Should I raise a safeguarding concern after a mix-up at collection time?

[PurpleFuschia4]

At pickup today, I went to collect my DD (she's nearly 8) and the teachers didn't know where she was. They went looking but she turned up on her own. The whole thing lasted no more than 5 minutes, I think.

I let the teacher on the door know who I was collecting, and she couldn't see DD. She asked the other teacher, who was in the room, who replied "she's been collected by her mum" - but obviously she hadn't as I'm her mum... that teacher then went on to say something about there being "two of them" (my daughters name) but this isn't the case anyway, as there is another child who has a similar name, but it's not the same name. That teacher didn't do anything to look for my daughter, she just carried on doing what she was doing (it looked like she was tidying something away), and the other teacher who was on the door went to look for her.

I spoke to my DD and she said she had gone to the toilet (she has told me she asked the teacher, the one who seemed to think my daughter had been collected, who said yes) but then decided to go get her coat from outside her classroom (she didn't ask a teacher to do this), which meant going to a different part of the school. I have spoken to DD about the importance of telling teachers where you're going and not to go anywhere without telling a teacher where she is going.

Am I right to send an email to the head/safeguarding lead about it? Or am I overreacting?

Feel the consequences of what? The girl didn't leave the school.

Need the laughing emoji back for posts like this! Brilliant.

She should have told the teacher she was going to get her coat. Then there would have been no problem.

I would consider this a non-issue personally.

Next day… teacher accompanied my child to the toilet!

Safeguarding = abuse, harm or neglect has actually occurred.

What actually occured was a slip in their diligence which lead to neither.

The most constructive way to approach it would be a chat with the school office to highlight your valid concern.

As much as I agree safeguarding is vital I am not clear what part of her job the teacher didn’t do!

Was it a cover teacher OP? I find it odd that their class teacher wouldn't recognise you as her mother, and would muddle two pupils with a similar name. Easily done though with a PPA cover who teaches several classes for just one afternoon a week each.

Whether it was the usual class teacher or not though, it's definitely not a safeguarding issue. Your child was perfectly safe.

Safeguarding for home time would be the procedures they have in place to ensure a child isn't able to leave unattended/with the wrong adult. These didn't fail.

I don't really see an issue tbh. She just needs a reminder to ask an adult if she's going anywhere in the school. They didn't lose her - she wandered off for something and was safely contained in the school. The teacher she asked would have ideally remembered, but it's easy to get your names mixed up in the rush of home time.

So fed up with parents at school. They make the job so bloody hard. It's constant complaints, never thanks for trying to engage the children in the learning or being kind or patient under very challenging circumstances. It's never about the learning or something important. Always nonsense like this. Sorry OP - appreciate you taking advice before going to the school but lots don't and I am so worn down with it. They certainly won't be happy when their child's teacher is signed off on stress.

She hadn’t been let out of the building or handed over
to the wrong parent so I think you are over reacting. She was safe. My friends 8 year old son managed to get out at pick up time and walk home……school didn’t even notice he wasn’t at after school care as was planned until his mother called them. Unsurprisingly this did cause the school a bit of a safeguarding predicament to explain to the governors!

It was only 10 years ago that there was no expectation in my area to let Y3s out to specific parents at all. You'd be hovering around but pretty much off they'd go. Unless there are concerns around specific individuals that aren't allowed to pick up a child or a child lacking the capacity to not wander off without an adult, I really think by juniors teachers should be taking a step back and assuming children will find their parent to walk home with.

Why did he do that? You need to teach your son basic ways to keep himself safe.

At 7 your child should know not to walk off. Parenting failure.

Next day: My child was late out as another child needed accompanying to the toilet at hometime.

That’s before we get to the coat threads…

Dd lost her coat, should teacher replace?

should I complain the children are always late as someone keeps forgetting their coat and we have to stick together always?

is it a safeguarding concern my child’s coat was somewhere else when it should have been worn

She’d been given permission to go to the toilet, and decided off her own bat to wander off to a different part of the school afterwards.
They didn’t physically hand her over to some stranger at the gate.

I hope your friend also “explained” to her 8 year old that he’d better not hightail it from school under his own steam again?
8 is far too old not to understand this.

I do agree @KilkennyCats

Same. My son was walking himself home in P4. They stop looking for a parent after P3

Good grief, what an overreaction!

What an overreaction. This was caused by your daughter leaving her classroom to walk to a different part of the school without asking/telling a teacher. I would make it clear to her that if she does this, people won’t know where she is and will be worried.

Oh dear. It’s not a 4 year old.

No. You’re overreacting

i worry that people have lost perspective with regards to their children and safety

she was in the toilet!!!!

Whats to become of these kids who
cant have a pee without causing hysteria!!

oh have a day off. The child was in the toilet and getting her coat not being let go with a strange man saying he’s the uncle