about school and risk assessment

[GColdtimer]

Dd has a badly sprained wrist. Tomorrow all of year 5/6 are visiting another school for a sports event. I presumed dd would go along to watch and support (no sports for her for the rest of the week). She has just got home (was at a friends) and is upset that she has to go and spend the afternoon with year 3/4. Something to do with the risk assessment person saying it was too risky for her to go.

AIBU to wonder what is so risky about watching her classmates run around a field?

Maybe all the staff were involved in the sports?

Pupil:staff ratio - they won't have enough staff to stay with her off the pitch?

I think the only risk would be her being left alone while rest of the class are running round. i.e. who would be looking after her? If they are doing activities in groups and there are always other children sitting out then YANBU if that's not the case and she would need an adult to supervise her on her own then YABU.

She is 10. She is not going to wander off. Surely she sits with the children who aren't participating at any one time. What could happen to her.

There are group activities so always a group not doing something.

6 members of staff are going.

How are they getting to the venue? Will there be a lot of walking about once she's there?
Schools are having to play it safe all the time now, and most are erring on the side of being over-cautious, because the consequences are more hassle than they are worth if anything goes wrong.
I don't think YABU to want her to support her friends, but the school could come up with a number of reasons why she'd be safer in school.

If other children aren't participating it's fine. I don't think there is a danger to her wandering off, but, she is meant to be in the school care and they have to factor in the risk that sat on her own, someone could take her away.

They are getting a bus there. It's in a local primary school grounds so no chance of anyone taking her.

Just seems a shame.

She is not going to wander off.

The fact that you think she wouldn't want to wander off is irrelevant. If they don't have staff to watch her, they don't have staff to watch her.

Id ask for a copy of the risk assessment. Ask exactly why an injured wrist prevents her from watching over their responsibility towards inclusion.
Surely she could maybe assist in some way - stopwatch or something - to be included?

It's more likely to be the concern about her tripping and falling, or being jostled than worrying she's going to be kidnapped IME.

But what about the children who won't be participating at any one time? They have been put into groups, there will be time when children aren't participating.

She could sit with them, or help out like someone else suggested.

Because they could quite easily lose track of which group she is in or who is responsible for her at a certain time.

They don't have a pre-existing injury that could impair their balance.

I would suspect it's because they can't guarantee she won't get bumped on the bus or in the groups watching on the sidelines.

Ten years ago, it wouldn't have been a consideration worth worrying about.
Now things are much stricter.

Ok. It looks like I am being unreasonable.

Just seems totally nuts.

I coordinate visits and risk assessments in a school, if they have completed a risk assessment that says it's too risky for her to go they should be able to actually show you the written risk assessment detailing why so I would challenge them. Schools are legally obliged to take every possible step to overcome a risk to prevent a student being excluded from an activity. I can't see the issue with your daughter attending, staff should be perfectly capable of supervising her under these circumstances. If not they should be putting in additional staffing or perhaps inviting you along. I would never exclude a child in this way.

Schools are legally obliged to take every possible step to overcome a risk to prevent a student being excluded from an activity.

But she is unable to do the activity due to her injury.

I suppose it depends whether you think the activity is the sports or whether it's visiting another school for games,meeting new people and team building and an afternoon doing fun stuff. Which is what the letter said it was about.

I feel she is being excluded from a fun afternoon out.

Christ op no yanbu I do lots of work with young people and risk assessing and there is no reason for your daughter to be excluded.

"The staff might be confused about which group she is with" is NOT a valid reason.

If it was her leg I'd be more cautious but ask for a copy of this risk assessment. I'd love to see what additional risk they have identified her as being which cannot be managed.

She has a badly sprained wrist and can't participate in games and 'doing fun stuff.' The risk has been assessed by the person in charge.

Thanks dancing and RJ. Will ask to see a copy of the risk assessment tomorrow.

I'm in charge of risk assessments at our school, had tons of H&S and risk assessment training, yada yada, and I have never heard something so ridiculous. Poor girl. Good luck tomorrow OP.

How would the staff be any more confused about which group she was with than any of the other students? Presumably there is a list which they are following and/or a teacher in charge of each group. I also don't understand the point about her wandering off. Again, she is no more or less likely than any of the others to go wandering. I'm don't see that there is any particular concern about being jostled or bumped and suspect that is far more likely to happen in her own school in the lunch line or playground or in a crowded corridor changing classes. It will be interesting to see what their rationale for this is when you ask tomorrow.