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Primary education

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Original poster

School transported children in a pupil's grandmother's car without my permission

172 replies

muppetsmum · 24/09/2015 00:30

My 8 year old daughter had an away match today which I was planning on going to watch, and I got a phone message from school asking me if I was going, and if so would I mind taking my daughter and one or two others as they were short of seats on the minibus. I couldn't go in the end and left a message in reply to this effect. When my daughter came home, she told me that they had indeed been short of room on the bus and had asked some girls to go with parents/family who were going to the match. She volunteered, and, with two others, had made the 45 minute journey driven by one of the girls' grandmothers!!! We know the family, I happen to have met the lady in question and have no personal problem with them, but surely the school isn't allowed to just send kids off with 'unknown' family members, whose personal/medical history/driving ability/car safety are presumably not known to them? I'm normally very laid back about stuff, but surely somebody should have rung me to check I was OK with this? Not knowing anything about this granny's health, I would certainly not have been happy to have a 70+ year old driving 3 giggly, excited girls a significant distance. Am I going mad or is this totally unacceptable?

OP posts:
tobysmum77 · 25/09/2015 19:23

But surely the risk is normal either way? The bus could have a crash, the granny could have a crash. Child abduction is just frankly ridiculous.

StealthPolarBear · 25/09/2015 19:29

I suspect a bus crash is less likely and less likely to cause injury than a car crash

mrz · 25/09/2015 19:48

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread so this may have been said already. It's very common for primary schools to rely on parents (and even grandparents) to take pupils to sporting events. It would be usual for the person providing the transport to be suitably insured and to be DBS checked and to provide a car seat if needed.

tobysmum77 · 25/09/2015 21:29

But stealth either way the risk of crash is normal?

StealthPolarBear · 25/09/2015 21:47

I don't understand? Yes I suspect the risk of the car crashing is the same as the average risk of a car crash. The risk of the bus crashing is the the average risk of a bus crash (which I suspect is lower than the risk of a car crash)
What do you mean by normal?

Mehitabel6 · 25/09/2015 22:29

Fascinated by the reasoning that a minibus crash is less likely than a car crash. Why?

Mehitabel6 · 25/09/2015 22:34

OP didn't ask the sensible question of how her DD was getting to the match once she refused to take her. Would she have been posting on MN had the teacher given the list? Why would the teacher driving a car be more likely to have a crash than the teacher driving a mini bus?
I suspect that her only objection was that the driver was a grandmother. Very odd since grandparents do a huge slice of childcare in UK and are driving children on a regular basis.

Mehitabel6 · 25/09/2015 22:35

Given a lift- not a list!

StealthPolarBear · 25/09/2015 22:44

I don't know, I thought it was fairly well known. I have been told on here thay it's why you don't need to wear a seat belt on a bus.

StealthPolarBear · 25/09/2015 22:46

why don't buses have seatbelts

StealthPolarBear · 25/09/2015 22:48

Surprised you find it fascinating though, I'd have thought if so you'd have already come across it.

StealthPolarBear · 25/09/2015 22:51

I see it as being asked to help at the school fair. If you were asked to man the raffle but couldn't would you assume the raffle wasn't going ahead? Or that you were just one of the patents to be asked?

Comingroundthemountain · 25/09/2015 22:57

I fin some of the responses on here outrageous.
Your dd is not responsible for this. The school has definitely done the wrong thing. And you need to talk to the head asap and possibly take it to the governors.
Good luck

OddlyLogical · 25/09/2015 23:34

I cannot believe that people are seriously getting their knickers in a twist over this.
As a matter of routine, the school need to have policies and procedures, but for odd occurrences like this, give them a break! The child was not at risk!!

mrz · 26/09/2015 07:57

seat belts school buses

tobysmum77 · 26/09/2015 08:01

I mean the risk of either going in a car or a bus with a responsible qualified driver is normal day to day risk. When I had to do risk assessments for school trips that is how it was recorded on the form (although 10 years ago). So not zero risk as obviously either a bus or car can have a crash but not high risk either but the type of risk we all take every day.

Ragwort · 26/09/2015 08:12

What a load of fuss ............. and horrible ageist attitude.

Just wait until your child goes to secondary school - you will have no idea of who is driving them to away matches - or even where the matches are. Never forget the time my DH turned up at a school to watch an away game only to find the actual game was ten miles away. Grin

Or you could get the other scenario where a child was injured at a match and the whole team had to go to hospital in the minibus with the teacher as there was no other teacher available to either take the injured child to A & E or return the rest of the team to the school. Hmm.

Mehitabel6 · 26/09/2015 08:16

And a good thing too mrz I wouldn't want my child on a minibus without a seat belt. I think statistics come from the fact that relatively few children travel by bus as compared to private cars. Also, if you scroll down StealthPolarBear's article (from the US) you find it has a lot to do with cost. You will find people looking for reasons not to pay more.
The simple thing is not to put your DC down for school matches Comingaroundthemountain - I would certainly make it clear to you that you either took her yourself or you allowed the school to make arrangements and most primary schools rely on parents and grandparents- they don't have minibuses.

Mehitabel6 · 26/09/2015 08:18

Exactly Ragwort . Also once they get to 17yrs they will be having lifts from others aged 17yrs. I would prefer a grandmother any day!

IguanaTail · 26/09/2015 13:11

Schools have to cover themselves with policies all the time. When a child is under the care of a school it is very different. They can't just accept "favours" and have exceptions. The age is irrelevant.

HeighHoghItsBacktoWorkIGo · 26/09/2015 13:26

My school is often asking for my child plus other children whose parents are unable to transport them to be taken to school sporting events. I have normal insurance. Are you saying that my insurance would be invalid? (I am CRB checked, BTW.)

IguanaTail · 26/09/2015 13:28

Possibly. It's worth checking.

mrz · 26/09/2015 13:33

I'm a teacher and can't transport children in my car as my insurance doesn't cover it so definitely worth checking.

Brioche201 · 26/09/2015 13:40

I thought that you only need a DBS check if you are volunteering regularly.A one off instance doesn't.As regards insurance.If you are a TA/teacher then you are providing transport in the course of your work , so you would need business use insurance.As a 'grandmother, transporting the children comes under the definition of social, domestic and pleasure.

Smilelikeyoufeelit · 26/09/2015 13:44

Would you have preferred them to tell your daughter that you couldn't come so she couldn't play?