School parking problem

[JustWriter]

Would you say this is discrimination one parent is disabled with a blue badge and other is their carer so we park on school car park, which is for disabled and staff only, to pick child up. The head teacher confronts us and says one person is able bodied and shouldn’t use car park unless the disabled person is on there own does this seem reasonable as the car park isn’t over busy and maybe the disabled person wants to pick them up too any opinions on this?

On technicality I guess it comes down to whether the disabled parent gets out of the car.

You would hope a school would be generous regardless, but are the spaces in demand? Are there enough spaces for all the school's families with disabilities?

If the disabled person gets out of the car, then yes - use the space. If they stay in the car, then No

This

Yes they would get out of the car to collect as well but can not walk far at all

Horrid head!

Yes they would get out the car too. I could understand if I was just getting out but seems very unreasonable she’s basically saying park else where and leave them in the car I assume

The disabled parent should be allowed to participate in school pickup fully. Being there to greet your child is about more than collecting the child. It is about seeing the look on their face and knowing how their day went. It is about being able to observe classmates. It is about being able to talk to other parents. If it takes two parents and parking in an accessible spot to make that happen, then that is what is necessary.

Exactly it’s not as if I am using the spot and they are staying in the car. Majority of the time I do pick up on my own which I obviously do not use the car park as I do not need it but on a rare occasion they come with me they can not walk far at all

It depends. Our school has a "one adult collecting" rule to prevent a mad rush. In our school, it would be reasonable to say that to you. But if there isn't a general rule like this, then it seems unreasonable and would fall under the legal description of discrimination. However, I would ask you to think if the level of disruption of you entering the car park is reasonable - again, I don't know your school setup, but in our school, it would have a significant impact on the smooth flow of the end of day routine and the safety of children, as we ensure no cars on site during collection time. It would be changed for a parent with a disability, but we would meet with the parent to discuss and try to come up with a solution that didn't involve parking inside school, because the disruption would be enormous.

It also depends on if there are other people needing the space. If you parking there means that a parent who is disabled and on their own can't meet their child, then they need to take priority.
As the above message says it also depends on the situation at school, and the parking situation. At the schools my dc were at, one (secondary) would have been not a problem, one (infants) would have been impossible, and one (juniors) would have been possible, but potentially safety issues.

I think it's the sort of thing that would have been better if you had discussed it first with the head and they could have weighed it up in the current situation. For example, what if they've already said to someone in a similar position that they can't? You can't know that. A calm conversation, explaining your side, and them seeing what solutions are best works best for all.

I think you should use the space as long as the disabled parent is getting out of the car and going to the gate/playground.

The only situation in which I would agree with the head is if there is a single disabled space and their is a disabled child who has to leave school later than their peers due to not being able to access the space.

Wanting to participate in pick ups like any other parent does is totally reasonable and the school should of course support this! But did you not discuss it with the head first? I wouldn’t expect to just be able to drive into the car park without prior permission as there might be safety considerations if there are loads of kids coming out of school at that time, or perhaps the space is needed by a disabled child being collected, or maybe you’d need an agreed exemption to a 1 parent only policy etc. etc. I’d ask for a meeting, present your side calmly and hopefully a solution can be found.