week due to one burst pipe !!!





QUESTION---- How long does it take a Council to fix ONE pipe ?





QUESTION----How long does it take a private company to fix ONE pipe ?

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 18:16

God we learnt the hard way didnt we School we had to go rain shine or snow x

smithy


Joined: 17/07/2008
Posts: 5301

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 18:20

Agree Liz

We didnt get a day off even if we were unwell, let alone bad weather

Suffolk



Joined: 31/08/2008
Posts: 222

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 19:12

On arriving back from Cyprus to the UK on Wednesday I (Mrs Suffolk) have been on "Snow Patrol" for a designated area within my Local Authority (LA). Every LA have their procedure for severe weather procedures and as such I have been party to these. From 5.30am I have been taking calls from headteachers advising me whether they are going to close and this can be for a number of reasons; their staff often now live out of catchment and therefore there can be difficultult getting into school, particularly in very rural locations. Parents are now given choice over where they would like there children to attend school, and whilst transport arrangements/costs over certain distances are parental responsibilities this too can have an impact. Private bus contractors are used for bus services to and from school, as are mini buses and taxis's, they may choose to decide that roads are not safe for their employees. Special educational Needs (SEN) pupils may have to travel a considrable(con'd)

Suffolk



Joined: 31/08/2008
Posts: 222

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 19:23

distance and some are residential pupils at their school (returning home at weekends only)

With regard to heating and other building issues, contractors who are eligible to tender for LA jobs are given contracts and this work is not carried out directly by the LA. As with any employer your employees are your greatest assest (or unfortunately in some cases not)!

Contractrors who now have staff who work regularly on school sites have to also have a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check carried out on these members of staff who return to school premises on more than one or two visits (working there for a week would include this).

One train of thought was for teaching staff to present themselves at their nearest school to help out but again they are subject to CRB checks and the school knowing who they are. Is it safe for schools to let chidlren out in the snow? Are they likely to get sued by parents/staff in the event of a fall/accident - there are more questions than answers!!

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
10/01/2010 19:26

Our schools are all open here (much to kids' dismay) and they have seen more snow and ice

this winter than in all their wee days!