School closes for memorial

[memorial]

Small village primary school, about 120 children from nursery to Yr 6.
A young girl is diagnosed with a brain tumour a few years ago, and died last week. She has a younger sibling in the school. Obviously all the teachers are heartbroken.
But a lot of the children and parents dont know her or her family. Her year group are now in Year 7 so have left the primary.
The school is closing early at 12pm for the memorial. There are obviously a fair number of families who wont go as they have no link or ties to this little girl. But equally all the teachers want to go, and there will be a good number of children and families going.
The memorial is at 1:30pm very close to the school.
There are some disgruntled parents that the whole school is closing.
I am purposefully not saying which side of this I am on.
Is the school BU to close early?

the parents are being very unreasonable! I'm a school that small the whole community are likely to know the family and the situation with that poor child. I would expect that all the teachers and support staff want to attend the memorial.

some people need to get over themselves

The school is absolutely right to close, although I can see how inconvenient it would be. However, I do think if I was a parent in the school I would (privately, very privately) raise an eyebrow at school closing at 12 for a service at 1:30 that was very close to the school.

She is an ex pupil by less than a year, but never went to secondary, and attended school and school occasions throughout her illness. This is a very small school, with the same teachers there since she was in nursery. It's pretty devastating for the community. And there is a younger sib in the school as well as younger sibs of her friends and classmates who have moved on.

Not at all unreasonable to close the school, even though the child in question had transferred on to secondary school. It shows that she was well liked and respected, and that her teachers were also caring people as well as great professionals.

I can't believe that a child has died and yet other parents are being arsey about inconvenience to them. They should get over themselves and be thankful for their presumably healthy (in most cases) and living children, not complaining that the death of another has caused them to have to look for childcare. Certainly not publicly.

Of course it is inconvenient, but they need to spare a thought for the poor family who have lost their 11 or 12 year old daughter!! It is hardly as if they would have planned on that outcome at that age.

It is one of those times to put up and shut up. Be thankful for what you have, and be supportive and respectful to the bereaved family. That is what is important at this stage.

It's a tiny village school. Not many children die of brain tumours - OF COURSE all the staff are affected by this - it's not like one member of a huge firm.

I was on maternity leave when one of our children in the nursery passed away tragically.

The owner closed the nursery on the afternoon of his funeral and only one parent threw a wobbler.

It's a mark of respect.

Itrsraining A child has died in a tragic way. To make a comparison to term time holidays demonstrates a considerable lack of empathy.

People are entitled to feel inconvenienced... However they need to get a grip of themselves if the think that their inconvenience should trump the wishes of the teachers and staff who wish to pay their respects to the child.

It's one afternoon. It's not at all comparable to two weeks off for a cheap holiday.

vvviola Raise an eyebrow because it was too early or because it was too late?

I think it sounds about right to allow time to get all the kids out, make the phone calls to remind anyone who's forgotten about the closure to come, allow the staff to have their lunch and then get changed to go.

MrsDV I am so sorry that day was made even harder for you. In this instance I'm sure there wont be lots of hangers on, if I can use that word, with it being a primary school.

You are absolutely not being unreasonable. Poor little girl and poor family.

ItsRaining However small the school I can't believe ALL the teachers knew this child well ...I've been working at a small village school for 7 weeks now, and I know every child already, and the sibling/relative groups. Especially the ones who are 'poorly' for one reason or another - they need more attention.

This child only left last year and before then was ill for 3 years. She will have spent 7 years in the school, from Reception to Year 6, and possibly more if there is an on site nursery. She also has a sibling at the school.

I'd be amazed if all the teachers didnt know her.

(And our doctors surgery is closed, no locums, no temp support staff. I didn't know until I saw the notice on the door when I went on Fri, but again, I quite understand why they would do it)

I would think all the teachers will have had contact with her or her siblings over the years. No real staff changes in the 10 years I have been using the school. The family are aware and encouraging the children , families, teachers to attend the memorial if they wish. The secondary school is being very accommodating for the older children going.
They are having an earlier very private funeral.

looking at schools I have known, some of those teachers may have taught the girls parents! or been at school with them. small communities are very close knit, and do pull together at sad times.

It's untrue to suggest that this wouldn't happen in other work situations. When a friend of mine died his office comprising around 40 people closed on the day of his funeral and they organised a coach to take people up because he was so well liked.

My local BBC radio station closed when my auntie died & the service was diverted to a different region.

A school is not just a place of business, it is a community. Communities pull together when something awful happens and support each other.

I attended the funeral of an ex pupil recently. The head said that any staff who wanted to could go. There was no mention of it being somehow less important because they were an ex pupil. They were one of ours.

It isn't a tiny village school! I would say it is above average for a village school.MY DC school only has 55 children and I don't know them all.I would be majorly pissed off at them closing for an afternoon for the staff to go to a memorial for an ex-student.Usually teachers don't live in a tiny community they teach in for obvious reasons.Maybe the teachers who know the family out of school should go and the others 'hold the fort'.

My dd attends a very small secondary school of approx 150 in years 7-11

Everyone knows everyone it's quite remarkable.

at primary schools even larger ones id say it's even more so.

Yes, LaLyRa I suppose you have a point.

Hadn't thought of it like that. Was thinking of what I would do personally going to a memorial from work, and I wouldn't factor in "lunch and getting changed" - but then I work in a job where I could be in appropriate clothes from the beginning of the day, which probably isn't the case for teachers - especially those teaching the younger ages.

Well if it was a very small school and the vast majority of children and staff knew the child and a memorial service was arranged for the benefit of the school and the wider community who may not be at the funeral itself, (in other words they were not close friends of the child or the family) then the teachers should have taken all the children along with them, (just like they do at the Christmas Carol service) and any parents who did not wish their child to attend to whatever reason could have opted to collect them early if they so wished.

But to tell all the parents that the school is shutting up shop and they are no longer taking responsibility during normal teaching hours because a child (who left their school almost a year ago) died, is not really on.

And it's not about being heartless - this has nothing to do with how I feel about a child dying. It really doesn't.

amybear good thing then you have no power to decide. What a heartless and utterly selfish thing to say.

Some people simply have no appreciation of the preciousness of life or the terrible sadness of a child dying.

'A little girl died.'

Yes, i get that Confused.