To wonder why the whole school has to close on polling days ?

[Sassybeast]

When they only use the assembly hall and that can be accessed by a completely separate side entrance and there is ample parking within very close walking distance. Or why can't polling days also double up as teacher training days ? We had one scheduled for 4th may - that's now been postponed until the end of the month.
Is there a perfectly logical reason that I am missing ?

Both my dd's school and the school where I work are closed to pupils on polling day.
It is because the children's safety cannot be guaranteed with public access to the premises.

I have to attend for extra training, as do the teachers at dd's school.

So no extra days off here
although we all know what a slicing bunch those teachers are

we have had plenty of notice so I have made arrangements for dd
school do not choose this
as a public building they are obliged
school is not free childcare

That would be a skiving bunch of course

Its not free anything morecrackthanharlem!! Pretty sure we all pay for it. But it is something we rely on for our kids to be safe while we work.

I know teachers dont decide, but surely they ask questions? SO that they have all the info to give to parents should they ask? Or maybe not, maybe thats why they get cross when we ask.. because they dont have the answers.

What is it that you don't understand?

Schools are closed to allow polling
tis an obligation as a public building
every school I know has staff still working
you have had as much notice as humanly possible

Just why the school cant remain open if there is a separate entrance for voters etc.. Didnt have the thought about the violence..
CRB checks cant be the reason, school plays and fetes dont require everyone on site to be CRB checked do they?

It's not security for pupils.

No school staff are allowed on site even without pupils

It is for security of ballot papers/vote rigging/interference...

cos you know what them there teachers are like.......

(1st time ever my school is NOT being used as a polling station )

But what info do you want? Hopefully someone has answered here!

PS: Can't guarantee safety while you're at work while there is free for all access...

It must be different in my lea then
we are closed to ensure pupil safety
staff are still expected to attend at both the school where I work and the school dd attends

although the area used for polling can be accessed seperately, the rest of the school can be accessed through this area, meaning any Tom, Dick or Harry could walk through into the school

Yep, someone pointed out the violence issues etc... I was just making the point that if you ask these questions of teachers, they get very defensive.

Our school is closing. Voting takes place in the gym hall which is in its own building, in its own playground entirely separate from the rest of the school and can locked to allow access only only from the road (ie no danger of children wandering in at playtime). No security risk to papers or pupils. We are off the Monday ban hol, Tues inset and Thurs election leaving a useless 2 day split week. Very cross.

Well I am a teacher. My school is open. My DC's school is closed for polling. So I have to pay out £5 per hour per child for the cm to have them for the day.

Unless I can talk DH into booking a day off to have them! LOL

acutally it is counted as a teacher trainning day

Oh and most schools book their insets terms in advance so as the election was only just called it is a bit harsh to get cross with them.

teachers dont get to choose when polling day is, or whether the school closes or not, or when their training days are

headteachers and councils decide these things, flame them instead.

Never understood why schools are used anyway, why not use church halls, village halls etc instead or even council offices.

I think it is to prevent teachers from fiddling with the voting. We all know that teachers cannot be trusted to complete their own assessments and that teachers want labour back into power so they can hold the world to ransom through the unions.

and the reason insets have to get booked so far in advance is because parents expect lots of notice - if they get changed at short notuce, parents complain, a lot

damn it twinset, you've hit the nail on the head. We could train our smallest reception children to crawl under thr voting booths and interfere with voting slips

No we book INSETS ways in advance so we can get the best caterers.

wish my school had caterers we have to bring our own

I just wonder why they cant do it on a weekend, surely it would be easier.

and i am sure a few members of staff would love the overtime

Perhaps, foureleven, teachers get defensive when confronted with the attitude of parents who believe schools close to allow them to have a day off?

they'll be the same parents who are constantly amazed that the teachers are still at school at 5pm when they pop back for a cardigan expecting only the caretaker.

The council/local authority have to have control over the voting slips to ensure they are not tampered with and that proper electoral procedure is followed. Can just see some unemployed yoof knowing how that works! PLus if something does go wrong the council workers can be disciplined if necessary - which reduces the chances of things going wrong - this isn't going to work on unemployed people.

We actually do have our INSETS catered, the normal people do it but we have special food.

Oh fgs - another 'blame the teachers' thread. Somebody must be ready for their children to go back to school.