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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think an After School Club should have a phone?

19 replies

amistillsexy · 05/12/2013 21:01

I tried to contact my DS's after school club the other day on the mobile number they have given, and couldn't get through-it just went to answerphone.

I tried to ring the school office on the landline, but that had gone to answer phone as well (it was after the time when the office Admin staff leave, so I didn't expect them to pick up anyway).

When I spoke to the person who runs the club, she said that she can't use the school phone, as the office is locked, and the Club's mobile doesn't have any reception at school.

AIBU to think this is a huge health and safety risk, and that if OFSTED knew, they'd shut the club down until they had a working phone available for the staff to use while the club is running?

OP posts:

maddy68 · 05/12/2013 21:05

Ofsted won't care about that. They would be more bothered that a club was answering phones instead of looking after children.

SirChenjin · 05/12/2013 21:05

I would have thought a phone was essential - our after school club does, and any ones that they've merged with during the holidays also have one. I'm not sure if OFSTED would close it down, I don't know enough about the rules and regs, but I certainly wouldn't feel happy about them not having one. How on earth do they contact parents, and how are parents supposed to contact them?

Original poster

amistillsexy · 05/12/2013 21:07

I'm more concerned about how they will contact emergency services should they need to. It's not as if you can occasionally get a mobile signal if you move around the room- the whole building, grounds and most of the surrounding area is out of range!

OP posts:

maddy68 · 05/12/2013 21:08

They will have personal mobiles I'm sure. Just not numbers THEY can be contacted on

meditrina · 05/12/2013 21:11

The really need to have a mobile, or other arrangement.

What if yu were in A&E and were about to go into a phone off treatment area, and we're ringing with details of and password for alternate person who would be collecting your DC?

Orangeanddemons · 05/12/2013 21:12

This was why I stopped putting dd in Afterschool club. It was just impossible to make contact with them. One mobile switched on between certain hours, when I as a teacher couldn't phone them and no email address.

I gave up in the end. Perhaps smoke signals would have been easier.

Spatsky · 05/12/2013 21:12

Yanbu for what youhae said but is it not possible that although they don't answer the school phone they would have access to it for outbound calls in the event of a emergency?

CrohnicallySick · 05/12/2013 21:12

Meditrina- I was about to ask the same question, but thought it would be dismissed as too unlikely to happen. Guess not if someone else had the same thought!

CrohnicallySick · 05/12/2013 21:13

Spat sky- she said the office was locked

Ragusa · 05/12/2013 21:18

Of course they should have a phone. What would they do in an emergency?

It doesn't matter if the staff have personal phones as they too would presumably have no reception.

Madness. And probably not in line with health and safety law.

They need to pay for a landline to be installed.

SirChenjin · 05/12/2013 21:21

Parents need to be able to notify the after school club of any changes to pick ups, etc etc. I would ask them to clarify exactly what their procedure is for contacting parents and for parents contacting them - and it certainly wouldn't hurt to make a quick phone call to Ofsted to clarify.

The after school clubs in this LA are heavily regulated and are run as a charity network in conjunction with the LA. The care is excellent, I can't fault them.

Original poster

amistillsexy · 05/12/2013 21:24

They will have personal mobiles, but the signal is bad for most networks, so they won't work any better than the 'official' one.

The person who runs it told me that even if she heard the office phone ringing, she wouldn't be able to answer it as it was locked.

The situation I was ringing about isn't the issue. I'm not complaining that I can't get the club to chat to when they're running the club, I'm concerned that they have no way of contacting either parents or emergency services should the need arise.

OP posts:

SirChenjin · 05/12/2013 21:32

Your complaint/concern is completely valid - don't let them fob you off. As for the notion that they can't be looking after children if they are answering the phone, that's nonsense. Our after school clubs manage perfectly well to do both.

Original poster

amistillsexy · 05/12/2013 21:34

I'm very happy with the care in other respects- the children are happy, they get food that they enjoy (Which I won't give them, like tinned spaghetti on toast and hot dogs ), and love the activities. It's fun and relaxed.

It hadn't crossed my mind that they wouldn't have access to a landline, but the room they are based in doesn't have a phone, and they operate separately from the school, so don't have the office keys.

Today, I looked at the booklet they produce. The club is run by a committee made up of parents. The booklet doesn't give any contact details for the committee, only the mobile number I was calling to contact the manager (who left earlier this term). It also give a phone number to contact Ofsted, but when I rang the number, it was unrecognised. None of that is good, is it?

I really don't want to complain and make a fuss. Nor do I want to join the committee and try to sort it out myself. I just don't want them to discover that they need a phone when some child is seriously injured or ill

OP posts:

CrohnicallySick · 05/12/2013 21:39

I would straight out ask them. I'm sure they must have some sort of policy/plan of action for emergencies- if not then perhaps you asking will prompt them to write one! (Or maybe, just maybe, you could prime one of you children to feel ill to see how they deal with it?)

Ragusa · 05/12/2013 21:46

It sounds disorganised but I imagine that it is possibly managed by a voluntary board from what you say. Legally they need to have done a risk assessment if they employ people and presmably there will also be conditions attached to their liability insurance.

I would maybe say you're worried about the immediate safety implications but you are also concerned for the organisers, who could find themselves liable were anything to go wrong....

Original poster

amistillsexy · 05/12/2013 21:48

I did ask, CrohnicallySick, that's how I knew about the office being lost. I couldn't get through during the Club hours, neither could DH.

When he picked the children up, he asked the (temp/new) manager if she'd got his messages, and she said they'll probably show up once she's left the school, as she has no signal in school.

I rang her later, and told her we'd both been trying to contact her on both the Club mobile and the school phone. She told me she has no signal, and I aksed her what she would do in an emergency. She didn't seem to have considered this before, and said 'Oooh, I don't know, it's never come up really,' and I then outlined the sorts of situations where a working phone would be essential to the safety and smooth running of the club (basically, all the things people have come up with on this thread!). She said she'd have to bring it up with the committee, but in a laid back 'if I remember it' sort of way.

That's when I decided to talk to them myself, but found the lack of contact details on the leaflet!

OP posts:

Original poster

amistillsexy · 05/12/2013 21:50

Thanks, everyone. You've confirmed what I thought. I think it's time to write a letter.

OP posts:

SirChenjin · 06/12/2013 09:03

I'm not sure how it works elsewhere, but surely they must have to be registered in some way and follow certain guidelines if they are looking after that number of children? You wouldn't have a childminder not able to access a phone, for example. Good luck OP

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