Page 6 | To email Head Teacher about children being kept inside all week?

mrsvilliers2 · 2017-12-16T10:18:09+00:00

Can't decide if am BU or not. It's an infant school and ds told me that they have had to watch a film for break and lunch for the past week. The first two days I understand (lots of snow and ice) but the last two the playground was clear and not slippy. Dd was allowed out in nursery (same school but different play area). My problem is ds is a child that need to be run [hmm]

Shriekable · 17/12/2017 19:09

My DS2's school has had this recently - nursery yard fine, but main yard doesn't get as much sun so ice still present. I've encouraged him to go in our garden for half an hour or so once he gets in from school.

MiaowTheCat · 17/12/2017 19:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flowergrrl77 · 17/12/2017 19:29

Playing in snow is fun! Snow didn’t even settle where I am in the UK, there was a flurry, and that day, they were kept in 🤔

I didn’t understand why! Surely so long as children has coats and decent footwear?

Ah well

Scabetty · 17/12/2017 19:35

We have parents asking for kids to be kept in and given warm water, not cold, as they will catch a cold

smilingontheinside · 17/12/2017 19:53

I still have frozen snow on my lawn and the path and road outside my house so imagine the local schools possibly have same in playground. When I was a child my school never closed and I can remember walking to school in a blizzard (about a mile). I wasn't very old and it was too bad for mydad to drive me but we all got to school, went out at playtime and walked home. This was early 60's and there was no health and safety and we all survived but we also would not have misbehaved had we been made to stay in at playtime. Maybe it was because we played outside most of the time?? I can see both sides especially with today's blame/claim culture

Noofly · 17/12/2017 20:01

I grew up in New England which admittedly wasn’t exactly -40 in the winter, but it did get pretty bloody cold. We had the annual January thaw where it would hit 16ish degrees for a couple of days, all the snow would melt and then it would go back below freezing , leaving sheer ice. We would also regularly have ice storms (truly incredible, beautiful dangerous things!). During periods like this, we wouldn’t be allowed out at recess (break) either - far too slippy. It’s not just the UK, other cold countries do it as well.

Hulaballoo · 17/12/2017 20:04

It's also about supervision on the playground. If one child is injured and a member of staff needs to deal with the injury it's doable etc but if all children go out and there is a higher risk of injury due to ice etc- there wouldnt be enough staff members to supervise and do first aid on a number of children... Chn at my school have been out with wellies, coats, etc and even played in the snow. But on the days following the snow the ice was just too thick and hadnt melted... It was too dangerous even with winter gear. I'm sure your school would put the children's safety first. As teachers we really prefer children to go out as they do start getting cabin fever and are more hyper and less ready to learn in the afternoons....

jwpetal · 17/12/2017 20:59

Our school does this and they are not allowed to do anything but watch the film or go the reading corner and there isn't much room there. the classrooms are around a hall area and they are not allowed to utilise this space either. We take our kids in all weather and I am always surprised how little teachers, TAs and parents take their kids out into the weather. My kids go to school prepared, but I have been with children sent to school without a coat after is snowed.

I digress a bit. I hate that they are not allowed to get their energy out. I would mention it to the school and find out what the policy is, who makes the decision and make it known that you would like them to be active.

riceuten · 17/12/2017 21:26

Maybe he - as has the infants next door - had a solicitor trying to sue the school because a child fell over when he "wasn't being watched" - as if MSA's duties are to stop kids falling over...

BrizzleDrizzle · 17/12/2017 21:32

Trust me, there is no teacher on this planet who would prefer indoor play to booting them outside!

^This

FitBitFanClub · 17/12/2017 21:32

make it known that you would like them to be active.

It's kind of irrelevant what you would like. The school would also like them to be active, but have had to keep them inside for operational, logistical reasons.

RavenWings · 17/12/2017 21:46

make it known that you would like them to be active.

She can like them to be active all she she wants, when the children are in school the school staff are in loco parentis and make decisions based on all kinds of reasons. The demands of a parent shouldn't be the most important criteria.

Strygil · 17/12/2017 22:01

And if he had gone out and skinned his knee you would now be asking if you were being unreasonable to sue the school......My son had indoor play a lot last week so we played table tennis in the evenings or wrapped up in the high-viz kit and went out for a bike ride....

CarefullyAirbrushedPotato · 17/12/2017 23:02

I'd contact them, yes. Britain's attitude to 'cold' weather play is bizarre.

HidingBehindTheWallpaper · 18/12/2017 00:25

Britain's attitude to 'cold' weather play is bizarre.

It’s not the cold that is the problem. It’s ice and children falling on said ice and breaking limbs. Which is considered by most to be a bad thing.

sallyfox · 18/12/2017 00:40

Children MUST play outside in ALL weathers, in appropriate clothing. There is NO excuse for this not to happen

HarrietVane99 · 18/12/2017 00:52

Children MUST play outside in ALL weathers, in appropriate clothing. There is NO excuse for this not to happen

What if parents don't send appropriate clothing?

worridmum · 18/12/2017 02:58

Unlike most of Europe the UK as a claim culture.

If little tommies parents were not so quick to sue at the drop of a hat there would be less health and safety.

A child slipped down some step because she was being silly (2 steps) she was 11 parents successfully sued. Where 10-15 years ago would simply be a case accidents happen.

Skowvegas · 18/12/2017 03:13

I grew up in New England which admittedly wasn’t exactly -40 in the winter, but it did get pretty bloody cold. We had the annual January thaw where it would hit 16ish degrees for a couple of days, all the snow would melt and then it would go back below freezing , leaving sheer ice. We would also regularly have ice storms (truly incredible, beautiful dangerous things!). During periods like this, we wouldn’t be allowed out at recess (break) either - far too slippy. It’s not just the UK, other cold countries do it as well.

I'm in Maine and they do play outside in those conditions here. Right now it's incredibly icy since we had snow followed by freezing rain last weekend. It's also been cold enough that DS has finally switched from shorts to trousers (the day it hit -17C he finally cracked) :-)

Natsku · 18/12/2017 08:07

And if he had gone out and skinned his knee you would now be asking if you were being unreasonable to sue the school

Not everyone thinks like that. I certainly wouldn't think to sue the school if DD hurt herself playing out on ice (so much fun to slide on, it's worth a skinned knee or a sprained wrist/ankle - and she definitely has opportunities to hurt herself at school, they do a lot of sliding down the hill when it's snowy or icy and she is a daredevil risk-taker), maybe the OP isn't that kind of person either.

FitBitFanClub · 18/12/2017 09:30

Not everyone thinks like that. I certainly wouldn't think to sue the school

Maybe you wouldn't. But the very fact that there are lots of people who would, means Councils/schools can't take the risk. I know a local school who had to pay out just under £20K recently, for a child who hurt themselves in a PE lesson. They were pretty sure the school wasn't liable, and it was purely an accident, but decided to settle out-of-court.

FitBitFanClub · 18/12/2017 09:36

Sallyfox: "There is NO excuse for this not to happen"

What a ridiculous thing to say. Of course there are perfectly valid reasons, (not "excuses") for outdoor play not to happen. Like, for instance, the fact that 4 members of staff slipped and fell on ice in my school last week, one of whom broke their hand, and we had to carefully marshal the children into school by the one door on site that had reasonably safe access.
Are you really suggesting that we should have merrily opened the doors again at break, and let them charge out to risk their necks on ice? I can just see the pile of solicitors' letters on the mat already.

Natsku · 18/12/2017 09:48

Of course some parents would look to sue but the post I replied to was accusing the op of being one of those parents which seems unfair

FitBitFanClub · 18/12/2017 09:54

The point is that none of us knows who would or wouldn't sue/complain. But the fact that people can and do, means schools (and other organisations) are in a difficult position. It's easy for people to bleat on about Snowflake Britain, and how we used to skate to school along live railway lines in flipflops in minus 10 degrees, but we don't live in that world anymore. And I've always let my own kids do (potentially risky) stuff that I wouldn't dream of trying with my class at school.

Changebagsandgladrags · 18/12/2017 09:57

This is an example, it's what's been happening at our school.

The playground has patches of ice which have melted, re-frozen, rained on and frozen again.

The field is completely safe to use. But children need their wellies. Parents have been asked to bring them in.

If one child doesn't have wellies, then no-one can go on the field because we can't supervise inside and out at the same time.

So, most days we have to stay inside. It's hellish for everyone. Teachers can't use their classrooms at breaks to prepare. It's noisy, everyone feels cooped up.

As cold as it is... I'd rather be outside with the children.