AIBU to ask you to keep your emergency contact numbers up to date?

[MoreCoffeeNow]

DN has just had to collect her DDs from school this morning because there is no water.

Several members of staff trying to coax names of parents' workplaces from young DCs because the emergency numbers aren't working/being responded to.

No water = no loos and no lunches so they have to be collected ASAP.

Its not what I would call an emergency. An emergency is where you need to come and collect your child due to an illness or they've been taken to hospital. However, schools should take responsibility for keeping emergency contact numbers up to date when parents advise the school of an alteration, and actually using the correct number. On the two occasions the school have needed to contact us, they've used the 'second' choice first, and when there was no response then tried the 'first' choice second.

Of course it is an emergency the school has been closed. No toilets. The DCs need to be collected immediately.

As long as one number responds, I don't see the problem.

Have you considered that people at work might be in meetings and will check their phones when out of meeting?

Like Pseudonym says it isn't an emergency in that no one is ill.

If parents aren't responding, rather than the numbers being out of date, how do they know it isn't a medical emergency?

There are many workplace situations where a parent couldn't answer their phone immediately.

It's not an emergency. No-one is going to come to any harm if they hang around there all day.

But you're right, people should update their numbers.

I work in a hospital and cannot respond to my phone straight away. However I do think it's up to the parents to keep their details up to date. Our school do send out regular contact details letters so it's not like there's a missed opportunity.

Staff had been trying for an hour by the time DN left work and got there.

DCs with crossed legs awaiting pick up. Some parents they had yet to be able to contact.

An hour is far too long to not be able to contact someone. DCs' school had at least 3 for each child so could find someone to talk to quite quickly.

When I worked inside a prison I couldn't take a phone inside at all.
I appreciate that in cases like that they need to provide an accessible alternative number but it could well take longer than an hour to get hold of someone.

We have to give both parents (if applicable) work, home and mobile numbers, emergency contact AND a local contact. If your child was taken seriously ill you would want to be able to be contacted. Really bad that they have no way of getting someone.

I don't think you're being at all unreasonable.

The number of parents I call whose numbers are disconnected is staggering. If you get a new number, bloody well let the school know!

We recently got our three children's detail sheets back so we could check them, correct/update and return. All three sheets had different information. All three had our old address and number at least once, some had hubby living at the old address and me at the new (we're happily together!) and on one sheet hubby was the 2nd emergency contact instead of the kid's grans. One sheet didn't have a 2nd emergency contact at all.
All three children had different nationalities: One was Scottish, one English and one British! Okay none exactly wrong as they're half English, half Scot and all British but come one, who was putting the info in? I'd ticked British for them all. One is apparently Christian and the other two I figure must have been atheist? Lol.

So it might not always be a case of parents not providing first and second emergency contact details, but the school not inputting them correctly on the system.

Not unreasonable at all. We have this constantly with afterschool and playscheme.

Also, and I know it sounds simple, but if you are giving someone's number as your child's emergency contact and you can't be contacted at work a) tell them and b) make sure THEY can be contacted at work!