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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Kids sent home - safeguarding issue?

372 replies

PutTheBathOnPlease · 28/02/2017 20:18

Got a text at 10.20 this morning to say secondary school have a power cut and kids will be sent home on buses at 11:30. My son is 12, I was 80 miles away for work. Other half was able to get home just after DS, but school had not asked either kids or parents whether an adult would be at home - they relied on one text message with 60 mins notice. I find it boggling that they sent home 11 and 12 yo kids, not knowing if they would be able to get into their homes let alone have an adult meet them. Maybe I'm old fashioned! But what if the text had failed to arrive? The consequences could be serious. Your thoughts please.

OP posts:
38cody · 28/02/2017 22:49

My DS would have been fine but my DD would have panicked st the unfamiliarity of the situation.
I think yr 7's should have been kept until parents were contacted. What if they'd forgotten their keys.

noblegiraffe · 28/02/2017 22:49

Why couldn't the students go with the teacher for the bread?

  1. No risk assessment or permission from parents to take students off site
  1. Teachers' car insurance does not usually cover ferrying pupils. And you'd need a car for all the bread.
Enko · 28/02/2017 22:49

This would not worry me. However I have children who all took busses to secondary school so really they were used to this independence,

I wasn't happy when DS was in year 7 and we had flood warnings in our local town (and several other of the villages around where we live) School DS goes to told me " we will shut the school down when the busses stop" Errr If the busses can't get through nor can I how will I get my child home?

I took the decision to collect DS early (a friend collected from that town I collected from another) School later after many parents writing with concerns changed their policy on this. (I arranged with a friends mum if it was ever needed DS could go stay with them for the night - they are 3 miles from school so could be walked if needed)

Italiangreyhound · 28/02/2017 22:50

bloodyteenagers well if there are no shops nearby then I guess someone might get into a car and drive to a shop.

Clearly the easiest thing to do is to send everyone home.

I just wondered why there could not be any alternative option.

"Where the money coming from to buy several loads of bread and sandwich fillings?" I knew someone would ask that! I don't know. Oh just send them all hoe it is so much easier!

MaureenMLove · 28/02/2017 22:50

Ah but Italian, taking students offsite makes it a school trip and we would be able to print the paperwork, see in the dark to get it signed by various important members of staff and of course the parent needs to confirm its OK too!Grin

Italiangreyhound · 28/02/2017 22:51

noblegiraffe OK, I give up. We really, as a society, cannot do anything that is not planned for, you are right, I had forgotten risk assessment for trip to shops (and I am not joking you are right, I guess I just think it is quite sad).

Italiangreyhound · 28/02/2017 22:53

MaureenMLove yes, I give in, I though this could teach some resilience but actually no, we cannot, in our society, deal with anything out of the ordinary!

Hulababy · 28/02/2017 22:55

For those schools with a no mobile phone policy - well if this situation occurred, and there was then no form of contact for our children it would be a good plan to go into school and have that policy amended.

All our local secondary schools allow pupils to have mobile phones with them with different rules and guidelines. They all seem to manage perfectly well despite allowing mobile phones in the building. Schools really ought not need to bar them these days.

noblegiraffe · 28/02/2017 23:00

"Miiiiisss, my torch has fallen in the toilet!!"

Astro55 · 28/02/2017 23:00

Best thing I've read all day -

MaureenMLove · 28/02/2017 23:03

I agree totally Italian, it is sad that we have to adhere to so many policies these days. As someone else said, in the old days, muddling through was what we did! I can remember a flood at my primary school and still vividly remember my dad helping with other dads to carry and lift 6 class loads of kids over the back wall of a house in the neighbouring street! Half the parents had absolutely no knowledge that this happened, but every one of them were grateful that their kids we safe!

Now it's about reducing the risk of blame away from the school as quickly as possible, to prevent getting sued.

But seriously, perhaps it's time the OP did question the policy at her school and perhaps use our school policy as a suggestion.

Megatherium · 28/02/2017 23:05

I'm sure the school knows which are the more vulnerable children for whom extra help would have to be given. My children wouldn't have been bothered by this at the age of 11 or 12.

Italiangreyhound · 28/02/2017 23:08

noblegirraffe what would families do when they ahve a power cut. We put LED candles in the loo when the lights fused.

I know noble yes I give up. I guess one thing I had not thought of is that my ds's school is very light they have clear ceiling bits in rooms like the toilet with no window, and it is all on one level, so it very light. I can see if the building was very dark it could be problematic.

I'll stop making silly suggestions. But I can't help thinking managing in some situations like this might make kids appreciate things like electricity which many schools in some parts of the world don't have!

Italiangreyhound · 28/02/2017 23:09

clear ceiling bits (I mean panels in the ceiling so daylight comes in)

noblegiraffe · 28/02/2017 23:14

Our toilets are fully enclosed cubicles with a tiny sink and hand dryer and a proper door, they would be pitch black.

eddiemairswife · 28/02/2017 23:14

If it was a general power cut the local shops would be closed, because the tills would be out of action. Anyway we are always being told that children are obese, so no lunch wouldn't be a bad idea. Surely in this situation the keyless children could go to a friend's or even sit on their own doorstep until a parent gets home.

Italiangreyhound · 28/02/2017 23:19

How is sitting on your own doorstep (for who knows how long) safer (or nicer) than being in a building and having the chance to drop a torch down a toilet?

ConsideredThought · 28/02/2017 23:20

I agree with you op, some 11 year olds will have barely left being 10 years old, and although they're in secondary school, they're still quite young. There's a huge gulf between 11 - just out of 10 yrs old bracket, and 18 - but almost 19 years old (end of 6th form plus). Don't see how they couldn't kept them in school though, without electricity and heating etc. You'd hope if kids independent meet up with their friends by that age, they'd see it as an adventure and just great to be able to kick around together when it's not the weekend.

noblegiraffe · 28/02/2017 23:21

What is an absolute pain when there's a power cut (and we had a few at the start of the year due to work on the electrics over the summer) is the lack of email. You'd be teaching, all the lights go off, your computer goes off, and then you stick your head out of the door to confirm that it's not just you.

You manfully plough on with your lesson in the dark hoping the lights will come back on, and as the minutes tick away thinking 'has there been an email about this?'

To get a message to everybody to close the school would require some poor soul from admin to run around telling everyone. Our site is huge.

midcenturymodern · 28/02/2017 23:21

We have to fill out a form at the beginning of the school year saying what we want doing with out children if the school closes early, the options being allowed to make their own way home, getting on the school bus or waiting at school until they are collected. It's mainly for snow days as it is a the school covers a large rural area and lots of the dcs come on school buses which are a nightmare on tiny country roads in the snow. I can see on a completely random day their may be a few more dcs without keys because they didn't think they would need them but surely they could improvise/tell a teacher/go to a friends house.
OP, I think you are the complete opposite of old fashioned. In my day secondary school children were expected to be able to let themselves into their own houses and eat biscuits in front of the TV for a couple of hours.

indigox · 28/02/2017 23:23

All of these "the child can go to the neighbours/find the neighbour with a key"... seriously? I don't even know my neighbours, never mind my son, I certainly wouldn't give them a key, and why are you all assuming everyone has a neighbour that's home all day?

SoulAccount · 28/02/2017 23:24

So there was an hour and 10 minutes within which to find a friend' parent, or a relative to go home to, if he had no key.

Or to contact your son and say 'go home with a friend / go into town and sit in the library if he couldn't get in?

Secondary school kids with working parents routinely come home to be on their own. No big deal.

Astro55 · 28/02/2017 23:25

I've worked in school admin - a dad called as his DS hadn't left important medication in the DT room - he was 15 mins away and could we stay open for him to collect? It took me longer to get to DT than he did from work to reception!

These are big sites -

Was anyone hurt OP?

Can you imagine the FB pages?
Parents will no doubt be in the phones all day tomorrow demanding an explanation and making suggestions in case of future issues - no doubt offer some suggestions that their DC need to be walked home by a senior manager ....

Mind boggles

WiddlinDiddling · 28/02/2017 23:26

12 and has no house key AND completely lacking the gumption to tell a teacher they've no way of getting in their home?

I don't think its the school causing a safe guarding issue there...

Katz · 28/02/2017 23:32

Seems a sensible descision by the school to me. Even an August born year 7 will now be 11 and 5 months, so not only just not 10. If by their second term at secondary school they aren't able to deal with being sent home early then perhaps they need to learn. My year 7 DD keeps hoping for a snow day and getting to come home early.

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