Badly behaved parents: what action can and should a school take?

[Anna8888]

Went to Parents Association meeting last night. Nearly all the items on the agenda and that arose related to discipline. It is becoming apparent that a small (but unfortunately rather visible and audible) group of families at school are damaging the school's reputation in the neighbourhood. One of main issues is parents parking their 4x4's outside school, blocking a private road with a lot of rich and powerful residents. Another issue is disruption in the (public) park that the children play in after school - children playing football where they aren't allowed etc. The residents association wants to lobby the town hall to get bans on the school. How can the school get this small group of (extremely selfish) parents to toe the line?

its a tricky one -as its the parents in some cases (ie parking) that are causing problem so not sure what you can do there.

. but re kids behaving badly when clearly in school uniform/near school, - I k now that kind of issue does get picked up with and in some cases dealt with on grounds that kids have something in rules re appropriate beahviour when in uniform/en route to school . Tehre is also something more general at school my mother teaches at about general behaviour that is likely to create issues - again the park behaviour .

must be pretty depressing to get this coming up at every meeting though

If they are parking illegally or causing a disruption their numbers should be reported to the police. The school where I work takes reports of pupils misbehaving in uniform very seriously.

The children don't wear uniform as such (only a dress code) and the school is very much of the opinion that once they have left school premises (between 4.15 and 4.30 pm) they are no longer the responsibility of the school but of the parents. However, the children all go in the park after school (as well as during school breaks, when they are supervised by school and don't get up to mischief). It's a difficult one. There are some vile parents but as usual they are a tiny group.

we have a pcso - police community support officer, who often comes at school pick up time to move on any cars parked where they aren't allowed

I think in that case it's not the responsibility of the school.

Ask the council to paint a 'keep clear' grid across the entrance to the private road. If a traffic warden or policeman stands there the first few days and issues tickets to those who block it then that should get the message through.

If they are parking in the private road, I would think a heads up to a clamping company to clamp them would also put a stop to it quickly.

If they are driving along the private road, the residents could just stop access to the road altogether. Is this the only way of gaining access to the school though?

Can the school or the PTA periodically send representatives into the park to find out who is playing football and having them answer for it back at school? Perhaps the culprits could be made to come back at a weekend and pick up litter in the park. That would also inconvenience their parents so they would put pressure on their children to stop doing it.

they are no longer responsiblity of the school but are clearly associated with the school and wouldn't be there if it wasn't for school - uniform issue is a bit of a red herring as they are clearly identifiable. given its clearly going to have serious issues for the school, I think school is within rights to say if parents/carers don't supervise, will take action if complaints.

and this is the second thread I've read today about some parents making it difficult for others -sad really.

Does the school share the park? Some schools over here don't have a playing field but use a park for PE. It is a way of saving space in built up areas. If they are sharing the park then I think it is the school's concern because a ban could have a serious impact on the other pupils.

Anna, do school have a newsletter? Something from the headteacher about being respectful of neighbours where parking is concerned and highlight the fact that the police do make regular checks and will ticket incorrect parking (which they do up at our school)?

As for the park, once again, something in the newsletter along the lines of :- "Disruption reported in the park & whilst we do not believe our pupils are involved, we'd like to point out that bad behaviour will be reported upon via the local res. assoc. and experience tells us that that info. will be acted upon" - summat like that?

So nothing is directed at anyone in particular and it's all a bit vague whilst still getting the message across.

The school doesn't have a newsletter but it ought to - that's a good idea - there aren't nearly enough regular reminders to parents of the little rules and regulations and generally expected standards of behaviour of both parents and pupils using the school.

The park is a public park and the school has special permission from the town hall to use it as its playground and sports area. The residents' association is talking about lobbying the town hall to remove the permission, which is very serious indeed.

The road leading to the school isn't private as such, but it has gates that could theoretically be closed. I don't think that is the way forward, though - the real issue is parents blocking the entrance to the road, not driving inside it - there is a 4x4 free for all outside the gates. It drives most parents (who come to school on foot or by public transport) fairly insane as the cars drive very badly and there are lots of little children around.

Anna - the BSB has a similar problem, and this is addressed through the newsletter weekly. The police have been and put parking tickets on some cars I think, and of course, in Belgium, if you are blocking someone's drive you can and will get your car towed away and impounded. A few incidences of this, and the bad parking would stop. Letting down their tyres would have the same effect too!

The behaviour can be a problem - here BSB kids are easily identifiable as they tend to converse in languages other than Flemish. The school have become involved in helping to police inappropriate behaviour on Friday nights by years 10 and above; and will impose sanctions on those who bring the school into disrepute. If these students at your school who are causing the problem can be identified, then surely the police and or local officials can have a word?

The issue is a primary school issue ie up to age 11. Children in collège (11-15) are not dropped at school and the school doesn't use the park in the same way (it is further away with its own playground).

Cars do get ticketed/towed sometimes. The real issue is that there is absolutely NO legal parking around the school available after 8.35 pm or past 4.15 pm. It really is a school where parents need to be prepared to walk/use public transport, and most are.

However, there are few who think that driving their offspring 400m in a 4x4 is appropriate...

So, why not organise a school bus service like the schools have here. it costs, but my ds is picked up and delivered back every day. It cuts down on truancy as they are the school's responsibility once they are on the bus, and bad behaviour is frowned on.

I think that's a non-starter - school buses cost a fortune to run (it would cost much more per child per term than school fees), and there is really nowhere at all for a school bus to park.

A friend's daughters take part in a "walking bus" to school. Parents are encouraged to drop their children in a designated area away from the school, the children wear special bibs (wrong word but some reflective thing), and walk to school in a crocodile. It is presented as being environmentally friendly, the children who do it receive merit marks, and it has helped congestion near the school.

The yearly cost for the bus is about 1% of the fees here, and is an astronomical cost; but is perhaps worth exploring.

The school car park is shut between 0750-0850 and 1550-1615 and is solely used for the bus kids to find their bus, and then they all rumble off together. Works a treat.

I think that the walking bus idea is great, but in an inner city with very heavy traffic I also think it is impracticable (and I think it is also illegal) for a parent/carer not to accompany a child to and from the school gate.

Here, the schools that do have a school bus charge around 12,000 euros a year. Our school fees are not even 5,000 euros, with another 1,500 for the canteen - and the parents are up in arms about the canteen costs.

There is no school car park or anything resembling one. We are in an inner city.

We regularly get letters about bad parking/parking ilegally - always the same group of parents

Clamping/traffic wardens should work a treat!

There are already about 5 traffic wardens around every morning. Ticketing and towing galore sometimes - but it hasn't stopped the problem. There is a small group of parents who really don't care.

There is some sort of consent form/register taken when they are dropped off and probably at the start of each term too, which probably deals with the carer issue - can children really not be dropped off by a friend's parent for example?

In London you often see lines of school children (Hill House springs to mind) walking from one area to another - I think Hill House have their PE etc in Hyde Park, so I wouldn't see an issue with the actual walking, but it may be work looking at an A-Z of Paris just to see if there are any quieter zones which could be used for drop off - maybe differnet areas for different groups, which would dilute the congestion further? It would take some organisation to get off the ground!

We have a little yellow card with the child's name and photo on and up to four named adults who are allowed to drop off/pick up children at school. The card is always required (no duplicates) - of course, after a bit the teachers and doorkeepers know the parents and regular carers. It's pretty hard to bypass the system - you need to write a letter to the school.

You are quite right in that it would technically be possible for children to be dropped at another, quieter entrance to the park and crocodiled across the park to school. As you say, getting it off the ground would be quite something but it is an excellent suggestion and I will put it forward at our next Parents Association meeting. Thanks.

Good luck - I hope you find a solution. We are lucky in that our school's car park is well off the road, but it is still a bun fight.

blocking a private road with a lot of rich and powerful residents>>

Is that worse than blocking just any road?