Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be a little bit 'grr' about this...

105 replies

tyzer2001 · 10/02/2011 10:35

Every morning I walk my two dogs in the local field/park/grassy area. It's designated for dog walking and has poo bins etc. 99% of the time I don't see anyone, not even another dog walker.

This morning as I got to the gate I was stopped by a teacher who said 'I'm sorry, you won't be able to go into the field as we have the children in there'.

I asked what was happening and she said that the Reception class were having 'Wild Time' and running off some energy.

It's quite a large field and doesn't belong to the school, which is a few minutes walk away.

I said to her that I would keep my dogs (both of whom are very placid and good with children anyway) on the lead until we were well away from the children, but she insisted that I couldn't use the field!

I walked the dogs five times around the much smaller, not-designated-for-dogs park instead, but can't help feeling a bit put-out.

OP posts:
oopslateagain · 10/02/2011 12:26

It looks to me like the problem was the ATTITUDE of the teacher rather than what she was trying to do. If she had said "We have just brought the children out to run around for a bit, would you mind not bringing your dogs in here right now" then I'm sure OP would have obliged. She basically stood in the way and said You Can't Come In.

I hope she teaches the children better manners and doesn't teach 'by example'!

LessNarkyPuffin · 10/02/2011 12:29

I would ring the school. To complain. About one of their teachers acting as self appointed bouncer in a DOG WALKING park.

GypsyMoth · 10/02/2011 12:33

there was a similiar thread like this last week!!

nobody has mentioned the paedophiles hiding behind all the trees yet!!

ThisIsANiceCage · 10/02/2011 12:34

Thing is, even if the teacher had asked nicely, OP's answer that she would obligingly keep her dogs on the lead and at the other end of the field would have been perfectly reasonable.

Teacher not only had no right, she was being a loon.

TheButterflyCollector · 10/02/2011 12:35

Good Heavens, I'd like to see the response had you told a teacher to remove her charges from a childrens' playground because you were exercising/wished to exercise your dogs there! Can you imagine the uproar!

Well done for retaining your patience and dignity. All she'd have got from me would be a very curt "Don't be so stupid". I'd have then unleashed my dogs and carried on walking.

Lucy85 · 10/02/2011 12:39

trouble is, dog owners always say 'don't worry he likes you / won't bite / etc but dogs are animals and can be a little unpredictable... I'm with the teacher sorry although completely understand you and others saying it's your right legally to walk on that land. Guess she was just trying to protect the children.

BeerTricksPotter · 10/02/2011 12:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BeerTricksPotter · 10/02/2011 12:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
tyzer2001 · 10/02/2011 12:42

I'm afraid my dogs are so daft that they wouldn't know how to growl at someone without an intensive training course. It's a standing joke in our house that if we get burgled the first things stolen with be the dogs Sad Grin

OP posts:
diddl · 10/02/2011 12:42

I would have to complain about the teacher-she physically barred you from going in-that is just wrong!

diddl · 10/02/2011 12:43

""Don't be so stupid""-yes-or ask to see the signed permission slip!

Tabliope · 10/02/2011 12:43

Teacher was unreasonable. She should have asked you politely if you minded and I'm sure you wouldn't have but she spoke to you like she was a teacher and you were her pupil, giving you an order. Ridiculous behaviour on her part. I wouldn't be happy with my child playing in a designated dog area because even if the poo gets picked up there are usually smears remaining.

carabos · 10/02/2011 12:45

Typical school behaviour in my experience - colonising public spaces adjacent to their grounds. We have a school at the end of our street (terrace houses, no garages or gardens, on-street parking both sides). Ahead of bonfire night, we all got letters from the school(we are notinvolved with the school in anyway) asking us to not park outside our own homes, in our own public street between 6 pm and 8pm on the night of the school bonfire eventin order that parents could park there.

Awhiteelephantintheroom · 10/02/2011 12:50

Carabos, that is incredibly cheeky of the school!

OP, this seems to me like another example of a teacher speaking to adults as if they are children in her class. I would phone the school and complain.

I went to a soft play centre with my DS last week and as we were coming out of the door a teacher came marching in and said to me "Wait there, there are children coming in". I ignored what she'd said and made my way out of the door regardless with my DS.

Ephiny · 10/02/2011 12:51

Trying to protect the children? How would they be in any danger from a calm dog being walked on the lead well away from them at the other end of the field?

I agree dogs (and children!) can be a bit unpredictable, and I'm sure it would have been fine if she'd asked the OP politely if she'd mind keeping dog on lead or giving them some space, maybe going in the other field? That's not what happened though.

elphabadefiesgravity · 10/02/2011 12:52

I used to belong to and my husband was chair of a local park users committee.

The parks department received a request from a school which bordered the park to be able co cordon off a small part of the park for their children to use. It was a part of the park designated as a wildlife area.

We refused due to the possible impact on other park users including dog walkers. We said the school were welcome to use the park but that the park was for everyone.

The teacher had no right to prevent you from walking your dog and I would have refused by whetever means necessary (legal of course I wouldn;t resort to violence but I would have got past her if she had tried to stop me) to leave.

I would write to the council parks department and the school to complain.

stealthsquiggle · 10/02/2011 12:52

but the OP offered to keep the dogs on leads - which sounds more than reasonable - so what the teacher is basically saying is that she wants to take the children out of school whilst ensuring there is no chance of them encountering any member of the public in any way whatsoever.

Hmmm. Good luck with that one.

DS's school has a footpath running through the grounds. They seem to cope.

elphabadefiesgravity · 10/02/2011 12:55

Incidentally we used to invite groups of local schoolchildren into the park regurlaly to take part in activities such as bulb planting etc.

There was never a problem.

ThisIsANiceCage · 10/02/2011 12:59

This is really about the sell off of school playing fields.

School/council sells playing field to raise dosh, claiming school can share public facilities. School attempts to annex public facilities for exclusive use.

Original poster
tyzer2001 · 10/02/2011 13:08

No, this field has never belonged to the school. The school is in the centre of the estate and has a large-ish field of it's own onsite.

OP posts:
diddl · 10/02/2011 13:09

"It is designated a dog walking area. Who in there right mind would encourage children to play in there?"

I agree!

Wondeer if she would have also tried to bar someone who didn´t look as reasonable/unintimidating as the OP?

MrsFreedy · 10/02/2011 13:09

As a parent if I found out that my child had Wild Time in a field designated for dogs I would be complaining to the school. The kids could have picked up anything in that field so the teacher was putting the kids health at risk.

I would have liked to see what she would have done if someone not as nice as you wanted to exercise their doges in the field.

I suggest you complain to the school not only about her blocking you but also at putting the kids health at risk.

Original poster
tyzer2001 · 10/02/2011 13:10

Elpha, It's one of those semi-circle gates that you have to 'get inside' to go through IYSWIM. I truly couldn't have got past her without shoving her and that would have been upsetting for the kids.

OP posts:
IThinkTooMuch · 10/02/2011 13:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

diddl · 10/02/2011 13:13

"It's one of those semi-circle gates that you have to 'get inside' to go through IYSWIM."

Oh yes, to stop animals from escapingBlush

Blimey, surprised she had the patience to get a classfull of youngsters through that!

Swipe left for the next trending thread