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School closures are snow joke
Comments
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dizziblonde wrote: »Child protection issues these days make that a bit difficult.
Something I know nothing whatsoever about, but surely all teachers (and anyone else working with children) would have already jumped through all of the child protection issue hoops and be cleared to work with similarly aged children regardless of where they go to school?0 -
davidlizard wrote: »Just out of interest, if the weather is so bad, what is stopping teachers turning up at their local school and offering to fill in for teachers who live so far away and have been unable to make it in? After all, they are all trained professionals and have the appropriate CRB checks, and if it is only for a day or two I am sure lesson plans will not go out of the window?
That is a genuine question - not a dig at teachers BTW.
This may vary from area to area, but for myself you have to offer your services to nearest school in the same county that you work in. So if you live out of county you don't have to do a thing.Mummy to two girls: October 2013 and February 20160 -
Ok, i live down the road from you..
1) I realise that the weather has been extremely bad in some parts of country but it hasn’t been here. We had one snow shower yesterday which lasted about an hour. There was at best 2cm of snow which pretty much began thawing as soon as the snow stopped. The temperature hasn’t dropped below freezing since Monday and there’s virtually no wind so no wind chill factor to consider. This morning we’ve had blue skies and bright sunshine. Where there was still snow on the ground it was slushy rather than icy. I assume the ice the school was referring to was compacted snow. All the main roads in the area are clear and I’ve heard of no reports of disruption to public transport. If we’d had 15-20cm of snow and sub-zero temperatures then fair enough but we haven’t.
All the main roads are clear? Ok, so your Child goes into school, falls and smacks their head on the floor and is KO'd, you would be wanting a ambulance, yes? Say one from G.Clwyd hospital, yes? Only the long windy road that connects the hospital to the outside world was a big long ice rink that was awful to get down..thus your ambulance would be delayed, as would medical treatent to your injured child be..also no disruption to transport here? Hmm, we not counting buses as transport then as yesterday Arriva took all buses off..but im sure that was not disruptive in the slightest!
2) When my wife arrived at the school at 8.45 this morning there was the usual procession of parents and children heading for the school gates. When they arrived they were met a teacher who told them the school was closed. When my wife asked why she was told it was because it was too dangerous to get there. By this point of course she along with lots of other parents and kids had already safely arrived there! Bearing in mind that no attempt was made to warn parents of the closure and that all the roads in the area were clear I’d imagine that the majority of the kids arrived safely at the school only to be turned away because it was too dangerous for them to get there! Could a teacher please explain the logic behind this because it makes no sense to me whatsoever.
Good job your Wife arrived safe, can you imagine the responses your ambulance chaser thread would have got eh?
3) Apparently the teacher’s car park at the school was pretty much full as usual. I don’t know where the teachers live, other than the one that lives just around the corner from me, but it seems that the majority of them got there without difficulty. Not surprising really given that the roads in the surrounding area are all clear. I would also point out that whilst there are parts of the country (e.g. South East England) where teachers might have no option to commute to work due a lack of affordable housing but that isn’t the case in Conwy county. If any of the teachers live any great distance away it’s through choice rather than necessity.
Oh damn those teachers eh? They should just shut up and sleep at the school when they get stuck there from teaching your little darlings all day..shove their own safety in getting home, especially those who chose not to live next door to the school from their own choice!
4) Regarding the compensation culture. As I said in the opening post once the kids are safely indoors then keep them there. I suspect that it there’s heavy rain they’re kept inside during breaks so why not simply apply the same principle if it’s icy. This is what’s referred to as ‘using a bit of common sense”.
How do you suggest getting said Children home, at 3.15pm in the afternoon when the snow has started freezing over? Use your common sense for this one!
7) There was no mention of any problems with the boiler etc. Can’t imagine there’d be burst pipes seeing as how the temperature didn’t appear to drop below zero last night.
It probably didnt appear to drop below freezing due to the ray of sunshine that must spend its days sitting above your head..anyway, have a nice day wont you!
[/FONT][/QUOTE]She has the loaded handbag of someone who camps out and seldom goes home, or who imagines life must be full of emergencies..0 -
davidlizard wrote: »Something I know nothing whatsoever about, but surely all teachers (and anyone else working with children) would have already jumped through all of the child protection issue hoops and be cleared to work with similarly aged children regardless of where they go to school?
These days things are so tightly controlled a photocopy of my CRB check, full CV, name and address details and photograph are sent in advance to any school I'm booked at on supply - rather than the old check of my name being given to the school in advance and me being asked to say my name when I got there. Schools aren't going to take any random punter showing up at their doorstep saying they're a teacher in the current political climate at all for obvious reasons!Little miracle born April 2012, 33 weeks gestation and a little toughie!0 -
In my town in Cheshire we've not had any snow since 8.45AM on Tuesday Morning, yet today (Wednesday) all the primary schools and Secondary Schools were still closed with a few reporting that they are still likely to still be closed tomorrow (Thursday). I state once again that the snow finished falling in this area first thing on Tuesday Morning.
This is a medium sized town, with arterial routes to Staffordshire and Manchester running through it. These roads have remained clear and traffic flowing reasonably well throughout. Two large secondary schools are just yards off these main roads and yet two days after snow ceased falling, they are still set to be closed!. Why??.
During this time, places of business have remained functional, other council buildings have remained open and today even refuse collection took place as normal. Why exactly are the schools the exception to the rule over all of the many other entities?, and so long after the 'main' snow event moved South?.
Often schools are closed with reference to HSE. I don't understand!. There are over two million people unemployed, couldn't some of them be paid by the council to shovel show from school pathways and lay grit, perhaps even as a bonus to their JSA entitlement?. There has already been a great community effort locally, with residents outnumbering the police and council workers to go out in the snow to help motorists by pushing cars and even buying rock salt from Makro to grit the footpaths outside their own doorways.
What exactly are those who are serving community service doing during this weather hmmm?. Tucked up in bed waiting for the next soap opera to begin probably. Well, instead of flower arranging in the park, get them congregated with shovels at 5AM give them fluorescent jackets and get them cleaning snow from pavements and school driveways!. Problem solved!.
I don't follow the cotton wool brigade HSE codswallop in any case, more so as pupils of one secondary school were seen snowboarding and sliding around the school grounds, surely if they are able to get to the school and remain on the premises for snow day activities, then it is safe for them to venture inside and learn something?. The same applies to other news stories in the media about kids getting into difficulties on frozen ponds and embarking on other dangerous risk taking - as children often do. If it is safe to go off alone exploring ponds and walking on ice, then surely it is also safe to leave the warm confines of Mummy and Daddies 'Chelsea Tractor' and 'risk' the walk to school?.
To those who are pushing the 'Schools are only closed for the safety of the children' angle. If this is the case, then why are crowds of kids wondering the streets and parks, walking miles across ungritted pavements without any sign of parental supervision and often passing the very schools which are closed in order to get to their destination!. Either its dangerous to leave the house and walk on the icy pavements or it isn't, regardless of whether its wondering into town to hang around with their mates or to spend the day at school. You can't possibly have it both ways can you?.
Just exactly how far do teachers have to travel to work?. I only ask the question as I work for a company who have staff who also travel from two other counties, and although some of them did, understandably, phone in on Tuesday, all of them were back today and will, no doubt, be in work tomorrow, so why aren't the teachers back then?. In fact, having spoken to these absent members of staff personally, it wasn't poor weather conditions which were stopping the journey to work today, it was the fact that they had no childcare arrangements, because the schools were closed.
Do teachers travel different roads to the rest of the working population?, are they subject to different and more isolated weather conditions?. I honestly don't understand why, with the roads now being fully clear and every other business in the area practically back to normal (even those with their staff commuting large distances), with one exception - the teaching fraternity, a full two days after the last snow flake fell, in a busy town just yards away from perfectly clear main roads.
I guess the education level in Canada, Austria, Norway and even parts of the U.S must really be below par. After all, they get this weather all winter, so their kids must rarely see the inside of a school.
Maybe i'm just getting old, but when I was at school and extreme weather stopped some teachers getting into work, school still opened, with all pupils in the hall, either reading or watching BBC Education programs on BBC2 with the few teachers that had turned up 'minding' them in the one hall. No doubt the aforementioned namby pambies have somehow made this illegal as part of some HSE law because there isn't some European decided ratio of staff to pupils. But years ago it seemed to work well, and in all of that time nobody got injured, kidnapped, spontaneously combusted or fell into icy ponds. Plus the parents knew exactly where their kids were and knew they were being minded in the safe confines of the school and they could go to work as normal, and everybody was happy.
I'm just concerned that kids are natures natural mimics, and when they see adults not putting in the effort, some may adopt these traits themselves.
I'm off to watch 'Ice Road Truckers', in an effort to educate myself as to how other countries manage and their transport infrastructure continues to run, even in weather extremes ten times worse than those we are encountering :beer:
No doubt the trolls will be along shortly to disect each point of this post, along with those who have to resort to childish personal comments because they don't have any constructive points or its been years since they have possessed an opinion of their own. For the benefit of those individuals i'm just stating the facts in this area as i've seen them for myself and expressing an opinion, i'm also not singling out teachers or any one entity in relation to blame for the ongoing issues."Dont expect anybody else to support you, maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when each one, might run out" - Mary Schmich0 -
We have friends in Denmark and the schools do close for the majority of the winter. So does everything else to be honest. He said they rarely leave the house for the worst 2 months, that's just the way it is!
And in reference to how other countries manage? They spend MILLIONS on things like snowblowers, snowploughs, gritters etc etc etc. If we were to spend as much as they do on it all then money would be cut from other important things. Like education, the NHS, ambulances etc! We have no need to prepare for this weather as it just doesnt happen enough!
And chris out of interest, do you have a pair of snow boots? A set of boot spikes? A pair of sallopettes? A proper pair of waterproof gloves with removable inners? A full waterproof jacket with suitable pockets and snow skirt? If you don't have all of these things then your obviously also not prepared for the snow, so you can't blame others!
I'm very lucky to have all of the above due to years of skiing abroad, but I wouldnt step outside in this weather without the above!Green and White Barmy Army!0 -
To those who are pushing the 'Schools are only closed for the safety of the children' angle. If this is the case, then why are crowds of kids wondering the streets and parks, walking miles across ungritted pavements without any sign of parental supervision and often passing the very schools which are closed in order to get to their destination!. Either its dangerous to leave the house and walk on the icy pavements or it isn't, regardless of whether its wondering into town to hang around with their mates or to spend the day at school. You can't possibly have it both ways can you? It is the parents' responsibility when children are not at school - if they want to take the risk, then they won't get sued if their children get hurt.
Just exactly how far do teachers have to travel to work?. Every school will have a range of distances. My school is open today, but I can't get in due to living on a hill which is not considered important enough to grit, my car is abandoned at the top of it, so I can't move it at the moment. I can't get onto the main roads, if I could, then obviously I would! I live about 15 miles away from my school, but I have to travel an extra 5 miles to drop off my son to school, then back again before my 15 mile journey. All schools locally closed, so I can't go to a nearer one (different county council anyway). I only ask the question as I work for a company who have staff who also travel from two other counties, and although some of them did, understandably, phone in on Tuesday, all of them were back today and will, no doubt, be in work tomorrow, so why aren't the teachers back then?. In fact, having spoken to these absent members of staff personally, it wasn't poor weather conditions which were stopping the journey to work today, it was the fact that they had no childcare arrangements, because the schools were closed.
Do teachers travel different roads to the rest of the working population?, are they subject to different and more isolated weather conditions?. I honestly don't understand why, with the roads now being fully clear and every other business in the area practically back to normal (even those with their staff commuting large distances), with one exception - the teaching fraternity, a full two days after the last snow flake fell, in a busy town just yards away from perfectly clear main roads.
I guess the education level in Canada, Austria, Norway and even parts of the U.S must really be below par. After all, they get this weather all winter, so their kids must rarely see the inside of a school. As they have the infrastructure to cope, and we don't, you can't seriously compare the two. We don't have the facilities, due to the cost - whether that be right or wrong, it is a fact whereas they have invested because it is a regular event. I have not had to have a day off work due to the snow since about 1990 until now.
Maybe i'm just getting old, but when I was at school and extreme weather stopped some teachers getting into work, school still opened, with all pupils in the hall, either reading or watching BBC Education programs on BBC2 with the few teachers that had turned up 'minding' them in the one hall. Teachers are NOT childminders - we are teachers to teach. Sorry if it causes you inconvenience when schools are closed. No doubt the aforementioned namby pambies have somehow made this illegal as part of some HSE law because there isn't some European decided ratio of staff to pupils. But years ago it seemed to work well, and in all of that time nobody got injured, kidnapped, spontaneously combusted or fell into icy ponds. Plus the parents knew exactly where their kids were and knew they were being minded in the safe confines of the school and they could go to work as normal, and everybody was happy.
I'm just concerned that kids are natures natural mimics, and when they see adults not putting in the effort, some may adopt these traits themselves.
I'm off to watch 'Ice Road Truckers', in an effort to educate myself as to how other countries manage and their transport infrastructure continues to run, even in weather extremes ten times worse than those we are encountering :beer:
No doubt the trolls perhaps you ought to look more closely to home before calling other members trolls will be along shortly to disect each point of this post, along with those who have to resort to childish personal comments because they don't have any constructive points or its been years since they have possessed an opinion of their own. For the benefit of those individuals i'm just stating the facts in this area as i've seen them for myself and expressing an opinion, i'm also not singling out teachers or any one entity in relation to blame for the ongoing issues.[/QUOTE]
Clearly your teaching in the past when all was perfect was actually not as good as you think, because you clearly do not know that you don't need an extra full stop after a question mark!0 -
Well you a condescending tw*t. Does it take much practise to do that or are you just naturally condescending?
I would bet you are one of these teachers that think everyone is not worthy to lick the bottom of your boots
Don't you think it lucky that hospitals don't use the same p*ss poor excuse.
"Sorry you are having a heart attack but we closed the hospital as its a little slippy out there."
No, dear, I'm not a teacher - just as you're not too bright. Not condescending at all, just coming down to your natural level of intelligence and competence and hoping against hope and reason that you'll get the drift.
If you really think that Miss Smith the primary school teacher, or whoever, takes it upon herself (and indeed, has the authority) to shut down the school so she can sit on her ar*e at home, eat cakes and watch Loose Women, then I'd wager you simply aren't very bright.
Why don't you sit down, and give your mouth the chance to talk instead?0 -
We have friends in Denmark and the schools do close for the majority of the winter. So does everything else to be honest. He said they rarely leave the house for the worst 2 months, that's just the way it is!
And in reference to how other countries manage? They spend MILLIONS on things like snowblowers, snowploughs, gritters etc etc etc. If we were to spend as much as they do on it all then money would be cut from other important things. Like education, the NHS, ambulances etc! We have no need to prepare for this weather as it just doesnt happen enough!
And chris out of interest, do you have a pair of snow boots? A set of boot spikes? A pair of sallopettes? A proper pair of waterproof gloves with removable inners? A full waterproof jacket with suitable pockets and snow skirt? If you don't have all of these things then your obviously also not prepared for the snow, so you can't blame others!
I'm very lucky to have all of the above due to years of skiing abroad, but I wouldnt step outside in this weather without the above!
You know, I'd "thank" you twice for this rare piece of reasoned, common-sense thought if I could.......0 -
We have friends in Denmark and the schools do close for the majority of the winter. So does everything else to be honest. He said they rarely leave the house for the worst 2 months, that's just the way it is!
And in reference to how other countries manage? They spend MILLIONS on things like snowblowers, snowploughs, gritters etc etc etc. If we were to spend as much as they do on it all then money would be cut from other important things. Like education, the NHS, ambulances etc! We have no need to prepare for this weather as it just doesnt happen enough!
And chris out of interest, do you have a pair of snow boots? A set of boot spikes? A pair of sallopettes? A proper pair of waterproof gloves with removable inners? A full waterproof jacket with suitable pockets and snow skirt? If you don't have all of these things then your obviously also not prepared for the snow, so you can't blame others!
I'm very lucky to have all of the above due to years of skiing abroad, but I wouldnt step outside in this weather without the above!
this in one of the best posts i have ever read on any forum:T:T:T:T0
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