No lockers and no lunch rooms - is this the norm?

[pickledsiblings]

A school that I am familiar with appears to have no seating arrangements for students who choose to have packed lunches. Some of the Y11 girls have resorted to eating theirs in the loos .

The same school also does not have any lockers or cloakrooms for students. I was just wondering if this is the norm and would be greatful for any replies before I sit down and draft a letter to the Governors.

It is a State Comprehensive Senior School with around 1200 students.

Yes, they're teenagers. Don't you remember that "no one understands me... No one even cares" thing? I certainly do. I still can't figure pit why you're sp wrapped up in this. What is your connection to this school?

eviltwins - here

The large independent school close to me uses walkie talkies!

You can hear the little peeps and squeaks whenever the children are out.
The grounds are big, and it's a long way to run to the pffice with a broken leg...

I think you should be a bit more open with us pickledsiblings.

Two threads now where you are having a go a all state secondaries, when you don't have secondary aged children.
Let us know your involvement please.

BackforGood, follow cricketballs' link a few posts back and all will be revealed .

Thanks to you all for your contributions.

So - to sum up. You have trained as a teacher some time in the past. You've taken 10 years out and then recently gone back. You couldn't cope and have therefore resigned. From your experience, you are then making these ridiculous accusations about school staff not caring about their pupils.
But then for some reason, start a thread about schools not having dining rooms, which clearly isn't really what the concern is in the first place. No wonder you've confused everybody.

BackforGood I am very concerned about the fact that this school does not have proper dining facilities and so should every parent who sends their DC there be.

You either can't read or choose not to. Why ask for others' thoughts if you are going to ignore them?

So you used to work in this school, but have resigned. There is little chance of your own DCs going there. Give it a rest. Why didn't you address this when you worked there? If you seriously have an issue with this, then why aren't you doing something about it, rather than bleating on about it to a bunch of strangers who have told you again and again that teenagers are likely to make up their own rules no matter how fantastic the facilities are?

ET this thread is my attempt to do something about it. If I can understand it then maybe I can make someone else with the ability to do something about it understand it.

Offering students a clean, safe and dignified place in which to eat their lunch is I believe an important responsibility of a school. That some students may choose an alternative regardless of what's on offer is not a reason to have a reduced level of provision.

Sorry if it seems like I am bleating on.

that this thread is your attempt to do something about it. Hope the HT is a mumsnetter then.

So now most people have told you what they think, you're going to drop it then, yes?

"teenagers are likely to make up their own rules no matter how fantastic the facilities are"

Sorry ET but that does sound defeatist. Who is in charge: the school or the pupils?
If your DC at home preferred to eat in the toilet instead of at the dining table would you consider that reasonable behaviour and condone it.

I'm not saying it's acceptable, I'm just saying they do it, and will continue to do it no matter what facilities are on offer. Same with not wearing a coat in cold weather or not tidying their rooms. Teenagers do not always behave in the way that we adults would prefer they did. There are reasons for this- the BBC series about brain development a few months back was a fascinating insight into the matter. My point is that getting worked up about where kids choose to eat their lunch is probably not worth the fight. Even schools with lovely dining rooms will have kids choosing not to use it.

I think that successful schools do get worked up about manners and expected behaviour and it rubs off into other areas (hence how they become, and stay, successful schools).

no one is saying that schools we have experience in do not have an emphasis on behaviour/attitude.

The view point we are trying our hardest to get the op to understand is that teenagers are a different breed; the reality of schools now is that no matter what facilities you offer them, they will eat in the toilet if that's what they want to do!
Lockers in a school are a luxury that many buildings can not facilitate.
Walkie talkies are not just for detention centres - they are a useful tool

I have worked in what I would say are successful (might not be top the the league tables, but they are successful to the students that attend) because they put the students first and not the perceived vision that some expect. Whilst other schools that the general public think are successful because they top every league table etc I would not send my dc to as they are just about the school and not the students