School remaining open during polling

[MrBuckler]

My children attend a small, single form entry primary school that is being used as a polling station on July 4th, but the school is to remain open whilst polling is going on. The information we've had from the school is that the yr 6s will be out for the day doing a settle at the local high school, so their classroom is being used for the polling stations. There is an entry way into the school which makes it easier to access the year 6 classroom, but you can also gain access to the rest of the school via that entry way. The school is pretty open with no secure gates to stop people accessing the playground down the sides of the school, and it's not possible to block the year 6 class room off entirely independently. From the research myself and other parents have done the catchment for registered voters who will use that polling station is about 1500 people, and we've also learnt that the people sent from the council to run the polling stations won't be DBS checked. The head won't reply to any parents questions, queries, and concerns, and has so far refused to share the risk assessment. The head won't take an inset day from the end of the year because people may have booked holidays and it will mess up his attendance record.

Aibu to think that this isn't a safe situation and that the school should close? Would I be unreasonable to keep my kids off school that day? Wwyd?

I'm posting here for traffic and I've name changed as it might be outing.

Christ, who'd a teacher..

Schools can't win, had they shut for polling day people would be complaining.

...be a reacher.

Oh ours will close and add an inset day on to that. Really disruptive

Well, the inset day will be part of the normal 5 schools have. They can't add an extra one on.
They may have moved it I guess.

Having had two DC having to have days off for every polling days for xx years ( god knows how many) for every election going I applaud your HT.
As l was working full time I had to take leave every single time when it was just not necessary. There is no need to use schools anyway in my opinion ( use the village or church hall !) but if they have to then your HT has taken the best approach.

Impossible to say without knowing the precise arrangements but doesn’t sound like something that would bother me. What do you think will happen?

This! You’re massively overreacting. Please don’t pass this irrational fear to your child.

I would keep my children off in these conditions - know an ex head and they would close the school under these circumstances!

What do you think might happen?

Sadly, it's s a total unknown. However, considering the usual strict security about people visiting school premises, the lack of reassurance from the head as to how safeguarding can be safely maintained under these circumstances is of concern.

I have worked in a primary school on polling day. The school hall was out of bounds to pupils, the corridor (and classrooms beyond) were blocked off for voters / polling staff. In that school it was fine.

However, if you don't trust that the school can keep your child safe that day, then of course you WNBU to keep them at home.

But the year 6's are going to be out.

Every school I ever attended (1970s) was a polling station.

None of them ever closed on election day. The hall and part of the playground were ruled out-of-bounds and school continued as normal.

For some reason in the 1990s this stopped and schools started closing.

YABU.