Parents standing on my front lawn

[Twizbe]

Trying to decide if I say something to the Head so thought I'd ask here first.

I live next to a 2 form entry junior school. Our house is the last of 3 down a single track private dead end road. The end of the road is a gate for the school. Our property boundaries the school.

When we moved in this gate was just emergency access / gardener access for the school. No kids used this entrance.

After covid the school use this gate for year 6. Since the schools went back after Xmas we have 60 kids using this gate morning and evening.

A few times now I've seen parents stood on our lawn or in sunny weather sat on it.

Today I came home and this bloke was stood almost at our front door playing with the leaves on a young tree in the lawn (it's about waist height)

He just gave me a dirty look at I turned my car into my drive.

AIBU to ask the school to remind parents that this is private property and not a place to sit / stand.

Can’t you mow the words fuck off onto the grass? Or get someone to topiary a huge bush so it looks like a cock and balls?

I've had this too. We lived close to DDs primary school, once when we got home from school I could here childrens voices outside, looked out of the window to see several school kids playing in our front garden and parents stood chatting in our driveway. I opened the front door and got funny looks from parents, then the kids actually tried to push past me to come into the house "to play" (they went to same school as DD, but not friends of hers). The parents stayed there for 20 minutes chatting!
Our front garden was quite open with a large grass area and only a low wall to the front, I've since grown some large bushes to create a hedge along the boundary.

I understand why you didnt say anything, if people are happy to use your front lawn they probably arent reasonable so no point talking to them. I'm surprised they arent parking on your drive too. I would tell the school and maybe put a no trespassing with a video camera sign up, but not really expect much improvement, ultimately blocking it off is probably necessary.

My children’s high school is next to a housing estate and the back entrance is at the bottom of the estate road. It’s absolute bedlam at pick up; I don’t pick up there, I park out on the main road and let them walk down but I do have some sympathy for the house owners. Mind you the school has been there over a hundred years so anyone buying a house near it would have to be aware of traffic.

@adnilc

Lawn sprinkler set to come on at specific times should do the trick 😉

Pity you can't get hold of one of those slurry sprays, you grass would also feel the benefit.

Not remotely being unreasonable however maybe send a message to the school saying "although we appreciate that it is difficult for parents to socially distance on the cul de sac could they kindly remind parents that they would like them to refrain from waiting in residents' private gardens".

I understand and feel for you. The obvious solution is to speak to the parents, however I can assume those suggesting this have never had to deal with it, or have dealt with reasonable people. Since the Council stopped parking on the road on which the school is situated we get parents parking on our road which is a private access only road. They block garages or double park so that no resident can exit until they leave.
Having spoken politely to the culprits several of us have been told to f* off, told that they will park where they like and been verbally abused. We have spoken to the school and they have sent letters out but the problem continues. Good luck.

combo of

“Can I help you?”

“Oi Dave off the grass” said as a joke but with a oh yeah you’re in trouble look.

“Are you fucking kidding me this is my front garden?”

I'm a big fan of the social panopticon in these situations.

Say it once, say it loudly on a well chosen sunny day when a few are on your lawn, "this is my front garden not a public verge." Then let them police each other.

I'm a big fan of the social panopticon in these situations.

It won’t work. Foucault was wrong about a lot of things.

Time to get a sprinkler

I feel your pain - this could have been me writing this, we have had parents park on our drive because it was raining was their excuse! They sit on our front wall and stand on our drive. We have had to continually paint our front wall and now I’m tempted to cover it in chalk so they will think twice about sitting on it again!!

We live opposite to a housing development that was built in the 70s and the residents have covenants preventing them from having anything but open front lawns / drives at the front of their properties. Five years ago the Council bought the former adult education college (never a problem) and gave it to the church for a 1500 pupil exclusive faith school, primary and secondary.

Since then I have watched pupils and parents treat those front gardens as parkland. I have watched it all, fights, pizza picnics, letting their children chase the owners cats, using the shrubs they are allowed to plant against the front wall for hide and seek. Worse still the two houses opposite were lived in by old ladies who, looked after by carers, were in no position to assert their upset at watching their lawns (which they both paid a gardener to keep up to ) used as parks. I repeatedly pointed this out to the school but apparently they have no control over parents behaviour beyond the school gates (same argument now being used about the lack of adherence to Covid restrictions). and I was told by parents “what harm are they doing?”, I wonder how they would feel if it was their lawn? Now we find ourselves to be a “school street”, not allowed visitors or deliveries for three hours a day to stop parents driving their children to the school gates (shifting the problem a few roads), risking the safety of other pupils and their ability to socially distance (which they don’t in any case).

Good luck OP. I even videoed the pupils riding the bikes over the lawns and piling in on them for snowball fights. No matter. Sadly the old ladies died and I am sure the new owners can stand up for themselves so I don’t feel it is my problem anymore.Would love to hear from any Mumsnet parents why they think this behaviour is just fine?

Sprinkler, ring camera, and send us a link to the video. Being completely serious.

Put some chairs and picnic blankets out and let your DC earn some pocket money renting out space to sit!

I wouldn't like this either.
I would do as suggested either put a little fence or a timed sprinkler..

Hi Twizbe, we had the same issue at a house near the school my children went to. The owner went to the School Principal and nothing was done. So she then took it to the P&C and something definitely got dot done, they put a sign down there and said something to the effect of, ‘please stay out of the yard as it’s private property, there is a waiting area provided inside the gate. Thank you so much for you co operation P &C’. It worked and everyone abided by this.

School drop off and pick up times are definitely the most convenient times for you to put a Lawn Queen on the front garden for an hour.

OP in my experience schools are very quick to address issues caused by inconsiderate parents at pick up/drop off times around parking anf congregating in ways that that cause disruption to private households etc. They expect the standards of behaviours from the children so it is not a stretch to expect positive modelling from parents!
Firstly raise it with the school. I understand why you are apprehensive raising it directly individuals who think it is okay to encroach on your garden. There is a special type of parent who seem to think that school pick up time entitles them to disregard residents and their access to driveways/ private property. I have no idea why in this scenario people think you should just 'let it go' or be forced to install fences/sprinkerles. It is private property which happens to be next to a school. Buying a house near a school requires an acceptance of busy roads around drop off/pick up, play ground noise etc. However it does not mean you should accept trespassing, potential damage to your garden or inconsiderate and illegal parking.

Have you mentioned the gate being opened and why? If they don’t satisfy you, then go to the school governors. Again, if no satisfaction, then down to the council. Make sure you receive written response to your concerns from both the school and council. Otherwise, plant bushes along the line of given access.

I would put up a sign saying this is private property and if it continues politely let the school know to tell parents which they should know anyway it’s private land

Have you tried selling your house to the School?

The way he just gave you a dirty look!!! Your on my lawn dick head!!! Bloody cheek

@2021mumma

I feel your pain - this could have been me writing this, we have had parents park on our drive because it was raining was their excuse! They sit on our front wall and stand on our drive. We have had to continually paint our front wall and now I’m tempted to cover it in chalk so they will think twice about sitting on it again!!

Next time you re-paint, use this! www.screwfix.com/p/blackfriar-anti-climb-paint-black-1ltr/5810p

@willstarttomorrow

OP in my experience schools are very quick to address issues caused by inconsiderate parents at pick up/drop off times around parking anf congregating in ways that that cause disruption to private households etc. They expect the standards of behaviours from the children so it is not a stretch to expect positive modelling from parents! Firstly raise it with the school. I understand why you are apprehensive raising it directly individuals who think it is okay to encroach on your garden. There is a special type of parent who seem to think that school pick up time entitles them to disregard residents and their access to driveways/ private property. I have no idea why in this scenario people think you should just 'let it go' or be forced to install fences/sprinkerles. It is private property which happens to be next to a school. Buying a house near a school requires an acceptance of busy roads around drop off/pick up, play ground noise etc. However it does not mean you should accept trespassing, potential damage to your garden or inconsiderate and illegal parking.

IME, schools may be quick to address things, entitled testy parents however don’t listen to anyone and block drives, park on grass verges and generally don’t give a shit about anyone except themselves

If they were considerate people in the first place they wouldn’t be standing on someone else’s grass..