To think the school could do more to accommodate working parents

[Eastie77Returns]

By working I mean parents who do so out of the home (don’t want this to turn into a SAH/ working parents debate, I know all parents do work of some nature)

DD is going on a residential trip next week. Parents are asked to drop children off at the venue at 12.30 and collect them at the end of the residential “sometime between 12 and 3pm, we will let you know what time exactly on the day”

It’s pure bad luck that I have all day work meetings/training on both days. The residential venue is a short walk from the school and a number of teachers will be going from the school to the venue mid morning. I spoke with some parents who are also a bit stuck due to work commitments and we collectively e-mailed and asked if our children could be dropped of at school in the morning and then walk with the teachers to the venue. We were told no (no reason given). We asked if we could get some clarity around pick up time on the final day as 12 - 3 is quite a window of time and were told no as it depends on the weather and if the children do an outdoor activity on that day or not. We are to keep our phones on and look out for a text from the school. The school also often schedules meetings at 3.45 for example and there are other instances where they have organised events mid morning/afternoon.

I am very lucky to work for a flexible employer and I will somehow have to adjust my work schedule but some parents I spoke to work in retail, medical settings etc and do not have that option. AIBU to think the school could do more to take into account there are parents who cannot just start work in the middle of the day or up and leave at short notice to pick up their child?

It’a not that it’s just inconvenient though, it’s unnecessary. The children are 11-12 and capable of making their own way home. This would be helpful for parents who work, not least because we don’t know what time they will finish and don’t want to hang around for hours waiting for a text to pick them up.

Given the disruption and adjustments you describe having to make in your own household when you support the school trips, you will understand that for two FT working parents it is tricky to accommodate these slightly random timings on what are normal school days. We just asked for a bit of help ie can the children arrive at school at the normal time and go home on their own.

It’s a residential. It’s not a normal school day.
It’s hugely dependent on what the last activity was, the weather, the last activity finishing on time or late, what time slot they are allocated for the lunch hall, rounding up all the kids, getting 30-odd kids packed (some have never had to do anything like that themselves before), traffic jams on the way home, travel sickness on the coach.

School is not allowing children to leave the site alone

They’ll have to keep them until the end of the school day then.

The teachers are the ones asking for a bit of help here…

The school are out of line on this one.

you should be able to drop and collect at usual times on both days.

There are no coaches or travel home to organise.

There is a timetable of events for the first 2 days with specific start and end times for every activity with allotted time for lunch.

So why would it be difficult to do the same on the last day i.e. the activities will be 9-12, lunch 12-1 so all parents pick up at 1.30 please.

The weather is irrelevant. Whether they are learning to build a fire outside or doing something in a hall, the school should be able to just say it will finish at such and such a time.

Did you ask if you can authorise one parent to drop and collect a pack of them? The parent can then let them walk home after collection.

We had to ensure all secondary age including 6th form were collected. Unless we had a signed form from parents saying they could walk home.

The situation the op describes would never have been allowed in the school l worked at. If they are secondary they just went to normal lessons on arrival after a trip. They should also be attending normal lessons in the morning before going.

The school recently got outstanding on safeguarding.

They made it sound as if it’s a check in / check out process where each child must be left and collected by a parent. But that is a good idea and I will ask as I would be happy to drop off a bunch of children if another parent can pick them all up and then they disperse.

No pity party for me, I left and intend never to set foot in a school again. Don’t worry, there will always be teaching assistants happy to take classes.

That's a really odd set up. I would say they either need to go to school as normal in the morning with their stuff, go to normal lessons and then make their way to the venue at lunchtime together OR, they just make their own way to the venue at lunchtime.

And when they return, they should go to afternoon lessons, or if it's the case that they arrive back at 2pm, they be given the option of walking home or being supervised in a room/on the playground for an hour before going home.

This is what always puzzles me about this kind of situation. We've had guilt trips from our school recently because there aren't enough parents free to help with swimming lessons... but the teachers (and Head) are parents of young children too and obviously aren't available at 2pm on Tuesday either!

Obviously the real problem is lack of funding for TAs... but assuming five adults would be free to help seems like terrible planning.

Anyway, OP... I think since it's a school day they should have to keep the kids at school until pick up time. They're in the school's care until the end of the school day, surely?

Eta - just seen it's secondary. Then they can make their own way home, surely? An 11 year old should be able to catch a bus.

The school has a duty of care in school hours. What are they going to do - phone Social Services?

I wouldn't ask for permission - just do it. They'll give in when they're forced to.

I would not be asking,I would be telling them you can’t pick up and either he walks home or he stays in school

So would I - “I can’t do that, I’m working.”

It is ridiculous that they cannot make their own way home.

the walk won't have been put in the risk assessment. Poor planning.

If you feel this strongly about it, which I would have, take it to the Governors and make it clear that your DC won’t be going on any future residential trips because you can’t take time out of work. They can’t run unless enough people pay for them.

I do wonder if people complain the same way about workmen... I'd never complain that an electrician can't work around my personal work schedule.

Teachers give up time away from their own families to provide an experience for children.

Teachers aren't able to attend appointments during term time. We are strongly discouraged from even having medical appointments during the school day.

Please support your school staff. Take half a day's annual leave and do something lovely in the morning.

That is what they want to happen - car sharing works wonders and is encouraged. Maybe if this parent had listened at the briefing they would know that. Nothing about 'giving in' at all!

It has to have been as there has to be a contingency plan. So yes the walk would've been in the risk assessment. You have to submit all the 'what ifs' when doing this. It will have been submitted weeks ago for it all to be signed off with the LA.

Are you at the same school? What briefing? If you work at this school, you should know to put the important stuff on paper, not only mention it once at a briefing that not everyone may attend and rely on word of mouth.

Insisting on a personal drop-off in the middle of the day isn’t reasonable at all. I understand the point about mobile phones. The solution is to tell parents that any phone spotted on a child will be left at school in the receptionist‘s desk and no responsibility is accepted by the school for their safekeeping, so parents are better off taking them from the children.

Re pick up, just do the usual time or do a share with another parent.

It is almost certainly NOT the teachers who are dictating what is happening regarding the timings.
That will generally come from above.

I have little say in when and where events at my school take place, or of the notice parents are given.