Why on earth do they use schools as polling stations?

[Blu]

For the Mayoral Election in London tomorrow thousands - probably hundreds of thousands - of primary school children will lose a day's education.

Thousands - probably hundreds of thousands - of parents will lose a day's pay, have to take holiday, or be out of pocket paying for childcare.

Thousands of teachers and other school employees will be paid to not do their jobs.

The scale of economic impact must be enormous. Especially on national election days.

Why don't they use community centres, libraries, church halls, a SINGLE hall in a big school (a sports hall with a separate entrance, for example), or if they must use schools have the election on a Saturday!

Because in some areas there is nowhere else. Our village uses the local church hall, but the next village doesn't have a church hall or public building so they have to use the school. The main hall is used as a dining hall as well so they have to close the school.

It IS a national election day tomorrow fecking ignorant londoners think the whole world revolves aroound them

they do here, depends on what is available in the ward

Fine, if there's nowhere else.
But DS's primary, which is closed for polling tomorrow, is, like most schools in cities, and certainly most schools in london, surrounded by other places that coud accommodate voting.
The whole country shouldn't have to come to a standstill (in primary school terms) just because some small villages don't have alternatives!

It's a local decision, and they have to have a specified number of Polling Stations.

If you can come up with a better venue for your ward, then suggest it to the Council, and get as many other parents from the school to suggest it too.

We vote in a church. My parents are voting at the council building where the bins are kept
No schools shut here. Maybe we are more progressive oop north

Presumably schools are free to the council, doubt they could afford to hire enough venues.

"The whole country shouldn't have to come to a standstill (in primary school terms) just because some small villages don't have alternatives!"

What has that got to do with it? Most English voters don't live in London.

My polling station is a converted container (giant metal box usually found on transporter ships and lorries) with a generator.
It is dropped off in the corner of the school car park and cordoned off with crowd control barriers. That way the school can stay open.
I think it is a very cunning idea although I have no idea where it lives between elections.

I should say most voters in England don't live in London.

Most wards don't have a community centre. Most wards do have a primary school. It is a logical choice of venue.

Days 'off' for voting are an inconvenience yes but doesn't mean they get a days less education, over the course of the year it all balances out

Sigh.

OK, I KNOW this is not just about London. I KNOW that tomorrow is a national election day in terms of all the local authorities. Bunbaker I SAID the whole country (not just London) shouldn't have to come to a standstill. While I know London best in terms of hundreds of schools being closed I also know hundreds more are closed outside London.

WHEREVER schools are shut, where there is an alternative, I am shocked, because it presumably has an enormous educational and economic impact.

EdithWeston - thanks for that explanation.

I know it might cost them to hire a hall (£80 a day round here....yes, London...) but I would guess that that is cheap compared to the 300 hundred parents in our particular school needing to interrupt work and the loss of education etc.

Well we live in a city which is full of community centres, halls, libraries etc yet they are choosing to use the school. It is annoying that they are not using any of these other venues. Luckily my friend has offered to have dd tomorrow but I honestly can't understand why it has to be the school building that they use.

Yes, you are right. I don't know why other alternatives can't be used if they are available.

Why don't people postal vote?
Much easier.

Not for me. The church hall is just around the corner.

I'm inclined to agree.
I live in a big city, where there are hundreds of buildings that could be used... the library (about 300 yards from my dcs school), community halls, church halls, empty shop in the High Street, Scout huts, etc.,etc..... It does seem ridiculous to use so many schools.
I was watching the news at the weekend, and think they said the French population were voting on a Sunday - that could be another alternative.

Like MrsRD, I postal vote, but I have to say every time I do it, it occurs to me they try to make that as complicated as they possibly can - I bet a lot of people get confused with all the 'Envelope A' Envelope B business

I don't need to have government or council money spent on a pre-paid postal vote - I can walk round the corner and vote...in the school...that DS is not bloody well IN for the day! (could you have guessed that? )

The teachers and school staff are in as it is an INSET day in our school.

INSET day here too, forward thinking up here

300 parents not working for a day wont cost the council a penny, as has been said the loss of education will be factored for, these dates very rarely pop up out of no where.

Well, I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but I have a subconsciously positive feeling about voting because I associate it with getting a day off school. Lovely spring day in the middle of the week. Going into school with my parents to vote, but NOT ACTUALLY HAVING TO GO TO SCHOOL. Bliss.

Although, come to think of it, as an adult I have mainly voted in church halls.

Last time I voted it was in a school and the kids were in school.

When I was at school, the school was a polling station but we had the cordon off a corner of the playground/route to a temporary classroom set up. DD's school is shut tomorrow, i think it is an inset but combined with all the bank holidays and a recent inset on th emon returning from easter holidays it is a bit irritating.

I have to go to the synagogue to vote though, so I guess they do use a variety of schools and other buildings here

My polling station is a privately owned tennis club (safe Tory ward).