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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To keep my child off school for bad weather this week?

29 replies

BettyBakesCakes · 30/10/2023 23:09

We were rather caught out by storm Babet. We had a yellow weather warning but the worst flooding seen in years due to the amount of rain. Our County declared a major incident by mid afternoon. Children got stuck in schools in some areas. I was thankful my child was on half term as I only just managed to get home myself at 1pm due to flooding.

We have another yellow warning for Thursday, 50-60mph winds and lots of rain again (possibly not as much all in one go as Babet, but rain over a few days and there's still a lot large puddles, flooded fields etc of from Babet. My child has a 40 min taxi ride each way to school and a significant chunk is via country roads and small villages.

Wibu to keep them off? I'm worried about floods and fallen trees due to the wind but I'm not sure if Babet has skewed my thinking.

OP posts:
Hiddenvoice · 30/10/2023 23:12

Definitely not unreasonable if you think it’s safer to stay at home.
would you be able to pick them up from school if you send them in?
Best thing to do is wait until the day and see if anything changes, the storm might pass over or not be as bad as they are initially predicting.

TeenLifeMum · 30/10/2023 23:13

if they’re going to get stuck somewhere, school’s a safe place with food/toilets/adults with first aid training. I wouldn’t keep dc off school and I’d trust the school to make the best decisions with the information they have.

Londonlondon4 · 30/10/2023 23:14

Only done it once - collected at lunch time - when there were hurricane force gusts and walking through town was not a good idea. Tiles, branches and building materials were down on our route.

I would see what time it hits and if the roads are clear, then maybe go half a day late if there are blockages.

Ratfinkstinkypink · 30/10/2023 23:14

I wonder if we are in the same county as we were similarly hit. I am considering keeping my small person at home too as he has an hour's taxi ride home. He did make it back on Friday but it took over two hours and I feel it's not fair on him or his driver to put him through it again.

Pinkpinkpink15 · 30/10/2023 23:14

If you live somewhere that still has babet water flooded fields and he has a 40 minute taxi to school & you feel worried then keep him home. you won't be the only one & he's not going fail his A level for a couple of days off in 2023.

stay safe xx

Pigeonqueen · 30/10/2023 23:15

We could live in the same area and same circumstances reading your post - my son also goes via taxi to his complex needs school and the Friday the storm was here it took 1.5 hours to do a journey that should have taken 20
mins. If it’s bad again I’m definitely keeping him home.

Original poster
BettyBakesCakes · 30/10/2023 23:18

I'd have to make to make a 1 hr round trip to get them, if for example school closed.

East Anglia @Ratfinkstinkypink ?

OP posts:
Sonolanona · 30/10/2023 23:20

If you keep them off because of your worries about the weather it will go down as an unauthorised absence.
Schools have contingency plans for bad weather and can close, or finish early if needed. I wouldn't be deciding to keep my child home because the roads MIGHT be bad.
The majority of the children at my Special |School arrive in taxis from very rural villages and I think we have only ever closed early once due to flooding (2007 and it was epic, and my own child was in a taxi)

Keeping them off a whole week for weather might actually raise a safeguarding concern/welfare check too. I know my school would be concerned if a child was absent with no medical or authorised reason!

Ratfinkstinkypink · 30/10/2023 23:24

@BettyBakesCakes Yes!

My child doesn't have enough feed to last overnight if he were to be stranded at school and if he's stuck at school because of flooding then I wouldn't be able to get to school to collect him. More importantly he doesn't take most of his medications to school and that could have a huge impact on him if he were stranded overnight.

Original poster
BettyBakesCakes · 30/10/2023 23:25

@Sonolanona where did I say I would keep them off for a whole week? That's a bit dramatic.

OP posts:
Possimpible · 30/10/2023 23:25

A yellow weather warning really isn't uncommon. I wouldn't even usually change my plans for an amber warning. Sounds like you were unlucky with the previous weather and there was a severe impact that had been thought to be unlikely.

Yellow Warning: Yellow warnings can be issued for a range of weather situations. Many are issued when it is likely that the weather will cause some low level impacts, including some disruption to travel in a few places. Many people may be able to continue with their daily routine, but there will be some that will be directly impacted and so it is important to assess if you could be affected. Other yellow warnings are issued when the weather could bring much more severe impacts to the majority of people but the certainty of those impacts occurring is much lower. It is important to read the content of yellow warnings to determine which weather situation is being covered by the yellow warning.

Pigeonqueen · 30/10/2023 23:26

Sonolanona · 30/10/2023 23:20

If you keep them off because of your worries about the weather it will go down as an unauthorised absence.
Schools have contingency plans for bad weather and can close, or finish early if needed. I wouldn't be deciding to keep my child home because the roads MIGHT be bad.
The majority of the children at my Special |School arrive in taxis from very rural villages and I think we have only ever closed early once due to flooding (2007 and it was epic, and my own child was in a taxi)

Keeping them off a whole week for weather might actually raise a safeguarding concern/welfare check too. I know my school would be concerned if a child was absent with no medical or authorised reason!

I think it’s very different where we live. No one would raise an eyebrow for a child - especially one in special school- having a week off for weather based reasons especially if you communicated with the school and explained. Many of the children at Ds school have a lot of time off for all sorts of reasons and it might be unauthorised but no one actually “cares”. The flooding happened really suddenly the Friday before half term. Ds went off in the taxi and there was a bit of rain but it seemed fine but by lunchtime it was getting worse and worse. Really they should have shut at lunch but they didn’t- it’s hard for them to tell how badly the local roads (east Anglia) were flooded. Lots of the smaller villages were completely cut off very quickly.

Pigeonqueen · 30/10/2023 23:26

(But nowhere did op say a week anyway)!

SoTired12 · 30/10/2023 23:28

Keep them off if you're worried, I would. They're your children after all ❤️

MrsRobinsonsHandprints · 30/10/2023 23:28

Keeping them off a whole week for weather might actually raise a safeguarding concern/welfare check too.

I'm sick of people threatening social services if they don't fully subscribe to the 'get them to school at all cost* way of thinking.

I wouldn't decide now, but I would see what happens, and what the warnings are.

dinosaursgorawrrr · 30/10/2023 23:34

I'm also East anglia (Suffolk) and have been having the same thoughts. The village I'm in has 2 entrances to the road I'm on. Both were flooded due to the water running off the fields. Impossible to pass without a tractor as water was flowing so fast.
My sons school is a 30 minute bus journey. The bus could only go one way to get home as all other roads were blocked off and fortunately just made it through the water. The road was then closed.
We had a yellow warning, noone expected the amount of flooding that happened. Villages such as Debenham and Framlingham had waist high water.
If the rain and predicted winds of 50mph+ do happen I will either drive DS myself and spend some time with family that live near by so I'm ready if the weather turns or he can stay at home. Its not going to hurt them to have a day off.

Original poster
BettyBakesCakes · 30/10/2023 23:35

@Ratfinkstinkypink that would definitely be tricky! We had flood warnings here again last night and a couple of flooded roads just from a few hours of rain as the ground is still so soggy.

@Pigeonqueen it really took everyone by surprise didn't it.

@Sonolanona well this is it, it was 'just' a yellow warning but the results from it really meant it should have been at least amber imo.

Currently a small chance of roofs blown off etc etc. But with all the trees still in full leaf I'm thinking the wind may cause more chaos than normal at this time of year.

I will keep an eye on things as obviously by weds night/Thurs things could have changed anyway.

To keep my child off school for bad weather this week?
OP posts:
Original poster
BettyBakesCakes · 30/10/2023 23:37

I'm sick of people threatening social services if they don't fully subscribe to the 'get them to school at all cost way of thinking*

No one gives a shit when a send child is off for days/weeks/months due to school/LA failures I can tell you 😂

OP posts:
Original poster
BettyBakesCakes · 30/10/2023 23:38

Seems sensible @dinosaursgorawrrr

OP posts:
Iwantmyoldnameback · 30/10/2023 23:39

As the weather forecast is unreliable I wouldn't worry too much yet. However if it turns nasty then you are not unreasonable to keep your child off school.

DiscoBeat · 30/10/2023 23:59

You know best, you do what is right for your child. If that's keeping him home then absolutely do it.

JANEY205 · 31/10/2023 00:02

I’d do the same OP in your shoes. (And I lived in Suffolk for years and have been stuck more than a few times when roads have suddenly flooded. It’s more rural than people think)

Cryingbutstilltrying · 31/10/2023 00:05

I would keep tabs on it all and especially with a long journey and additional needs to consider, keep them home if it does look bad. It’s likely to be one day. Amazing how many fevers subside in that time, if you need an excuse! However as has been said, when it comes to Send kids no one gives a shiny shite as long as you report the absence to the school.

Someoneonlyyouknow · 31/10/2023 00:09

Living in a rural area with a child travelling 30 minutes or more to school is obviously a more unusual situation. Even if the county 'only' has a Yellow Warning there may be pockets of severe flooding. I think you should monitor and assess. So soon after Babet it's not going to take a huge amount of rain for already water-logged ground to flood again

Tempnamechng · 31/10/2023 00:12

I would keep them off in your position. I am assuming that a 40m taxi journey each way means that your dc is vulnerable, which puts a completely different slant on things.

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