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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

New Headteachers craziest rules

203 replies

glitterelf · 13/01/2020 19:15

Last September we were appointed a new headteacher at my child's primary school. A few feathers have been ruffled and long standing school traditions abandoned. Today my child has come home and informed me of the latest crazy rule, all children are to wear their coats whilst eating their dinner as the head does not want children in the corridors after eating. AIBU in thinking this is batshit crazy and that children will undoubtedly be uncomfortable and too hot ? I'd love nothing more than to get the headteacher to sit and follow her own stupid rule.

OP posts:
StreetwiseHercules · 13/01/2020 23:56

This is concerning now coming from a teacher. Basic logic fail.

PixiePowered · 13/01/2020 23:58

streetwise if you got a knickers in a twist about that, caused a nuisance and became as entitled as you are then my Headteacher would tell you that you are no longer welcome on school grounds.

And we have no governors to complain to.

Yes there is a stakeholder relationship, that does not mean I work for you or you have any say over how my job is conducted. Stakeholder, a person with an interest or concern in a business. Not a person with authority.

StreetwiseHercules · 13/01/2020 23:59

“ streetwise if you got a knickers in a twist about that, caused a nuisance and became as entitled as you are then my Headteacher would tell you that you are no longer welcome on school grounds.”

I doubt it. I can be quite reasonable when making a fuss.

OhTheRoses · 14/01/2020 00:00

Pixie I think you have it skmewhat skewed. I work in the quasi public sector. The purpose if my role is to provide a service to every stakehokder. Do you really not understand that?

London independents were worth every single penny btw. Standards were so much higherr.

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:00

“ Yes there is a stakeholder relationship, that does not mean I work for you or you have any say over how my job is conducted. Stakeholder, a person with an interest or concern in a business. Not a person with authority.”

You seem hung up a little on authority. Don’t like having yours questioned much.

Interfere with my child eating and we’ll see how it all turns out. My bet? You’ll soon stop.

PixiePowered · 14/01/2020 00:02

this is concerning now coming from a teacher.
Basic logic fail.

No. All services whether private or public are funded by the user. That does not mean the employee of the service is somehow beholden to the user or the service provided.
The employee works for the company and the user benefits from the use of the service.

Public services are services provided to benefit the local community. Not services that public users are some how "in charge of".

Anyone who buys any good or service from a company is indeed funding that company and the employees of that company. That does not give me, as the user, any claim to say that those employees also work for me because "I paid for it". Unless I am entering in to a contract with a service provider and I am actually paying them directly, for example hiring someone who is self employed.

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:04

“ Public services are services provided to benefit the local community. Not services that public users are some how "in charge of".”

Nobody said that though.

Public services are public owned. Private enterprises are not. Do you really not understand that teachers have accountability to parents?

PixiePowered · 14/01/2020 00:05

ohtheroses you provide a service for stakeholders. Stakeholders are people who have an interest in your business. That does not mean you work for the stakeholders.

Streetwise come to my place of employment and act the cunt, see what happens? My bet. You'll soon attend somewhere else Hmm

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:07

“ Streetwise come to my place of employment and act the cunt, see what happens? My bet. You'll soon attend somewhere else ”

😂

Why are you so determined to interfere with children eating and force them to keep their coats on? Is it about power? Over small children?

There will only be one winner if you try to force my child to eat lunch with his coat on.

PixiePowered · 14/01/2020 00:07

Public services are public owned. Private enterprises are not. Do you really not understand that teachers have accountability to parents?

Public services are owned by the government to provide goods and services that benefit the public.
Private enterprises are owned by private individuals that may also provide goods and services that benefit the public.

There is a difference between "accountability" and "you work for me", don't you see that?

Missanneshirley · 14/01/2020 00:08

Streetwise
By your logic am I not actually my own boss then? Seeing as how I pay taxes etc too (although probably less than you do, as i sense only someone earning so much that they are removed from reality could think all council workers work for them)

Missanneshirley · 14/01/2020 00:09

Can you not just tell your kid to take their coat off anyway?Confused

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:09

“ There is a difference between "accountability" and "you work for me", don't you see that?”

It’s marginal.

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:10

“ By your logic am I not actually my own boss then? Seeing as how I pay taxes etc too (although probably less than you do, as i sense only someone earning so much that they are removed from reality could think all council workers work for them)”

What?

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:10

“Can you not just tell your kid to take their coat off anyway?confused”

Yep.

PixiePowered · 14/01/2020 00:11

streetwise I couldn't give a shit if your child or mine ate with their coat on. Children do it all the time. They're hardly being conscripted.

I care when parents decide that they can micro manage everything in a school or classroom because "they know best". You might be the parent but I can assure you that simply attending school does not mean you have an idea in to the how's or why's of classroom/school management, policy, governance.

PixiePowered · 14/01/2020 00:12

missanneshirely maybe we should just take a day off? I've got the permission from the boss (me).

StreetwiseHercules · 14/01/2020 00:14

“ streetwise I couldn't give a shit if your child or mine ate with their coat on. Children do it all the time. They're hardly being conscripted.

I care when parents decide that they can micro manage everything in a school or classroom because "they know best". You might be the parent but I can assure you that simply attending school does not mean you have an idea in to the how's or why's of classroom/school management, policy, governance.”

Well, I care. If, at lunchtime, my child is more comfortable taking his coat off to eat, he will have the option to do so and that’s that.

I have never had a single problem with our excellent well run primary school. If they start any pish like that, which is entirely for the convenience of teachers and nobody else, they will be told no, my child will remove his coat to eat if he wishes.

PixiePowered · 14/01/2020 00:18

I've explained time and time again that the "no returning to get coats" is actually for the benefit of the child.
Continue to be willfully ignorant.

Teachers don't actually care if your child has a coat on to eat or not. We care that children are safe, which includes not being unsupervised in the corridors and classes.

Nanny0gg · 14/01/2020 00:19

Thank god the schools my DC and DGC went to had easy access to cloakrooms.

The thought of trying to get coats on the back of chairs when there's hardly any breathing room in the hall... the food that will be spilt on the coats...the children getting over heated if they have to wear them...

How many adults eat their lunch with their coats on?

And unless the school is enormous, I don't see why there isn't some supervision re coat collecting. What do they do about children needing the loo?

Bamalaz · 14/01/2020 00:22

Hercules - it is obvious by the threatening language you use what kind of person you are - disrespectful, entitled, and, quite frankly, foul.

Pixie - can I just say thank you, I appreciate the hard work teachers put in and freely admit I couldn't do it myself. I assume the majority of parent interaction you get is quite negative due to self-important arseholes such as Streetwise!

rainylake · 14/01/2020 00:39

I would be a bit "meh, that's stupid" about the coats rule but I would be much more agitated about the "no play unless you have eaten all your dinner" rule that you say the head has also introduced. That strikes me massively inappropriate, creating a damaging relationship with food, and I would be choosing that one to complain about.

Bluerussian · 14/01/2020 01:09

Get your child to put coat on back of chair whilst eating.

Coyoacan · 14/01/2020 01:34

In any school I have worked in, if you decide your precious child just won't follow the rules because you don't agree with them, you will be warmly invited to find another school whose rules you are willing to support. Only you will never find an institution where you agree 100% with every decision made

Well I pretty much agreed 100% with every decision the HT of my dd's primary school made. I never had to go and see him but if I had, he would have received me. He was a kind man who genuinely cared about each and every one of the children under his care and did not spend his time making up stupid rules.

siring1 · 14/01/2020 06:45

Streetwise
Are you Margot Leadbetter from The Good Life?

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