School suspension - reasonable or not?

[EvaB0710]

I need a balanced opinion on a suspension - can't decide if I am being unreasonable or school is!
Teenage boys prior to school accidentally spill hair gel on a ramp. Try to wipe it with feet but as they do realise it is slippy, which they find hilarious so put some more on top so they can slide on it (but not a lot, it was only a 100ml tube to start with and still more than half full!).
Shortly prior to lessons, other pupils arrive and also slide on it but grab the rail and none fall over. They find this amusing too.
They leave and go to lessons, firmly in the belief that it would dry very quickly.
Fastforward and it didn't dry. At all. Not one bit. A number of other pupils slipped on it and a few hours later a teacher, who was also carrying books and a coffee so couldn't grab the rail, went flying. To the point they apparently needed to go to hospital, I don't doubt they did go to hospital but my suspicious brain wonders if they wanted a few hours out of work etc (maybe unfair of me!). No serious injury, some bruising to knee but apparently needs a few days off to 'recover'.

All only came to light when the teacher slipped, they watched back CCTV and saw the boys. Immediately suspended for afternoon, with a further one day suspension.

If I'm honest, I feel suspension is a step too far. Yes it was an avoidable accident and yes they deliberately put the gel down.
BUT they never intended anyone to get hurt or slip over, just slide/ skid a little.
The school's main issue seems to be that they didn't tell anyone to get it cleaned it and left it in a dangerous state.
They didn't see it as dangerous - they have only witnessed people slide on it, not fall etc AND they thought it would dry quickly/ go away. I mean tbh, who would not think that hair gel which usually sets rock hard would not dry quickly. And their teenage boys. Who incidentally were immediately remorseful and devastated they had caused injury to someone.

Is suspension for 1.5 days proportionate or are school being unreasonable?

You think the teacher was putting it on?

Suspension absolutely justified. Hope they learn their lesson.

Oh FFS. The students damage school property so badly that a teacher is injured by it and has to be hospitalised. And you’re asking if a 1.5 day suspension is unreasonable.

I DESPAIR at the state of schools, I really do. I really didn’t need to read this on a Friday afternoon. I have a lot of other choice words to say but I will politely keep them to myself.

Completely reasonable. They should have reported it not added more. Someone could have been seriously injured. Great they are remorseful and hopefully it’s a lesson learnt

Friday morning actually, Why did you read it then and comment?

Yes of course they should have been suspended. They deliberately put something on the ramp so people would slip and there could have been a really nasty accident. All for a laugh and the likes no doubt, how irresponsible of them. Dreadful behaviour and if my kid had done this I would have been bloody furious, not making out the school are being unreasonable.

I think a 1.5 day exclusion was unreasonable - it should has been 5 days.

Perfectly reasonable. I slipped on some gravel, just walking along and fell on my backside, fractured disc that herniated, finally an operation and 3.5 months off work and problems for life re my sciatic nerve. It was sooo funny, my bosses and I still laugh and laugh and laugh, it was so hilarious.
He just wanted some time off? Most idiotic sentence of the week.

And your reasoning?

This will out me but I don’t care.

im so angry at your attitude.

15 years ago I fell over on a wet floor that had no signage in work.

I broke my tailbone, broke femur, tib and fib, trimalleolar so it was nasty, tore ligaments, got concussion. Had to have my leg caged.

I still have pain now and I’m permanently disabled. So badly people assume I was in a car accident.

Have a word with yourself.

Yes of course.

they didn’t know it wouldn’t dry but it’s completely down to them that various people slipped.

if they’d told someone the school could at least have closed the area off.

Maybe next time they’ll do stupid shit on at home. Where their parents can get injured by whatever they do.

Completely reasonable. They are more than old enough to realise their actions have consequences and in this instance they are incredibly lucky the consequences weren't more serious.

To the point they apparently needed to go to hospital, I don't doubt they did go to hospital but my suspicious brain wonders if they wanted a few hours out of work etc (maybe unfair of me!). No serious injury, some bruising to knee but apparently needs a few days off to 'recover'.

Wow! Where did you do your medical training, as clearly you can diagnose remotely without even seeing the 'patient'

Totally justified.

Such a stupid thing to do.

It’s precisely because you don’t think this is serious that your son did this in the first place. He obviously has not been brought up to understand thinking about others and consequences. Presumably the Smo is there to assist the less able. I suppose you’d have thought it fine if one of those people had been injured too? As if they don’t have enough difficulty in their lives.

Yes it's reasonable. Hopefully they will learn from it. I find a lot of boys that age do daft things without thinking, they don't mean for people to get hurt.

It should have been 5 days because someone was injured and they’re lucky that person wasn’t badly hurt.

a day and a half is nothing.

I hope they’re written a letter of apology to the teacher concerned and I hope you’ve punished them at home too and not let them lollybob around on screens and/or gaming whilst suspended.

Missed the point. Perhaps re-read it prior to commenting.

This sounds fair enough to me. They purposefully made it slippy and someone got hurt. If it was an accidental spillage you might have a point.

I'm with the school on this one. It would have been sensible to get it cleaned up rather than add more hair gel and make it worse. Suspension justified

Your attitude is appalling. You show no empathy towards the teacher. A child whose parents have such irresponsible attitude will unlikely develop empathy or compassion towards others.

You do realize that people live in time zones other than yours, don’t you? Just because it was Friday morning for you, doesn’t mean it was for everyone.

If he did this at home and you slipped and had to go to hospital you'd be fine with it then? It's just a joke?

The lack of respect some parents have for staff in schools is unbelievable sometimes.

They've just learnt a great big lesson in 'actions have consequences'. Not realising it wouldn't eventually dry when they knew people were already sliding around on it is just pure stupidity - which i realise teenage boys are often prone to. If i spill water on the floor, it will eventually dry, but in the meantime someone else could slip in it. So the sensible thing to do is wipe/get it wiped up immediately.

The suspension will focus their minds when engaging in any future 'hi jinx' and is entirely justified as someone got injured.

You are in the wrong op, jesus. What if the teacher landed and broke their neck?!

You’re being really unreasonable OK it was done accidentally in the first instance but then because they see it’s causing others to slip they decided because they think it’s funny they make it worse and now a member of staff has been hurt.
I bet the teacher who was hurt thinks it’s highly unreasonable that the punishment they received was so lenient
You need to get a grip I’m surprised you even bothered to post and ask