Who is BU - School or DH

[Ownerofmultiplechimps]

Ds school have said must bring own drinks every day & cannot use cups/taps etc due to Covid restrictions. I forgot to put ds drink in his bag so he’s gone 8hrs without a drink (is fine, had a drink before & as soon as home). Ds did ask but teachers said no as above.

DH is furious, thinks they should not have said no or at least called me/us to drop off his water in a socially distant manner (bottle was in the fridge & I’ve been WFH in office all day so didn’t notice).

School response was just quoting instructions.

I think as a one off, my fault & no harm done just leave it but DH disagrees.

[Smileyaxolotl1]

Yanbu.
I do think it’s standard at the moment to have no refilling during the day though.
Surely your school has reception/ year 1s in?
So they must have water for their free lunches even if it is bottled. It would have been reasonable to give him one and ask you for the money.

[Ohyesohyeah]

@MitziK If the school doesn't have anyone who has time to look up a number and call home (literally a 2 minute job) then it shouldn't be open.

Yes schools are very tight on staff, but to open with literally no one to do this, as you suggest, would be dangerous. Who deals with a first aid incident? A safeguarding incident? A parent phoning with an emergency? A child refusing to come in from the playground? A staff member suddenly taking ill? A delivery to the office? etc, etc...

[BlueLagoona]

Your dh is right and school are bu.

There’s no point in playing the blame game about why ds didn’t have a bottle as it’s irrelevant - at the point you hand your child over to school you place their care into the schools hands.

The school let a young child go thirsty all day in the middle of summer and took no steps to ensure their welfare. It’s appalling and negligent and a complete failure of their safeguarding duty.

Dehydration in hot weather can be lethal. If you’ve ever seen a young child suffering from heat stroke - which is hugely exacerbated by dehydration - you wouldn’t think it was no big deal. It IS a big deal and downright dangerous.

[Idontgiveagriffindamn]

@Witchend it shouldn’t matter how the child worded it, the teacher (an adult) should realise from the question of statement from the child that they wouldn’t have water for the whole day and do something about it. It’s frankly appalling.
I’d be writing to the head and governors about it asking them to change this policy. I realise it’s the last week of school but they need to change it for September.

[Starbuggy]

Of course you/DH and DS should have remembered his bottle. But kids (and their parents) are only human and forget things sometimes. For something as essential as a drink of water, the school should be prepared with a back up solution such as disposable cups or bottled water they then charged you for. It’s not fair that he was denied a drink all day when he asked for it. I’m all for natural consequences but not when it’s something so basic as water.

[babybythesea]

I work in a school and normally I roll my eyes at the complaints people come out with on here. But not this time.
We’ve also had kids forget drinks. We give them water in a cup from the kitchen. Not a disposable cup but a proper one. They keep it with them all day, refill when needed, and at the end of the day I wash it and then give it a rinse with boiling water from the kettle. I couldn’t do this for all of them daily, but one child every week or so is hardly the end of the world.
I’d be cross. I get awful headaches, which often end in migraines, if I go too long without a drink, and Dd looks to be going the same way. I am careful but sometimes things get forgotten. I’d be pretty cross if she ended up with bad headache because she wasn’t allowed to drink.

[Bear65]

I understand that schools are legally required to provide drinking water for pupils at all times in England, Scotland and Wales. Unless the Coronavirus Legislation 2020 has overwritten that legislation?

IMO the school is being unreasonable, and not following DfE guidance which states "these circumstances( not able to drink) , you should supply bottled drinking water until a thorough flushing and chlorination can be undertaken by a water treatment specialist."

I would personally write to the school formally

[amy85]

My boys school had this rule even before covid-19 as the headteacher said that using the school cups in the classroom was making the children share germs and miss school or some crap like that...the ex took ds2 to school once and forgot his water bottle and school wouldn't give him a drink apart from the small drink of water at lunchtime even tho it was a very hot day...luckily he has a nice friend who shared his water bottle with him

[Wingedharpy]

@Idontgiveagriffindamn : I think the wording is v important.

7yr old: "Can I get a drink from the tap Miss?"
Teacher : "No. You need to use your bottle".

End of conversation.

UNLESS 7 year old follows it up with " But I haven't got a bottle today Miss. I forgot to bring it"

It would be sensible to ask the school if they were aware that 7 year old didn't have access to a drink all day. Raises awareness for next child.

[indemMUND]

7 is little still. For someone to deny him a drink in loco parentis several times over is ridiculous. Yes, you made a mistake. I've had similar when water bottle has fallen out of school bag in the car on the way. Granted, that was pre-Covid and obviously there are factors at play here but how could anyone deny the kid a drink knowing he didn't have one available? It's a one off but I would definitely be making a point with the school here, no need to go all guns blazing but point out that this is clearly something that can slip through the net of guidelines which can turn out to be pretty lax in the basic care of a child.

[skyblu]

I agree that it’s not the end of the world & DS is ok.....But I do see your DHs point as well! The school could quite easily have called you and had you drop a drinks bottle to your son! This kind of thing really infuriates me with schools. Where is the common sense? Out the window because ‘rules are rules’.
This is a child. Denied water for 8hrs!
I think your husband is right to point out to the school that Covid doesn’t mean they have to keep their brains up their arses!

[starfishmummy]

I bet the staff are still making themselves drinks.....

[saraclara]

@eddiemairswife

I must be one of the millions of older people who never had a drink during the school day and managed to survive without getting distressed.

You didn't even have a glass of water with your school dinner?

I'm an older person, and we got milk at break time and water with our lunch

[lyralalala]

[quote Wingedharpy]@Idontgiveagriffindamn : I think the wording is v important.

7yr old: "Can I get a drink from the tap Miss?"
Teacher : "No. You need to use your bottle".

End of conversation.

UNLESS 7 year old follows it up with " But I haven't got a bottle today Miss. I forgot to bring it"

It would be sensible to ask the school if they were aware that 7 year old didn't have access to a drink all day. Raises awareness for next child.[/quote]
Kids are used to have their bottles with them. A teacher, in fact any school staff, should be replying to "Can I get a drink from the tap?" with "Where is your water bottle?" because a kid with their bottle to hand isn't going to ask for the tap

[Notnownotneverever]

The school are being ridiculous. They are in charge of keeping your son happy and healthy and safe all day. Ensuring he is properly hydrated is part of that and this is particularly relevant as your son told them he wanted a drink. Who refuses a child that they are caring for a drink?

[Lollypop4]

Thats terrible.
8hrs and they didnt even call you.
I would complain

[TimeWastingButFun]

I'd be really annoyed with the school, too. They could have some sanitised bottles of water for emergencies or if not, then at least to phone you to bring some. Far too long to go without a drink!!

[TenShortStories]

I wouldn't complain but I would have a chat with the teacher to make sure they'd realised exactly what had happened, and to maybe suggest a supply of cups in case of similar in the future.

It's not OK to go that long without water, but equally we often don't realise the pitfalls of a new policy until something goes wrong to highlight them. I'd assume that's what's happened here. If he'd got to the point of crying about being thirsty or feeling ill and the teacher had ignored that then I would complain, but this is conversation territory rather than complaint.

[Gooseygoosey12345]

That's a disgrace and I'm with your DH on this one. Denying water to a child (or anyone!!) is appalling. They should have called at the very least. There's no way my daughters school would do that, if they couldn't provide a drink we'd have been called straightaway. They have a duty of care whilst your child is in their care and they didn't fulfil it. I hope you've spoken with the head and it's a mistake. Not being able to refill is also a huge issue. I honestly don't know if I'd send my child in if they didn't have access to water, I wouldn't even put my dog in that situation

[TimeWastingButFun]

And anyway, if you don't raise the issue with them it will happen again to another child!

[Freddiefox]

@Fuebomba0

Just give him a water bottle tomorrow, don’t see what’s all the fuss about

The child went 8 hours without a drink, that’s a long time in anyone’s book and it’s warm weather.

His age is irrelevant it’s not like he can pop
Out and buy a drink. I’m with your dh and I’d follow if it

[sunrainwind]

I'd be really upset.

My daughter is allowed to refill her own bottle - and they're given one at lunch time if they want a colder one on a hot day. She forgot her fruit snack the other day and they gave her an apple and didn't even mention it to me that she ha forgotten, she told me.

[Wingedharpy]

@TenShortStories : exactly.

I find it hard to believe that this was deliberate neglect by the school but a conversation, as suggested will help clarify.

If it was a misunderstanding, everyone learns and benefits from it being highlighted.

IF it turns out it was deliberate, move schools pronto - they are psychopaths.

[Ilovesandwiches]

I work in a childcare setting and as a general rule at the moment children need to be bringing in bottle instead of using our cups, however sometimes bottles get forgotten. There is absolutely no way I would tell a child they can’t have a drink all day because they’ve forgotten their bottle. They can use the same cup all day which would just need to be properly washed at the end of the day. Better than a potentially dehydrated and poorly child! Bless him xx

[TheChiefJo]

The school should be able to offer tap water in a paper cup or similar.

What of really neglected children whose family won't sort it, or child carers who forget? Just dehydrate? Tap water should be a right.