Kids sent home - safeguarding issue?

[PutTheBathOnPlease]

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.

I went to a boarding school where power cuts were quite frequent, as was being snowed in. Most of the toilets had windows and we just got on with things in the 80s/90s - but then we weren't going to try escaping. Fond memories of sessions in the hall where whatever teachers who had made it in taught us whatever they could thing of - survival skills and team-building stuff, for example. Less fun when the gas was cut off and no hot food for 2 days and then food started running out. The 1987 hurricane destroyed every window and the electricity and gas and all but 2 phone lines - only two days later when the water board said they would have to turn water off for some hours did they decide we needed to be sent home.

Dcs' nursery had a power cut a couple years ago, about the time parents were starting their commutes home. They had a good contingency plan, some head torches, and had the kids all bundled up in coats playing outside by streetlight, or inside having stories read in a cuddly pile, while the manager tried phoning any parents who might be at home asking if they could collect their child early and/or bring an extra torch (a nappy incident had taken a couple out so they could do with more for children to take to the toilet!).
I used to do contingency planning for a living so talked to them about it - most plans involved taking over the pub on the corner! Only 30 kids though.

Does sound like secondary schools need to decide whether they expect children to be able to contact their families and thus need phones, or if they are going to infantilise them and ban any phone on the premises even if never taken out of a bag, then they will have to take responsibility for getting in touch with parents.

WiddlinDiddling bit judgey, some kids don't want keys and aren't good at speaking up!

I you have no neighbours and no keys then maybe it's a good idea to pal up with people who have either keys or neighbours so you can hang at their house in such an eventuality. There are worse things to base a friendship on.
I can't believe how many people trot off to work with no contingency about how their child will get in the house if they (the parent) doesn't get home first. I suppose it's different if you collect them from school so they would just hang around there but if you are prepared to let them come home on the bus with no plans to access the house if the parent is stuck in a meeting or a tailback or been run over by a bus or whatever it's a bit rich to complain that the school are putting them on the doorstep.

Hilarious thread.

OP, maybe take this as a reminder to give your son a key and talk to him about what to do if he's locked out. I think at 12yo he should be able to cope with being at home without an adult.

at nobles description of post-power-cut mayhem. The VP once came into my room 10 mins before the end of the morning session to announce that because of heavy snow then falling and more predicted the students could go home at 1pm; they were literally dancing on the tables! No way could I have had a conversation about "do you have a key to get in?"

YABU.

Unbelievable how many people are saying my child hasn't got a key/phone/neighbours/ability to talk to a teacher. It's pretty basic parenting isn't it to equip your child to deal with this kind of situation by secondary school age?? My 10 yr old could deal with this - the OPs son is 12.
Agree it's a safeguarding issue but not one of the schools making

Show me a whole classroom full of children who are not allowed phones at school, none of them with phones, and I'll show you a room full of liars! sure some of them won't but a lot of them well. And if your kid turns 11 the day before they start secondary school, it's still part of your parental responsibility to make them ready for it. That includes keys, alternative method of getting home, and instilling some practical common sense. I admit some kids (and adults) are lacking in this naturally so this is why they should be taught!

Oo, blimey. Not read all the replies but when they're at secondary school don't they have a key so they can get into the house by themselves if need be?
I know mine does. Just in case I'm not in and he has to let himself in. I'm a SAHM but sometimes there's an overlap of picking the youngest up from school and the oldest getting in from high school and so he has a key to let himself in in case I'm not back.)

YYYYYY to:
I think it was completely unreasonable, particularly for an 11yo. It is absolutely not the school's decision whether an 11yo should be travelling home alone or being home alone.

It depends on the child, and where you live. And all this "NT children should be able to..." is nonsense. Its such a grey area, what kids can and cant do, and varies greatly.
I drill ds regularly on what to do in emergencies. Still not sure he would speak up if he couldn't get in. He will have a key at secondary-still not sure he wont lose it. Probably he would ring me. Probably he would go to a friends house, but forget to ring me!
Its funny on MN because when people comment on situations like the OPs they automatically picture where they live, and their own communities/friendly neighbours etc. Not everyone has neighbours who are home, or who you would trust. And not every kid has common sense, sadly!

So, they were sent home on buses, presumably the buses they usually get but earlier?
Your son did get into your house?
He left school about 4 hours earlier than usual?

So what was the problem?

I'm surprised at posters thinking a school would be unreasonable to do this because they work 20miles away. That is your problem, not the schools. What if DC were hurt? Or you were in an accident and couldn't get home on time?

School isn't childcare and as parents you should realise this. The school can close at any time for any reason. You have back ups in place. You. Not the school.

I disagree totally! It is absolutely the schools responsibility (though obviously as a responsible parent you should also teach your kid what to do in emergencies).

I'm actually quite shocked at the number of schools which don't seem to have backup power! I'd have thought this would be mandatory on H&S grounds.

I'm also surprised by how many people think it would be completely impossible to keep the DC in the school and send them home as and when parents can collect.

I think posters may want to consider how different this would be in a town vs rurally - rurally many kids are used to being ferried everywhere by car so are unaccustomed to being especially independent or to carrying a key. Plus there are no McDonalds or coffee shops!!

If they're of secondary school age then I'd expect them to be able to travel alone and look after themselves at home.

There's a number of reasons why a child will need to come from school early, a plan for those cases is needed.

Those who have said they wouldn't be contactable and also wouldn't be able to leave work or organise childcare within the hour, what would happen if your child was ill or had had an accident and had to come home? If you have a plan for those occasions then wouldn't you be able to use same plan if this scenario would happen if you don't want your y7 home alone?

DDs primary school encouraged them to walk home alone where possible in prep for secondary school.

Dd was given a key then on the off chance that nobody would be home and we practiced unlocking and locking the door so that I knew if she should need to, she could.
During six weeks we travelled to and from school a couple times on the bus so if she ever had to catch the service bus instead of school provided bus she knows the route to the bus stop, which bus to catch and what to ask for when she gets on.
I also priced taxis, dd has taxi numbers in her phone, she knows how to order one and has enough cash in her to cover taxi or bus.
Dd would be fine in her own until I got home, but there's a list of family/friends on noticeboard that she can phone if she wants an adult to speak to and come sit with her if needed.

It's stuff that we've built up over the last few years though. Many posters on a other thread yesterday were saying children shouldn't go to shop at end of road alone during the day until they were 10 so I can see why some 11 year olds wouldn't be able to let themselves in from school.

I grew up rurally. Everyone had a key by about 8. If anything it was viewed as more important to have some independence and be able to do things like get into the house without a parent, since there were far fewer alternative options if something went wrong.

I used my key a lot, often when my parents were home. It meant they could get on with things outside and not have to remain within earshot of the doorbell.

Secondary school kids (excluding those with SEN), are generally expected to be able to get themselves to and from school, cope with a bus, and not to need wrap-around care if they have working parents.

So I don't really understand the problem.

I am genuinely surprised that the school's first contingency for power cut Isn't keeping the children there, with the necessary modifications for the unlit bathrooms, reducing movements around the building, etc. Unless the school is in an underground bunker, that must be significantly cheaper, easier and more resilient as a plan than laying on a fleet of buses at 11.30 with an hour's notice and contacting every parent by text.

I am genuinely surprised that the school's first contingency for power cut Isn't keeping the children there

It's not safe. Possibly no fire alarm, although there should be back up for that, but no cctv to see which kids have gone through the fire door which, because of the power cut, doesn't have an alarm. Most registers are electronic so no way to know if a particular child is in school or left.

OP

It is a parent's job to teach age appropriate life skills to their child. I know some primaries are now teaching children to cross the road but parents should be doing it too.

For secondary you should have some sort of an emergency plan, particularly in Feb when we are most likely to have a snow day. If the school had closed for snow what would be different?

There were no mobiles when I was at school, my emergency plan included a £5 sewn in to the lining of my blazer for emergencies.

He should have a key, or if he can't be trusted at home alone then ask the parents of a friend, maybe one that is at home if he can go there in an emergency.

my daughter has sn she would have been in danger

That's odd. When I was 12 I used to be able to go home by myself, had a key, heat my food, eat and wait for my parents (this happened only in exceptional circumstances)

If your DC isn't sent to school prepared with cash, mobile and door key maybe that's something you should consider

Most Yr7 and above kids have to travel without an adult to secondary school so all kids should be prepared for incidents like this.

Your secondary aged child doesn't have a key?! How does he get in after school normally then? Surely you don't go and collect him?!