Yet another rule change to fuck up my life

[BathshebaDarkstone]

I took DD to dodgeball before school today, we aren't allowed in the playground before 8.30, apparently we're now not allowed to wait in the office either. DS and I played in the park. Great, but what about when it's raining/snowing? It takes 30 minutes to walk to school, so no time to walk back home.

[/rant]

Bump

Gah schools really dont help parents. I'd say no to dodgeball.

Ask the school if they can accommodate?

What time is dodgeball?

Ask the school but I imagine this is for safety and congestion reasons and due to the school buses coming in and out.

Simply ask if there is someplace you can wait.

Do they have a breakfast club DS could go to? That's what I have to do when DS1 does dodgeball and judo before school.

This happened at our school. They used to open gate at 8. Parents are asked to stay with children until 8:30 when playground supervisor comes in.
Some parents took advantage and started to drop kids off unsupervised. Now school gates are shut until 8:30.

I'll try to answer all posts:

Getting I don't see why DD should have to give up an activity she enjoys because the school won't let us sit inside.

Penelope 8.15.

Bluntness they won't even entertain the notion of us being in the building.

Rumpy I'll look into breakfast club and see if we can afford it.

irvine that could possibly be the reason.

Thanks for all your responses.

Whilst I appreciate it's a PITA, this sort of thing is pretty commonplace when you have two DC that don't do the same activities surely? I remember my SIL went through a stage of seemingly spending hours in Sainsburys café while she was waiting for other DC to finish activities.

Can someone else have DS before school (you could reciprocate) if breakfast club is too expensive?

I don't think it's very fair to expect the school to accommodate this to be honest. Sorry. School starts and opens at a set time and I don't think it's fair to expect them to let you in earlier for your convenience. If they let you they have to let anyone that asks and could end up with a corridor full of kids and parents. They are probably busy getting stuff sorted in the morning and parents and kids hanging around will get in the way.

Sometimes kids can't do activities because it doesn't work with their parents schedules or whatever, it's not the end of the world.

It's more the fact that they keep moving the fucking goalposts. They've let us in up until now, and school gates opened at 8 last year. They were academised in January, now they seem to be making the rules up as they go along.

You want access to the inside? That seems U and the change in practice probably has nothing to do with the school becoming an academy.

As pp said it's probably that people are taking the piss and dumping their kids there early rather than waiting with them.

You do seem overly irate about this. Tightening up morning rules isn't really making up the rules as you along is it? I assume this is a 'last straw' type of thing and you have other crap going on.

Other ppl sit in their cars on their mobiles, don't they? (No, I don't like it either! many a cold wet afternoon outside, spent with small children waiting for another kid to finish something up)

I spent many hours walking round with buggy and toddler/baby/both when dd1 was little and doing things, You get quite inventive as games you play even in the cold.

I don't think it's unreasonable for the school not to want you sitting in the office at that time, only need 2-3 families with 1-2 extra children and it's going to be pretty cramped and difficult to get on with what's needed.
No school mine have been with would have allowed you to do that.

At ours the sibling either waits outside or goes to breakfast club. Breakfast club is £2 at ours. is dodgeball free?
there is no where for parents to sit inside out ours so it's outside or nothing.
Could your DD walk there early with another parent or something?
Our early morning clubs are for yr4-6 so some walk there with friends or in groups etc - I guess more tricky with a 30 min walk

Of course you can't sit in the office. Don't you think there might be private conversations and phone calls happening before school that parents should not overhear?

We've just had to do this because:

Parents were leaving kids as young as 6 on their own in the playground from 8am when school didn't open until 8:30. There no-one around to supervise those children and no budget to pay someone to supervise those children. If one got injured or ran off the school would be liable.

Parents who came inside didn't control their younger children and we 'lost' 2 trophies, had a broken picture frame and a juice stained carpet. School had to pay to replace those items as the parents wouldn't.

We used to have a breakfast club but parents complained it was too expensive, or refused to pay arrears, or moaned at the lack of 'decent' breakfast, or moaned that the kids were bored. We now have a separate company hiring the BC room and charging even more for the same service.

Don't blame the school, blame the other parents that ruined it for the 'good' parents.

is dodgeball a school run thing? Could they not make it finish later so that there isn't a stupid half hour to wait between it finishing and school starting?

So, if you were in town and had time to fill at that time in the morning, would you expect shops to open half an hour early to accommodate you?

Why on earth would you expect to be able to sit in the office?

Can Ds not do dodgeball too?

I don't know why you'd expect to be able to sit inside the school...just because 1 of your children does a club it doesn't mean they are obliged to find something for you to sit and do with the other 1.

Are you talking about the 15 minutes from 8.15 when dodge ball starts to 8.30 when the gates open?

you can dd would not melt or freeze in 15 min if in weather appropriate clothes...
15 min.