Free school meals from Sept 2014

paulineb_2

GwylimT wrote: »

In all schools in the UK both adults and children are required to sign in and out of school for fire safety reasons, a school failing to do this would fail an OFSTED inspection as they would not be adequately safe guarding their pupils. Not only is this required for pupil safety, it is also done to prevent the fire service needlessly risking their lives searching for a child in a school building who is sat at home stuffing their face.

That is a school I would certainly not be sending my child to.

I dont think they are. Visitors sign in and out in schools Ive been in (I do fitness session in local schools sometimes) and registration is taken in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Kids dont need to sign in and out which I think is understandable, because can you imagine the time it would take for 30 5 year olds to sign their names in and out every time they go out of the building? It makes sense that the teacher takes the register in that instance.

Also, during the teaching day there will be times when teaching staff do certain things outdoors, PE for example. That will be timetabled in so that people know where the class is at any given time. You could spend all day signing in and out every time a class moved a muscle outside of the building.

paulineb_2

FBaby wrote: »

...and I bet those who do pay will see the cost of the meals suddenly go up because just like childcare and the introduction of tax credits, it is easy to do when half of the parents won't complain about it because they won't care as they won't pay.

I'm glad my youngest will be out of primary school anyway.

I would imagine that the free school meals will be subsidised. I wouldnt see that as having a knock on effect to the parents in later years who pay for their kids meals.

GwylimT

paulineb wrote: »

I dont think they are. Visitors sign in and out in schools Ive been in (I do fitness session in local schools sometimes) and registration is taken in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Kids dont need to sign in and out which I think is understandable, because can you imagine the time it would take for 30 5 year olds to sign their names in and out every time they go out of the building? It makes sense that the teacher takes the register in that instance.

Also, during the teaching day there will be times when teaching staff do certain things outdoors, PE for example. That will be timetabled in so that people know where the class is at any given time. You could spend all day signing in and out every time a class moved a muscle outside of the building.

Dear god what school allows five year olds out alone?

daisiegg

paulineb wrote: »

I dont think they are. Visitors sign in and out in schools Ive been in (I do fitness session in local schools sometimes) and registration is taken in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Kids dont need to sign in and out which I think is understandable, because can you imagine the time it would take for 30 5 year olds to sign their names in and out every time they go out of the building? It makes sense that the teacher takes the register in that instance.

Also, during the teaching day there will be times when teaching staff do certain things outdoors, PE for example. That will be timetabled in so that people know where the class is at any given time. You could spend all day signing in and out every time a class moved a muscle outside of the building.

I think you are getting confused between 'leaving the building' and 'leaving the school site'.

paulineb_2

GwylimT wrote: »

Dear god what school allows five year olds out alone?

If you actually read what I said above, I said directly after the point I made about 5 year olds not signing themselves in and out. I said the teacher would take the register in that instance.

I said nothing about 5 year olds being allowed to leave the building on their own.

paulineb_2

daisiegg wrote: »

I think you are getting confused between 'leaving the building' and 'leaving the school site'.

Maybe I am. But it doesnt change the fact that children dont sign a register in and out every time they leave the building in all schools in the UK. Visitors are required to sign in and out in some schools and the teacher takes a register on the other occasions.

GwylimT

paulineb wrote: »

If you actually read what I said above, I said directly after the point I made about 5 year olds not signing themselves in and out. I said the teacher would take the register in that instance.

I said nothing about 5 year olds being allowed to leave the building on their own.

If they aren't leaving school then why would they been signing in and out?

daisiegg

paulineb wrote: »

Maybe I am. But it doesnt change the fact that children dont sign a register in and out every time they leave the building in all schools in the UK. Visitors are required to sign in and out in some schools and the teacher takes a register on the other occasions.

Nobody is talking about signing out every time they 'leave the building' but every time they leave the school site. I do believe those saying that in Scotland students can leave at lunchtime and don't sign out but that seems shocking to me. If there was some sort of emergency how would they know who is where?

I have never heard of pupils younger than sixth form being able to leave the school site at any schools I know of here in the south of England. Sixth formers can go out at lunchtime but must sign in and out, as must teachers.

paulineb_2

daisiegg wrote: »

Nobody is talking about signing out every time they 'leave the building' but every time they leave the school site. I do believe those saying that in Scotland students can leave at lunchtime and don't sign out but that seems shocking to me. If there was some sort of emergency how would they know who is where?

I have never heard of pupils younger than sixth form being able to leave the school site at any schools I know of here in the south of England. Sixth formers can go out at lunchtime but must sign in and out, as must teachers.

You made that point in the last post you wrote and I understood that. Perhaps I should have said leave the school site and not leave the building, but school site isnt a phrase Im familiar with. But then Im scottish and we say things slightly differently up here. I will clarify. Even at times when kids leave the school site for something like a school trip, its the teacher who takes a register. The book at the school my mum teaches at, its visitors and teachers who sign in and out of it. Not the pupils, the pupils are recorded by the class teacher at registration and if they had to take a separate register if the class was leaving for a school trip, the teacher would deal with that, the pupils still wouldnt sign in and out on their own.

I would understand that a register is taken in every class by the class teacher.

Pupils from first year onwards are allowed to go home at lunchtime and so are kids in primary schools in Scotland, some kids go home at lunchtime.

As someone said earlier, going home for your lunch perhaps isnt an English thing, it certainly is in Scotland.

I went home for my lunch on and off through my primary school years.

daisiegg

paulineb wrote: »

You made that point in the last post you wrote and I understood that.

I would understand that a register is taken in every class by the class teacher.

Pupils from first year onwards are allowed to go home at lunchtime and so are kids in primary schools in Scotland, some kids go home at lunchtime.

As someone said earlier, going home for your lunch perhaps isnt an English thing, it certainly is in Scotland.

I went home for my lunch on and off through my primary school years.

You did not appear to understand because your next post still made reference to 'leaving the school building'

Of course teachers take registers in lessons. That is not what I am talking about. It is not too difficult to understand! Say lunchtime is 1pm to 2pm. An emergency happens at 1.30pm that requires evacuation of the school. If no one signs out at lunchtime, how does anyone know whether Jack Smith in second form has gone to town for lunch or whether he is still trapped in the burning building? Or it is the first lesson after lunch and Jack is missing. If he didn't sign out or in at lunchtime how do they know where he is...did he go out for lunch? If so, did he come back? Or did he stay on the school site and is now skiving smoking behind the bike sheds? I just can't really understand how it can work not knowing where students are at all times during the school day while they are the school's responsibility. I am also surprised that in these health and safety crazed times they don't get them to sign in and out, that's all.