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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that 8.35 am is too late for a secondary school to give notice if they are open or not!

96 replies

Beehivesandhoney · 28/02/2018 22:19

It's snowing really heavily outside.
Dds school because of its type and the area. has a catchment area which is huge. Some kids are 25 miles away. Many are 5-7 miles away. Most do two buses.

Two days ago when the snow wasn't as bad they announced they were open at 8.30am they were still open. They are expected to be there for 8.50am so most will have already set off well before that.

Aibu to think that most secondary schools have people in earlier than that?
What time does your school let you know?

Dd has two buses. One out of the village and then the main one. So if she gets stuck we are knackered.

OP posts:
tinkywinky2018 · 28/02/2018 22:22

One of my kids schools sent the message out that they were closed today at 10.45am! The other schools texted at 6.59 and 7.17am.
I knew they would be anyway when the red alert was set last night, but I imagine not everyone knew that?

TinaMena · 28/02/2018 22:23

I would have thought at secondary school a pupil would be able to manage themselves in this situation without parental involvement?

khajiit13 · 28/02/2018 22:25

But they were open? I'm assuming they only felt the need to make an announcement due to the number of parents enquiring? Unless I heard otherwise I'd assume school was open.

tinkywinky2018 · 28/02/2018 22:25

I would have thought at secondary school a pupil would be able to manage themselves in this situation without parental involvement

You think 11 year olds should know before being told that the school is closed, and deal with getting themselves home again in the snow?
Hmm

WyfOfBathe · 28/02/2018 22:25

YANBU.

When we had snow previously, the school I teach in always made a decision by 7.15am, and this is an urban school where most students live within a couple of miles.

Mousewatch · 28/02/2018 22:25

Heard at 6 am this morning and they have just emailed and updated FB to say they are closed tomorrow.

MsAwesomeDragon · 28/02/2018 22:26

My school announced it was closed at 8:20 am today. I was already driving, had been for half an hour, couldn't answer the phone, so continued driving for another half hour in the snow to reach school, only to be told to go home again.

Most kids were already on their way as well. There were a lot of parents and staff who were annoyed about the late notice. That has been taken into account, and they have already let us know we're closed tomorrow as well.

TalkinPeace · 28/02/2018 22:26

Surely they have to notify the bus company by 7am - so that is when they should notify families

Original poster
Beehivesandhoney · 28/02/2018 22:29

'khajiit13

But they were open? I'm assuming they only felt the need to make an announcement due to the number of parents enquiring?'

I am not worried about them announcing it late a couple of days ago. I'm worried they will announce it that late tomorrow and the snow is really coming down now.

OP posts:
Thehogfather · 28/02/2018 22:30

I imagine that some schools will have to wait and see if sufficient staff can make it in before they make a decision. I very much doubt they're all sat in the staff room thinking 'fuck it, I cba to update the website or send a text'

Why does it matter anyway? If dc have already left then they don't lose anything by turning round and going home again.

Original poster
Beehivesandhoney · 28/02/2018 22:31

'TinaMena

I would have thought at secondary school a pupil would be able to manage themselves in this situation without parental involvement?'

Tina in some areas near us they have taken bus services off or stopped them serving areas at short notice.

How is a child meant to manage getting home with no bus service if they do it again and get to school before it is announced that it is closed? I don't drive.

OP posts:
shouldwestayorshouldwego · 28/02/2018 22:33

You think 11 year olds should know before being told that the school is closed and deal with getting themselves home again in the snow?

Every September dd has to write in her planner what she would do if there was snow and their plan has to be signed by a parent, so hopefully yes they would know what to do.

Parrothead · 28/02/2018 22:33

Wait OP, was school open of closed? If closed then YANBU. If open, why would you need a special announcement? Isn’t that just the default situation?

Original poster
Beehivesandhoney · 28/02/2018 22:33

'Why does it matter anyway? If dc have already left then they don't lose anything by turning round and going home again.'

They have been taking the bus service off at short notice or not serving specific areas at short notice. I'm worried she will get stranded basically.

OP posts:
Original poster
Beehivesandhoney · 28/02/2018 22:35

Sorry to be clear they opened on Monday and because the snow was pretty bad they announced that they were still open around 8.35am.

It is tomorrow I'm worrying about as the snow is currently coming down a lot heavier.

OP posts:
TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 28/02/2018 22:37

At my rural secondary bus kids were not allowed to leave if there was any doubt about their ability to get home. We all had to have a named person in the town as an emergency contact in snowy weather. This was put in place because a girl had died (not sure how long ago!) after being dropped off from the bus and trying to cross fields to get to her house. She got disoriented and lost her way.

TalkinPeace · 28/02/2018 22:37

parrothead
If open, why would you need a special announcement? Isn’t that just the default situation?
Because if you live a long way away and travel a mile or two to the school bus stop, only to find its not running .......

DSs college has a rural catchment 45 miles across ....
It is closed tomorrow because the afternoon buses may not be able to get the kids home

dementedpixie · 28/02/2018 22:38

Our council updated at 7am this morning to say the schools were closed. Also already been notified they are closed tomorrow

starlightafar · 28/02/2018 22:44

YANBU OP. The county updates here were absolutely shit. Nothing on the council website, each school individually doing it via twitter.
To be honest the snow's that bad we can't get down the road so I would have kept them off anyway. But I have friends who are nurses and doctors who were fannying about at 8 30 wondering whether to take their kids to work or not.
I was waiting from 5 30 about if trains were running and buses. No information at all.

WeAllHaveWings · 28/02/2018 22:46

We got a message to say schools were open at 7:45.

We also got a message at 15:40 to say they were shutting early, ds arrived home unexpectedly by school bus at 14:15.

expatinscotland · 28/02/2018 22:46

YANBU. Ours is announcing at 7 tomorrow.

'I would have thought at secondary school a pupil would be able to manage themselves in this situation without parental involvement?'

Oh, here we go again! The MN bubble where we all live in lovely cities with plenty of transport.

Plenty of rural and semi-rural places rely a lot on 'parental involvement' because the route involves multiple buses that run on very limited schedules, so the child has no way home if the bus goes off, or they travel into school with the parent who's going into work so they don't have to get up at 6am to try to make it, all sorts of reasons.

Thehogfather · 28/02/2018 22:48

But wouldn't the issue of her being stranded due to no bus service still be the same if school was open? Being stranded at 9am is preferable to being stranded at 4.

I drive, but dd catches the bus to school and barring an emergency I couldn't leave work to pick her back up just because there weren't any buses. Assuming nobody else's parents were around I would expect her to find a solution. We live semi rurally, so the chances of a direct bus home are negligible. And anyway she has to walk over a mile just to the bus stop. But, I would expect her to be capable of finding a roundabout route home, or the nearest shopping centre/ library etc to wait till the buses were running by y7.

TalkinPeace · 28/02/2018 22:50

But, I would expect her to be capable of finding a roundabout route home, or the nearest shopping centre/ library etc

Not many of those in the Meon Valley or the Test Valley or on Salisbury Plain

Willow2017 · 28/02/2018 22:51

In our area there is a very sporadic bus service
Some of the kids get a service bus to school but the next one home may not be for 2 hours. If they have been dropped off by a chartered bus it could be gone by the time they walk up to school and find out its closed. How are they supposed to get home, in some cases 5-6 miles away when there is no service bus that actually passes their farm? Hang around outside in the cold trying to get hold of someone who can come and collect them?

We get notified by 7am it would be madness to wait till kids are actually on thier way before saying school was closed.

AnnieAnoniMouse · 28/02/2018 22:53

Ours told us at 3pm today. Still no snow laying here, but it’s expected tomorrow and even if we don’t get as much as a flake I’m happy with their decision. If they were fecking about until 8:35 tomorrow I’d make the decision for them - kids staying home.

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