Dog Bit My Child This Morning In The Playground!

[Mummatothreecubs]

Hi, sorry if it’s in the wrong category.

This morning my child was bitten by a dog in the school playground by a parents dog. I didn’t see this happen although he was playing near the climbing frame when he dog jumped and clenched his jaw around his arm. Although his skin is not broken he’s been left with bit marks on his skin.

I raised my concerns to the deputy who was In the playground at the time and she said she would have a quiet word with the parent or may put this in our weekly newsletter.

Several parents bring their dogs to school for drop off/pick up, can anything be done about this? The school also has 2 small pet dogs which roam around on a lead.

I’m actually very concerned now and worried this could have again, he already isn’t great with dogs and now this has happened it’s going to take us a while to work on the whole safety around dogs again.

What is the rule around dogs in the playground? If there is one. Who do I speak to about this?

Take photos
And report to police

@RamonaRamirez Thats ridiculous advice. The school must deal with it! It’s a legal requirement to deal with complaints for starters. Health and safety isn’t optional, and schools have a duty to assess safety turns snd act if there’s a risk to safety and health. There clearly is. If all this fails, there are other avenues. Just dealing with one dog is pointless. What about others that foul the playground? Or others that might bite or jump up? It’s a problem that’s wholly for to the school.

@Monstermunch2 ??? She has. Read the thread!!

Also having worked with a number of private and state schools it's always state schools they're banned from.

I completely agree with us, the approach seems very different. At our private pre-prep they had a school dog which belonged to the head, but the dog was absolutely part of the school and the children learnt how to look after/walk her etc. Parents thought it was a positive thing, certainly no complaints. It was completely up to the child if they had any interaction with it, all did. At another private school they have a school dog which was a service dog, now a therapy dog, but really is just a pet belonging to a teacher whilst at home, but they have done what they need to have it registered as a therapy dog for the school, again a really positive addition to the school and the children are very engaged with it, take it for walks in breaks, sit with it for reading, if they are anxious etc. The matron in a friends school's boarding house takes her dog into the boarding house and the children love it especially those who miss a dog at home. At almost all private senior schools we have attended for sports fixtures, dogs have been allowed on the grounds on leads. They were not allowed in our prep playground. There is definitely a different mindset between state and private.

I am quite surprised by the responses on here being so against dogs as it is something we are so used to. We were a non-dog family until recently.

I really hope your DC is ok and isn't too upset by what has happened and I hope you get the response you want from the school. Your school sounds lovely with the access to school pets the children have. Some children aren't able to have a pet at home so this is really positive that they are able to have this experience in school.

It was no dogs at my DCs State Primary so I was pretty surprised when I saw dogs at their Private Secondary on school grounds.
When DD was in Y9 there was an awful event and I actually took ddog in to give comfort to some of the kids at lunchtime

@TizerorFizz yes but all the school offered to OP was a quiet word!

@RamonaRamirez No. The OP is seeing the head. When she spoke to the deputy head, she hadn’t started the complaints policy. She probably didn’t know about the duties placed on schools by H&S legislation or risk assessment. So it’s moved on and hopefully she’s following advice.

@UncleBryn The dog in question bit a child on the playground. It’s not a therapy dog. My DD took the heads dog for a walk at prep but that’s down to that school and it didn’t bite anyone. It makes no odds whatsoever regarding H&S and assessing risks. Same requirement for duty of care. If a dog bites dc at a private school, I would be expecting a claim for damages if I was the head. As indeed happened at our private school when playground equipment collapsed and injured a dc. It’s down to the school to keep dc safe.

At our secondary dogs were banned from sports events after an unruly dog bit a dc. Very expensive girls’ boarding school. It only takes one bite and parents won’t accept that dogs are acceptable. Hopefully your dc haven’t been bitten!!

Update:

We met with the Head Teacher this morning & she said she wouldn’t be able to put forward a ban on dogs in the playground as it’s unfair and doesn’t go with their ethos of a animal loving school. Although she suggested they can have an area for just dogs in the playground & owners would have to stay with them at all times and be on a lead.

We told her we’re not happy and want a total ban & don’t think we’re being unreasonable here. Also told her about all the local schools near school in question has a No Dogs policy in place. She advised we can now speak to chair of Governors and take it up with them.

We will be writing this email to the Governors today & take it from there.

I think the heads decision is absolutely ridiculous!

Hi
Many thanks!!

The head is just being ignorant of the facts. You are to your cost aware of at least one dog attack!! There may be others.

See what the govs say and if they ignore the real and present dangers to very young kids, then the MP and the press - the press will help as your DC was bitten because people are allowed to take dogs into the school and then playing areas !!

I'm assuming the dog was of its lead but even on the lead and those flexible ones extend 60 feet or so - its not on

What is the school waiting for, another dog attack possibly much more serious!!

please keep us updated

PS - i'd be tempted right now to contact the press but best to wait what govs say!!

The link may help you preapre - but go to the mp and press - email them all inc radio stations

Its not fair on those parents whos kids fear dogs, makes parents anxious and no one acting on the concerns

not all dog owners are sensible we know that

The dangers of stepping into the dog mess when clowns don't clean up - take the shit on their shoes into class, risk of illenes - risk ob being attacked by a dog - the stress and fear of dogs - not everyone is a fan of dogs

IMO, the god MUST be BANNED from the playgrounds at the very least and be on a sort lead at the very least so they are not allowed to sniff people etc - I don't blame the dogs, I blame their owners

The disadvantages outweighs the risks re dogs on school grounds

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mum-under-fire-trying-ban-28112451

I'm afraid it's only what I expected, OP; when it comes to dogs the common sense of some goes straight out of the window, which is why there'd be no point asking why a ban would be uniquely "unfair" in this school given so many others have one

Guess you'd better hope the governors have more sense, because otherwise this one could run and run

So the head is actually saying that they care more about being animal-friendly than they do about the safety of children?

I know some dog owners on here would prioritise dogs over kids, but you’d really hope that a headteacher would be the other way round!

Basically yes, that’s how it’s come across otherwise she would have implemented a ban of dogs on the school grounds.

She’s asked us to contact the Governors, although I have no hope! She mentioned ‘oh * (Governor) bought his dog with him last time he was here’. Does make me wonder if the governor will be neutral in all this.

If nothing is done from there then I guess my next step is LA, MP, Ofsted. Then if nothing then Press.

In people’s opinion how long should be long enough to give the governor to reply?

Keep at it OP, the Head is letting their own personal love of dogs (don't get me wrong, I love dogs) get in the way of good judgement here.

The next time an excitable dog jumps up and takes a childs arm in it's mouth, and breaks the skin or worse, will the answer still be "dogs are welcome, we are a dog loving school"?

A lot of dogs would be whipped up and make poor choices in a playground, the energy is high, it's a time of transition for kids and dogs shouldn't be expected to be there.

What would be the trigger to implement a ban on dogs in the playground in this school, as is the norm elsewhere? Why does the head, or the Governers think they have a different set of circumstances to other schools in terms of providing safety for the children in the playground?

Keep going OP, you're not wrong on this one.

What an outrageous reply from the Head. I am sorry you are dealing with this. Please do keep at it.

As for the pp with a 'reading dog' - how pathetic a species have we become that this is a thing. Absolutely ridiculous. And thoroughly unsanitary. Poor kids. Dogs should be optional for parents in their own homes. I hate what this country is becoming.

Step by step does it!!!
They are clearly biased

They remind me of those people in the media last few months, "my dog would harm anyone, I leave it with my baby...etc.etc" - then they end up in the paper for all of the wrong reasons

Keep it up!!

I would point out that they have had a 'near miss' and you want it formally logged, if another child does get bitten in future and possibly seriously hurt they will not have a leg to stand on. And it will almost certainly happen if dogs and children are mixing together, several dogs together can easily turn into a pack as well.

@Mummatothreecubs Did you ask to see the risk assessment re allowing dogs into the playground? Just saying you want a ban leaves her wriggle room. It’s too black and white and not backed up with a factual argument. You must point out all the things I said. Risk assessment. It’s vital. Health and Safety duty of governing body. Dog mess and associated risks to dc health. Safety of dc when on school premises. The Governors are responsible for safety of dc, so how can they minimise the risk to dc? It’s their legal duty so ask about health and safety walks and their evaluation of the risk posed by dogs the school doesn’t know.

If you don’t use the Complaints Procedure, it will not be documented within school so Ofsted won’t see it. Use the proper procedure. What does it say? Is it just the chair of governors after the head? Or a panel of governors? It’s not hugely strong evidence to cite other schools. It’s the legal responsibilities that are the strongest arguments.

Is it a MAT school or LA? Look at their policies on health and safety and the minutes of health and safety at your school governing body meeting. Get far more ammunition for your argument.

@Mummatothreecubs This might be useful.

keep it up op, I actually used to like dogs but I’m getting really really sick of this countries attitude and it’s making me dislikes them, twice recently I’ve had picnics ruined by out of control dogs running through drooling, I’ve been jumped on with muddy paws, you name it! And now my child might be bitten in their own school safe playground because some head teachers want to be ‘animal friendly’ now I’ve heard it all! What happens when it’s an xl bully? What happens to the child allergic to dogs, they have to suffer all day too? I imagine the school is nut free….

@Strictlymad Well not exactly. There’s “nuts” running it!

This made me LOL 😂

yes they are Nut Free in terms of food, not in terms of people that work there unfortunately 🤣

Brilliant 😂😂😂

Thank you for this, me & dh will be looking through all the links everyone has provided this evening because clearly speaking to the school head has been a total waste of time (although part of the complaints process). We will be looking at other avenues to take this further.

Called local 7 schools nearest to ours and they’ve all said they do not allow dogs on the playground at drop off/pick up.

This head teacher is completely delusional & clearly prioritises ‘animal loving school’ over child safety! This says it all about the type of person she is!

would they ban dogs if a child had an allergy…. Or would they tell the poor sneezing child they are animal friendly