School damaged bike

[BertyFlanter]

I'm braving AIBU because I really don't think I am but willing to be told different. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible but 😬

So my son has started cycling to school, year 7. He got a new bike for Christmas that is his pride and joy and he looks after it.
He parks it in the bike shed at school all locked up. Apparently there is an issue with some kids just dumping their bikes and making it hard for everyone to park. So the deputy head has decided to make his point by stacking all the excess bikes on top of the properly parked ones to inconvenience the students. As a result my sons saddle has a slice right through it which is going to cost £60 to replace!

I called the school to discuss with said teacher, who admitted to me that he had done that but that if he paid for the repair it would set a precedent and he'd have to pay for all repairs. I pointed out it would only be the ones he was directly responsible for. After some back and forth that apparently no cctv covers the area to prove it was ok when locked away (there is cctv at my end to prove it was perfect setting off) he then decided he must have fallen off his bike and is just coincidentally blaming him. I suggested someone other than him (conflict of interest) investigate further and maybe ask the six kids who were with him all the way to school and check the cctv just in case. He came back an hour later having had one chat with my son for a minute and said it was more likely than not the bike had been damaged by him but that he still would not pay for the repair.
I now have to go to the chair of governors to make a formal complaint, but "he already knows" it won't do me any good.

AIBU to take this further? For clarity my calls are recorded (work phone) so I have all this available as proof, along with the separate call from the business manager who was adamant the staff never stack bikes for this reason, before she knew I'd had the chat with the deputy head.

TLDR: AIBU to expect the school to pay for damage as a result of their negligence?

Is the bike stacking still going on?
Because if it is, get your ds to take a photo. Even though it's now, At least you'd have some evidence then!

@BertyFlanter I had a similar concern a few years ago that my email was being “filtered” before it reached the relevant teacher. I went old school and printed off a letter and put it in a sealed envelope and delivered it to the school office. Worked wonders and I got a call a few hours later - and as I suspected the teacher had not received any of my earlier messages.

Quick update. I emailed a, rather good if I do say so myself, letter to the school today for the attention of CoG. I made sure I put in it that I was surprised to find myself forced down this route as I would have preferred to follow due process, but DepH was adamant this was my only option.
I received a reply first saying it had been sent to the CoG then five mins later another response saying actually no, the head teacher was going to deal with it and would be in touch this week.

The same head teacher who had apparently already made a decision on Friday. So it's a waiting game now to see if this is just buying time or if in fact she hadn't been given all the info. Or maybe she is only dealing with the complaint arising from his behaviour and how he handles things. That's new to her. I don't know 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I'll find out soon and be sure to come back and update.

Thank you for all the responses.

That's not right surely, they can't unilaterally intercept communications for the Chair of Govs, that would make a mockery of being able to contact then directly.

Do you know anyone on the governor's or have any way to get a message to them to ask for a direct way to contact the govs.

I'd be making it clear that if I write to the govs I need my message to be passed onto them even if they refer it straight back to the school for initial investigation.

The Dhead sounds like an arse - what would he say if your son vandalised his car? .

But you will be able to get a decent saddle for less than £60. Any saddle can basically fit on any bike, as you say go to bike shop and ask. He may even end up with one he prefers.

They don't even know how to make it look like they know what they're doing, even when they're fucking it up behind the scenes, do they? What a shambles!

I hadn't thought of it like that @coconuttelegraph. The first email says she has already forwarded it so maybe he will see it anyway. It is a shit show for sure. Apparently she will be in touch "this week". Al I can do is prepare for any eventuality. I'd love it to be done and dusted with a calm rational conversation but Im preparing for it to be a battle. I've had no contact with the head before so no idea what she's like.

I do actually know all the direct personal contact details for the governor but I have to forget that I know them - GDPR. He has a very distinctive name and lives locally. I work locally and it's definitely him but sadly I can't use them.

Halfords really are talking nonsense, a replacement bike saddle for a child’s bike shouldn’t cost that much. Something like this would do: www.tredz.co.uk/.Madison-Track-Kids-Saddle_82137.htm

Are the governors details on the school website - ours are, so maybe check.

It just lists the names of all staff and governors, no contact details for anyone at all.
I need an email address for his head of house for a homework query so once I have that I may be able to figure out the format.

Motherwell, that saddle has a suggested age range of 4 - 6 years.

It doesn’t matter whether the saddle is a good buy at £60 or not. OP’s son is entitled to the equivalent saddle to the one that was damaged. If this costs the school £60, then so be it.

Regarding the cost, in the letter I stated I am happy for an equivalent replacement as advised by a local independent bike shop. I have said I will be transparent and honest and if it comes in at £20 or £60 or more then so be it. Providing it is replaced at no cost or inconvenience to me I will accept that.

Yes PetPeter, though the youth saddle for a similar price on the right of the ad that MotherWol posted would be age appropriate and is almost certainly better than the one that was damaged. Halfords sell mainly shit bikes with shit components. The OP has been badly treated by the school already. No need for her to be further ripped off by Halfrauds. She could potentially get her son something better out of this!

personally I would be very forgiving of any high school teacher and their actions - they have such a difficult job on their hands nowadays - I certainly couldn’t deal with all those modern day teenagers and the daily issues. Im sure in hindsight the teacher knows now it was not a practical solution to the problem piling up all those bikes - but I could appreciate how seeing kids not storing their bikes nicely would drive u mad! (Among everything else!!!!!)

OP it could be worth checking bike workshops or even the local dump for a cheap saddle in the meantime. Sometimes if you tell the guys at the dump what you're looking for, they'll hold one for you (before it gets all wet and dirty).

Hope you get sorted with a decent one eventually, though.

The school will have PLI- including things like this. Keep pushing!

The school will have PLI- including things like this

Whilst the school will have insurance I can't see any circumstance where the excess will be such that they'll be making a claim, it's probably tens of times higher than the cost of a saddle.

I'd imagine they are likely to be considering the implications of setting a precedent if they pay up.

@coconuttelegraph yes if this goes through it would cause a lot of problems for the school - people could start asking for money for ripped uniforms etc etc

Honestly you'd be surprised. We've been known to put things like re-heeling shoes through PLI.

Op, I do understand that you’re put out by this but if I’m honest, I feel for the school and deputy head. He has so many responsibilities and worries and yet has to supervise children putting their bikes away because they can’t be trusted to do it properly (I’m not saying this was your ds). He probably has so many other things to deal with (safeguarding issues, exam result analysis, planning, marking, supporting classroom teachers etc.) that this feels like a waste of his time. The damage wasn’t intentional. Stuff like this is why so many experienced, amazing and inspiring teachers are leaving the job. They have families and mortgages of their own and people are telling you to sue the poor man. I mean come on people....! The vast majority of teachers love teaching and the children they teach. Do you think the deputy is sitting on a pile of money to pay for bike seats when so many schools can’t afford exercise or text books? If he could, do you not think he would have paid for it and just be done with the hassle instead of having to to and fro with emails and then you contacting the chair of governors to act like he’s incompetent? Your son is in Y7... you’ve been quick to jump on when they have done something wrong. Have you ever emailed to say thank you for something positive they have done for your ds?

I’d make them give you the £60 that the manufacturers have quoted and then spend a tenner on one from Wiggle, and pocket £50 if I were you. (Use it for a bike service!) £60 is madness for a big standard saddle.

I ordered a £150 saddle and a £20 saddle last summer and you literally couldn’t tell the difference. (The £150 one went back!)

@Mamato2gorgeousboys you said it so well!!! Im so fed up of Hearing mums complaining about failings at schools, very rarely hear appreciation for a near impossible EXTREMELY stressful job x x x x x let’s support our teachers and schools 👩‍🏫

I've said it earlier in the thread, there are some great teachers at the school. I have a particularly good relationship with his head of house who has helped him settle in and really looked after him when his Nanna passed away in December. So yes I have massively thanked them for positive things as it happens.
But in this instance he needs to lead by example and right a wrong. I would have felt sorry (and likely dropped the matter) had the person on the phone been a stressed out, regretful person but he was obnoxiously rude and defensive.
And then he compounded matters by dealing with it so unprofessionally. And actually if he is capable of that then his head teacher needs to be aware. The next time he takes matters into his own hands there may be much worse results, financial or otherwise. He can't be a law unto himself when in a position of responsibility.

I really feel for you OP. Your DS travels to school in an environmentally responsible way and parks and chains his bike correctly. The teacher did a stupid thing to make a point and I really don't understand why you should be out of pocket for it.

What exactly would you have wanted him to do, drop down on his knees to beg for forgiveness? Sometimes I think there is a bigger picture. With 1000+ teenagers, things get damaged, unintentionally on many occasions. It would be unreasonable to expect any school to pay out every time. If they were to pay sometimes, then how exactly do you establish when to pay and when not? The money has to come from somewhere. All I am saying Op is that, the deputy is probably dealing with so many more issues than you can begin to imagine. His primary concern at this point in the school year is helping and putting interventions in place for all or the pupils struggling across the board to help them leave school with the best possible set of gcse results to enable them to go on to achieve well in whatever they have their heart set on. He is there to wipe the tears from the child who has just lost their mum or to cheer up the boy who is devastated because his girlfriend dumped him and so he’s lashing out. This deputy is contacting home to encourage parents to apply for free school meals as one of his year 9 class told him that she hadn’t eaten lunch for the last couple of weeks as money is tight. He’s probably walking over to the spare uniform cupboard in his break time trying to find a spare pair of trousers for the child he’s seen walking round in trousers too short for a while now. Or maybe he’s ringing the mum of a year 11 girl who is getting herself so stressed about failing exams, she’s barely sleeping. There are so many things that go on behind the doors of even the nicest schools in affluent areas. A bike seat is not going to be very high up a list of priorities for a deputy - however, I do appreciate it is important to you and your ds.