School closed. You have to make the time up in holidays!

Pennylane

poet123 wrote: »

It is a balancing act though, in Lithuania they are geared up for the weather because that is the norm. Here, if councils invest too much money in snow planning they would be pilloried if that snow did not arrive ,which it generally doesn't. These have been exceptional conditions which may not be repeated in the next 30 years.

Can I ask if you have bought snow chains or tyres? I suspect not, because like me, you do not expect to use them frequently enough to jujstify the outlay.


That is why we are unprepared. Now, we could be very prepared for snow, and have freak floods which we are not prepared for, money and resources are finite and have to be spent on the balance of probability. We will only ever have have basic preparations in place for extremes of weather in the UK because of the cost implication.

With regard to your point re litigation, the fear of it is enough to ensure those in authority err on the side of caution. I am not privy to the figures re law suits against schools but I have sat in on many parent meetings where the threat has been made, and for quite trivial issues. I am therefore sure, that given that the police, and motoring advice was not to travel/venture out unless necessary, if the schools had opened and accidents had occurred there would have been a lot of claims. Y ou needd only look at hwo many peiople claim for whiplash. from mnior bumps to know that we are an increasingly litiginous society.

I would far rather my LEA spent it's limited budget on educatiiong my child than on defending a case brought by unscrupulous parents out to make a quick buck, or on the other side of the coin, pay out a legitimate claim for a seriously injured child

But it's the same for everyone. If everyone in the country heard that advice and followed it, the hospitals, shops, factories, farms etc would all grind to a halt.

Imagine if teachers went off to work and the weather was OK and then mid-morning it started snowing heavily & that announcement was made. Teachers would all be ringing home and saying "I shall be staying at school tonight because we have been told not to venture out." Yeah ... right.:rotfl::rotfl:

Belysh

donnajunkie wrote: »

i dont understand why a lot of the things involved cant be thought of on the spot while in the lesson. for example the thinking of questions to ask the kids. if i was a teacher of metal work and the lesson was going to be about welding. i would not need to sit and plan to work out things like what questions i am going to ask. i could think of them straight away in the lesson. i could ask what types of welding processes are there or what does mma stand for etc.

The think that your not getting is that we HAVE to plan these things. I don't want to sit at home for hours planning the questions I have to ask but I HAVE to becasue that is what my head teacher expects and shows I am assessing and pushing my chilren, helping them to progress. If Ofsted comes, it is what they want to see. So, you can think of them on the spot and most of the time you do, but I am afraid you have boxes to tick.
So you would need to plan them.

lifesizedoll

Employees are entitled to be paid if they are ready and willing to work but their employer has not provided them with any work to do, unless your employment contract says otherwise. So you should not have to make them hours up as you were willing to work them days. See the citizens advice website for this information.

poet123

Pennylane wrote: »

But it's the same for everyone. If everyone in the country heard that advice and followed it, the hospitals, shops, factories, farms etc would all grind to a halt.

Imagine if teachers went off to work and the weather was OK and then mid-morning it started snowing heavily & that announcement was made. Teachers would all be ringing home and saying "I shall be staying at school tonight because we have been told not to venture out." Yeah ... right.:rotfl::rotfl:

The difference is that schools have a duty of care to the kids inside the school gate, banks, shops etc only have that duty of care to customers if they are negligent.

Belysh

Pennylane wrote: »

I am not convinced about this at all. Show me some facts and figures please. It seems to me like a very convenient smokescreen.

I was talking to a young Lithuanian woman today. She told me that the schools over there carry on as normal until it gets to about -25. She really cannot remember many occasions when her school was closed.

Their roads are gritted, their public transport carries on. They have to use special tyres on their cars and they are responsible for clearing snow outside their own houses.

What about people who live in parts of China and Africa. Some chidlren there don't get an education because of lack of schools due to extreme poverty. If your so unhappy with the schools closing for a couple of days, why don't you switch with some of them? Them you might be grateful for what you DO have and realise that it could be a lot worse.
Or if schooling is so good in Lithuania go and live there.
Don't forget to send us a postcard .

skt107

donnajunkie wrote: »

i dont understand why a lot of the things involved cant be thought of on the spot while in the lesson. for example the thinking of questions to ask the kids. if i was a teacher of metal work and the lesson was going to be about welding. i would not need to sit and plan to work out things like what questions i am going to ask. i could think of them straight away in the lesson. i could ask what types of welding processes are there or what does mma stand for etc.

Sounds like you should be in the profession because you'd clearly be much more productive than the rest of us.

But let me put you with my bunch of dyslexic 8 year olds first - try your method out and see if you still feel the same then. Trust me, you won't think it's quite so easy after that!

poet123

Or my current group of FE students who between them have Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, Tourettes, Dyspraxia, specific learning difficulties, anger management issues, and mental health problems.

Pennylane

poet123 wrote: »

The difference is that schools have a duty of care to the kids inside the school gate, banks, shops etc only have that duty of care to customers if they are negligent.

You'd better go and start reading up on that poet. You really don't get it do you?

Pennylane

Belysh wrote: »

What about people who live in parts of China and Africa. Some chidlren there don't get an education because of lack of schools due to extreme poverty. If your so unhappy with the schools closing for a couple of days, why don't you switch with some of them? Them you might be grateful for what you DO have and realise that it could be a lot worse.
Or if schooling is so good in Lithuania go and live there.
Don't forget to send us a postcard .

OMG .... calm yourself down:rolleyes: I was pointing out (as many others have) that in other countries they get on with life as usual even if it snows. I'm not asking teachers to sweep outside my house or to fit tyres to my car for me am I?

poet123

Pennylane wrote: »

You'd better go and start reading up on that poet. You really don't get it do you?

Are you suggesting that other organisations have the same duty of care as a school does to children?

I don't think it is me that doesnt get it.