Aibu to be do concerned about this?

[Biggamehunter]

I started a thread a couple of weeks back about how I'm returning to work and ds (5 and a half) will need to use breakfast club at school.

I'm apprehensive generally about going back but what's really stressing me out it the breakfast club system. They let all the children out on the playground ten minutes before school and whilst two members of staff stand on the playground no one watches the gate. At this time loads of parents are coming in and out and the school opens directly onto a very very busy main road.

I've watched quite a bit since knowing ds would need to use it and about 10 or so ks1 and reception children spill out onto the playground and are then basically left unattended. The two members of staff just chat together, they don't watch the children. Or more importantly the gate.
I asked the club manager about it and she said the children 'know the boundaries' and that they 'keep an eye on them' How can two members of staff watch 10 or so small children at once on a very chaotic playground?

I wasn't hugely happy with this answer. I'm 99.9% that my ds wouldn't leave the playground but frankly even at 0.01% the risk is too great for me. It's a safeguarding issue as far as I'm concerned.
I mentioned it to ds's teacher this morning and she said she will have a word about it as apparently someone used to stand at the top of the gate but that member of staff has now left and no one else seems to bother. The teacher was not aware that no one was stood there anymore. There are no handover lists or anything so if a child did go they might not be missed for a while.
They are 4, 5 and 6 years old. They might know the boundaries but small children do random things sometimes.

Wibu to mention this to the head if no changes seem to be made? Ds starts the club in December and I'm genuinely concerned. Probably needlessly but it just doesn't seem like a very safe system.

As the teacher has said she will look into the proper safeguarding having fallen apart with the loss of the 3rd employee, can you double check that has been done? It's a damn shame the remaining 2 workers didnt figure out that they would have to reorganise themselves, that would worry me. But, at this point, I think you need to give the school time to sort out their error.

It may be a good idea to look into a child minder. That will give you some options for school holidays as well.

I won't work school holidays thankfully.
The trouble is most of the childminders here go to the nearest school which ds doesn't go to...
I will have a look though because I'm really not happy with the breakfast club system as it stands.

Are childminders on the council websites ? If so you could enter the school's postcode and look for childminders in a 2 mile radius of the school?

Don't most schools have their gates manned before they're locked for the day? Ours is like Fort Knox. The HT stands there until the final bell rings, then shuts the gates immediately and any latecomers have to be buzzed in through Reception.

It was the same in DSs school. I hated leaving him at breakfast club. As you say all they need is for one of the teachers doing playground supervison to stand at the gate.

I just know as thing stands I'm going to be anxious until I can fetch him at home time! I think I will find it really hard leaving him when I'm not convinced it's 100% safe.
You'd think one of them would just go and stand by the gate and then it would be fine. It seems mad that they both just stand together...

There was a teacher by the gate this morning.

Ds's teacher said it's not a permanent thing - apparently the head is looking into a better solution? Yes - why doesn't one of the two or three breakfast club people stand there?! It's not rocket science. Apparently the head said that the school is 'very lucky' because the children are 'very good and know the boundaries' but she conceded that if one of them really wanted to leave the playground there was nothing stopping them! How is this acceptable?! They're basically putting the responsibility on to 4, 5 and 6 year olds! Anyway I am going to keep an eye on it the next couple of weeks before I start work but also ring round some child minders so that if it does revert back to how it was I've got another option.

I'm slightly alarmed that the head agreed nothing was stopping them but didn't seem to think it a huge problem. In my opinion it's a huge safeguarding issue. Not just for ds but some of those reception children may only be just 4.