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.

A picket fence is the best option (pointed not curved top) don't put a wall it will only get used as seating.

If you challenge them, in 90% of cases you get abuse

yes I also said this further up the thread. I live near a school and I never thought it was that much of an issue (but I worked full-time). Once I was home more, I realised what CFers a lot of parents are. I've had people park in front of my drive, and tell me I shouldn't be driving if I can't manoevre myself out past them and other rubbish.

One good thing is that the local council regularly sends civil enforcement officers up and people get tickets, so now I can go out and tell people in a "friendly" way that there is a high risk of getting a ticket in the road, that usually works and they move.

One person got very aggressive so I told her she had a choice - move the car or I called the police. She moved. I was expecting turd through the letterbox that night though.

A lovely rose hedge is needed here. Nothing more needs to be done and it will grow very quickly at this time of year.

Not a chain link fence. Younger siblings will swing off it. I'd look for small "private property" boards you can bang in on a stake, along the edge of the border, and explain to the school that their Covid plans are causing a nuisance to their neighbours. Which member of staff are they going to be placing at your entrance gate, to prevent this sort of issue recurring? Ridiculous.

Sprinklers, motion activated like you get as cat déterrants.

School probably wouldn't do much but it's worth contacting them anyway.

I have a school close by that can be accessed by walking through a lane by my house, when I went on maternity leave when I started to notice parents blocking me in for drop off. Popped out to the shops early one morning and came back at 8:40ish to a parent (I assume) sat in their car, on the phone and with the engine running.

I needed to park on my own drive so asked her to move and was ignored as she was on the phone. When she finally did acknowledge me it was with a very annoyed face and a "what, I'll only be a minute" fuck off lady, you're on my drive you twat.

I should have blocked her in.

Anyway, the school weren't interested.

You need to make yourself the weirdo that lives next to the school. You wouldn't get parents or any child as well crossing your threshold as word would go round.

Wide eyes, manic grin and laughing hysterically about all the "nice" people stood on your lawn while holding up a pair of large scissors should do it.

@jpm129

Why would you come on here to ask this? Stop being such a Guardian-reading bedwetter and get it sorted.

Rude

@jpm129

Why would you come on here to ask this? Stop being such a Guardian-reading bedwetter and get it sorted.

Did someone turn their hose on you for trespass?

Go with all or any suggestions but this may turn out to be a short term hassle. The school are probably using the gate to restrict the number of parents meeting when picking up their children. With the lifting of covid restrictions they may all go back to the main entrance. The school should be able to tell you if this is so, in which case don’t do anything to your garden that you can’t live with

Good luck

Tbh I sometimes wonder what people who buy houses right next to schools actually expect.

It’s not exactly a secret that lots of parents will gather at pick up and drop off. Some will need to park in a way that’s not ideal simply due to lack of space. Perhaps they’ll have to block a drive.

Others will stand in or black private property. Particularly at the moment when playgrounds are often closed to parents.

Tbh the two choices are accept that there will be activity at pick up and drop off or move house.

@JohnWaynesHorse

You need to make yourself the weirdo that lives next to the school. You wouldn't get parents or any child as well crossing your threshold as word would go round.

Wide eyes, manic grin and laughing hysterically about all the "nice" people stood on your lawn while holding up a pair of large scissors should do it.

Worth trying, although I've always found screaming "Will you stand still for fuck's sake?" while chasing them round the garden with a chainsaw, is even more effective!

@SpringTides5

Tbh I sometimes wonder what people who buy houses right next to schools actually expect.

It’s not exactly a secret that lots of parents will gather at pick up and drop off. Some will need to park in a way that’s not ideal simply due to lack of space. Perhaps they’ll have to block a drive.

Others will stand in or black private property. Particularly at the moment when playgrounds are often closed to parents.

Tbh the two choices are accept that there will be activity at pick up and drop off or move house.

Ridiculous. What about picking kids up from school means you have to invade other people’s gardens? Are you seriously suggesting that with playgrounds closed it’s acceptable to use private residential property?

I’m guessing you’re the sort of poster who tells people struggling with noisy neighbours that they should expect it if they live in the vicinity of other people.

I can’t work out if your posts are excusing bad behaviour because you do this stuff yourself or you’ve just given in and accept the selfishness of a large minority in society.

Parents shouldn’t be congregating anyway and they certainly shouldn’t be standing in private gardens I can’t imagine why anyone would think that acceptable .

I can’t be doing with this, turn up at the last possible moment, meet child , leave.

Tbh I sometimes wonder what people who buy houses right next to schools actually expect.

People who move next to a school are well within their rights to expect parents not to sit on their lawn.

@themalamander

Get a ring doorbell and tweet the school with the video every day. It'll embarrass them into sorting it out.

In my experience, schools never bother to sort things like this unless they get publicly shamed for it. Eventually they will have a teacher or someone at the gate to keep parents in check.

Our secondary occasionaly sends e-mails to all parents to remind them not to park inconsiderately, block drives etc. But I guess people continue the same behaviour and the school cannot police it.

@jpm129

Why would you come on here to ask this? Stop being such a Guardian-reading bedwetter and get it sorted.

Who pissed on your cornflakes this morning?

@Jennifer2021

The point is that parents often don’t have a choice about where they park or stand at drop off.

The only option is often to park up where you can (perhaps over a drive) for a couple of minutes or even wait in a garden for collection.

I don’t see why people get so annoyed about something that only happens at most for 5 minutes a day.

[quote SpringTides5]@Jennifer2021

The point is that parents often don’t have a choice about where they park or stand at drop off.

The only option is often to park up where you can (perhaps over a drive) for a couple of minutes or even wait in a garden for collection.

I don’t see why people get so annoyed about something that only happens at most for 5 minutes a day.[/quote]
Surely you’re joking?

If there’s not enough room to park or wait without being an inconsiderate twat, you simply park or stand further away! There’s no excuse for parents to be standing in OP’s garden. People who buy property near a school should expect increased activity around pick up and drop off but certainly not to have parents block their drive or trespass on their property,

SpringTide At least you are being honest about being one of those parents, there’s a lot of you about. I can safely say that in over ten years of pick ups at my DDs primary school in the middle of single lane town centre residential streets, it never occurred to me that I should not find a legitimate space to park even if it was some distance away or to stand in anyone’s front garden, because that would be selfish and inconsiderate. And my children have legs and weren’t afraid to use them....

Do you idle your engine too?

Oh and our street is now closed to all cars at drop off and pick up times to stop that anti social behaviour, not for 5 minutes but for three hours a day...

Standing in someone else’s garden or blocking their drive isn’t an option either.

Reminds me of that thread about people using houses near parks to get their takeaways delivered to. Lots of posters saying no harm done. Others responding to say they wouldn’t be happy. First lot responding to say others shouldn’t feel that way, there was simply no other way to get their pizza and they would continue, thank you very much.

There’s a lot of people out there who won’t countenance being considerate of others if it means they’ll be inconvenienced in any way.

No other option indeed!

The only option is often to park up where you can (perhaps over a drive) for a couple of minutes or even wait in a garden for collection.

This makes you incredibly selfish and self centred.
You just need to park further away or stand somewhere else.

[quote SpringTides5]@Jennifer2021

The point is that parents often don’t have a choice about where they park or stand at drop off.

The only option is often to park up where you can (perhaps over a drive) for a couple of minutes or even wait in a garden for collection.

I don’t see why people get so annoyed about something that only happens at most for 5 minutes a day.[/quote]
Those parents need to plan their pickup better then. Park further away, don't be a selfish twat and damage other people's lawns, that kind of thing.