Is this my sons fault or nursery’s fault?

[Mummymummymummyy]

I just had an email from my 4years old pre school saying there was an incident today and I need to sign the form when he next comes in- as they didn’t mention at pick up. The incident is that he opened the fire door which leads to the nursery main door which opens onto a busy road. The tone of the email is all about how bad it is my son did this and how shocked they all were. It says they they had a talk with him about safety and how bad it is to open the door, and can I also talk to him. I’m glad they took it seriously and mentioned it, but I’m kind of annoyed and wondering if I should be. Surely the issue is that a nursery isn’t properly child proof, if a door can be opened by a child. It’s not like I have taught him to open doors and although of course I will talk to him about it- surely they themselves need to address this. a precious nursery he went to had buttons up high to press to open doors, and buzzers etc.

am I unreasonable to be annoyed?

That would piss me off. Blaming a 4 year old for their own safeguarding issue. Why was nobody watching him?

I'd be going right thru them. He's 4 he did nothing wrong. He shouldn't have been able to get the door open.

Reply to the email? Ask what safeguarding procedure they will be putting in place now your son has helpfully shown them areas they are lacking in

Fire doors ate tricky... they need to be easy to open in case of emergency but also you need to keep the door secure.

So yes the children need to know that they can't touch fire doors, extinguishers etc.

Yeah, this is really, really crap. They know they fucked up and are deflecting the blame onto your son. By all means have a stern word with your son about not opening doors - but this is an Early Years setting, they will have kids in there who have SEN, poor impulse control, non-verbal…it’s outrageous to suggest that the onus for keeping small children safe rests with anyone other than the staff. It’s as bad as you think it is, OP.

Is it an emergency exit? It probably can't be locked.

Legally fire doors have to able to be opened. Equality legislation says we can't put high handles on them or other doors. The cost of putting interlocks on so they unlock if the alarm goes off is astronomical and has other issues. This juxtaposition of different legislations requirements is the bane of those responsible for compliance life.

I agree it shouldn't be easy but it is vital that from a young age children are taught that it isn't OK to leave your grown ups and wonder off on your own. This is becoming an increasing problem in nurseries and schools. Pupils don't see why they shouldn't just get up and leave if they want to.

It's ok to have rules and expect children to follow them though.
The door leads on to a hallway not a main road.

It's a fire door of course a 4 year old could open it. I appreciate you're frustrated OP but at school he will be expected to leave fire alarms, fire doors and extinguishers alone. He's not a toddler so it's not unreasonable to think he should be fine to follow a simple instruction.

I agree with other's he's 4 and should know not to open any doors at nursery without permission- school I September will help him with this so I wouldn't stress too much- have a chat-where was he wanting to go on his own? Why wasn't he doing what he was asked? Not blaming him but at 4 he probably knows not to touch that door.

Lots of posts saying he shouldnt be able to open the door.... Its a fire door!!! Of course he should be able to, what if theres a fire?!
I dont think there is anything wrong with them explaining he shouldnt do this and ask you to support them.

They're only asking you to reinforce an important rule. A 4 year old is capable of knowing not to open a fire door unless there is a fire.
Fire doors have to be easy to open in case of emergency obviously.

But also, I would assume he would always be with an adult and so would not ever actually need to open a fire door? Why wasn’t he being watched? Was there an alarm that goes off when a fire door opens?

I would imagine that they can not have fire doors blocked or working off buzzers etc

I regularly check the firedoors in my workplace as I am the head person there and ultimately safety falls on my. Ours are push bar and easily open for an adult I have my doubts a four year old would manage easily.

Either he was not supervised adequately at the time and had plenty of time to try and open or else (which I suspect is more likely) is either a staff member had the door propped open for air as it is so warm or used it as a shortcut and did not close it properly and your son opened it that way

It’s a bloody fire door, of course it has to be accessible!
He needs to learn he can’t just randomly depart the building when he’s at nursery. Some four year olds are at school, he’s not too young to take this on board.

As a nursery teacher, this is 100% not your son’s fault and is a major safeguarding risk! If your son is able to open the door onto a road, then a member of the public is able to open it and walk right in.

I can’t believe they’re even suggesting it’s his fault, he’s 4!!

What do you mean always with an adult? He's 4 he won't be being constantly supervised 1-1 there will be adults in the room supervising but that doesn't mean they constantly have eyes on every child.

The building has to have fire doors and you need to support the nursery in teaching your son what they are for and why they shouldn’t be used unless there is a fire. That’s all.

Blame doesn’t matter, teaching your growing child to keep himself and others safe does matter. Would you prefer the nursery to say ‘sorry, our fault’ and then do nothing to help the children learn why they shouldn’t open the fire doors?

It's a fire door which has to be able to be opened easily even by a child. Imagine if there was a fire and he was trapped in because they made the door unable to be opened by a child. He is 4 not 2, use this as an opportunity to teach him that fire doors are for emergencies only and shouldn't be touched unless it is an emergency. 4 year olds are capable of learning this.

Have you never experienced a fire door? They only open from the inside.

As a nursery teacher you clearly need a beginners guide on how fire doors work.

All our doors can be opened from the inside and outside if unlocked, which I presumed it would have been if a child opened it. Ours are opened by a code when locked.

It won’t be openable from outside 🙄

You must have come across a fire door at some point in your life?

Ours are if unlocked🤷🏼‍♀️ Please accept my deepest apologies for not considering every door type🙄