School Closures

[trousers]

Exactly, a lot more legal ramifications these days.

 

So sad, so true.

[mcjwills]

trouble with that though is the teacher to pupil ratios. you could end up with 1 teacher and 60 kids!!

 

 

I'm sure that when the government try to pay back the billions they have lent the banks 1 to 60 ratio will be perfectly acceptable

[trousers]

You're kidding right??!? How many children do you think have slipped over and injured themselves recently? Also, taking into consideration how long it takes a car to stop in this weather, or for that matter how much cars can slip and slide, I think there is considerable more danger!!

 

I disagree

[Whitey Grandad]

trouble with that though is the teacher to pupil ratios. you could end up with 1 teacher and 60 kids!!

At university we had one lecturer to 280 students.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Just been told that my nipper's school is shut again tomorrow; 3rd day on the trot. I can only ever remember having one snow day off my entire school career and that was when a boiler burst and there was no heating.

 

So why is there so many school closures nowadays? Do teachers live that much further away? Aren't heating systems as robust as they used to be? Is it the fear of litigation? I think we are more risk averse, if there was no public transport (buses nestled in the nadir of Lordswood Road ) we used to walk and think nothing of it.

 

I don't know, but I remember winter as being one of the most fun seasons at school; massive polished ice slides from one corner of the playground to the other, the 2 mile walk to school and back broken up by snow ball fights, bombing down hills on bin bags or tin trays....

 

It is this 'compensation culture' we seem to have these days in the UK. It would only take for a school to stay open, a pupil to seriously injure themselves, and the LEA has a lawsuit on their hands..

[trousers]

trouble with that though is the teacher to pupil ratios. you could end up with 1 teacher and 60 kids!!

 

Ah, ok....let's all turn into a "can't do" rather than a "can do" society.

 

This country is going down the pan.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

I disagree

 

Brilliant, what an argument.

[trousers]

It is this 'compensation culture' we seem to have these days in the UK. It would only take for a school to stay open, a pupil to seriously injure themselves, and the LEA has a lawsuit on their hands..

 

So, if the system is 'broke' we should roll over and accept it rather than try and dig society out of the apathetic cess pit that it has ended up in?

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

So, if the system is 'broke' we should roll over and accept it rather than try and dig society out of the apathetic cess pit that it has ended up in?

 

Where would you start though, keeping schools open, staff crashing cars, pupils breaking arms and legs...?

[trousers]

Brilliant, what an argument.

 

I can list all the reasons I disagree if that helps

[trousers]

Where would you start though, keeping schools open, staff crashing cars, pupils breaking arms and legs...?

 

Ok, I give up. You're right. I hereby throw in the towel....it's all the rage apparently

[trousers]

Just off to chance my luck with the gas cooker. Wish me well.

 

At least the hospital will still be open if I blow up the house.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Ok, I give up. You're right. I hereby throw in the towel....it's all the rage apparently

 

Oddly, that wasn't the reaction I was hoping for. I don't disagree with you that this country is, as you put it, 'apathetic' with regards to certain things, but if people are in danger of seriously hurting themselves, I don't see the point in getting all angry and narky about it.

[trousers]

Oddly, that wasn't the reaction I was hoping for. I don't disagree with you that this country is, as you put it, 'apathetic' with regards to certain things, but if people are in danger of seriously hurting themselves, I don't see the point in getting all angry and narky about it.

 

Sorry, just got caught up in the heat of the debate. I'm quite nice, if a little derranged, most of the time.

[RonManager]

Sorry, just got caught up in the heat of the debate. I'm quite nice, if a little derranged, most of the time.

 

But you do 'angry' in a very laid back, entertaining way.

 

Now go careful on your way to the kitchen, there are hazards lurking EVERYWHERE.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

But you do 'angry' in a very laid back, entertaining way.

 

Now go careful on your way to the kitchen, there are hazards lurking EVERYWHERE.

 

I hope you slip over the ice and very badly sprain your ankle

[RonManager]

I hope you slip over the ice and very badly sprain your ankle

 

I'll do me best, guvnor.

[View From The Top]

I've been into college all week, as have all the staff.

 

The students, however, have not!

 

Attendance is running at 15%.

[View From The Top]

My wife's school is shut as the roads leading to it are impassable.

 

It was open yesterday but the head pranged his Porsche leaving, skidding on the ice and hitting a park car going down the hill so it's now shut.

 

She's chuffed.

[krissyboy31]

My wife's school is shut as the roads leading to it are impassable.

 

It was open yesterday but the head pranged his Porsche leaving, skidding on the ice and hitting a park car going down the hill so it's now shut.

 

She's chuffed.

 

Chuffed that it's closed or the Head pranged his Porche?

[View From The Top]

Chuffed that it's closed or the Head pranged his Porche?

 

Both.

[Barney Trubble]

Schools are damned if they do and damned if they don't - both by the media/general public and parents[if it suits the parents that is].

 

Last year, there was a blanket closure at schools in my neck of the woods. This was due to the weather forecast predicting severe weather, therefore, the head of schools tried to use a bit of foresight and made his decision. Of course, the weather forecasters got it all wrong again and the weather turned out to be so and so. He got severely criticised and the schools did too.

 

Bear in mind that a few years earlier, the whole of Birmingham was brought to a standstill due to mistakes the council made when gritting the roads. It was that bad that you had kids not getting home until the late evening or having to stop at friends houses, they had been stuck on the roads since about 3pm, this was for all aged children - i'm sure that none of us would want our five year old getting back at that silly hour.

 

So, this year the head of education made the decision that heads must make the decision themselves, which is fair enough I guess.

 

What people seem to fail to understand is that a decision has to be made early so that families can make alternative arrangements.

 

Bear in mind that the weather may be ok in the morning but expected to deteriorate throughout the day - so they don't want a situation where kids can't get home again safely. There are all sorts of issues that schools have to think of and they are based on the safeguarding of your kid and not them deciding to have a bit of a jolly. When that situation took place in Birmingham a few years ago, there were kids stopping at the homes of their friends family/carers etc - not really ideal for the safeguarding ok kids is it; even more so for those with Special Educational Needs, of which there are in the region of 4,000 in Birmingham alone.

 

As I say, if schools said that they were open and the weather got so bad late in the day, then parents/media etc would want to know why there kids were stuck in school or stuck in inclement weather and couldn't get home as per normal.

 

It just seems that they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

 

It's not alway's about schools closing because teachers can't get to school, it's about the pupils - they are the ones we care about surely?

 

Lot's of schools that are closed still expect teachers[adults] to come into school themselves, heads will use the day for staff training etc.

[Mao Cap]

Schools are damned if they do and damned if they don't - both by the media/general public and parents[if it suits the parents that is].

 

Last year, there was a blanket closure at schools in my neck of the woods. This was due to the weather forecast predicting severe weather, therefore, the head of schools tried to use a bit of foresight and made his decision. Of course, the weather forecasters got it all wrong again and the weather turned out to be so and so. He got severely criticised and the schools did too.

 

Bear in mind that a few years earlier, the whole of Birmingham was brought to a standstill due to mistakes the council made when gritting the roads. It was that bad that you had kids not getting home until the late evening or having to stop at friends houses, they had been stuck on the roads since about 3pm, this was for all aged children - i'm sure that none of us would want our five year old getting back at that silly hour.

 

So, this year the head of education made the decision that heads must make the decision themselves, which is fair enough I guess.

 

What people seem to fail to understand is that a decision has to be made early so that families can make alternative arrangements.

 

Bear in mind that the weather may be ok in the morning but expected to deteriorate throughout the day - so they don't want a situation where kids can't get home again safely. There are all sorts of issues that schools have to think of and they are based on the safeguarding of your kid and not them deciding to have a bit of a jolly. When that situation took place in Birmingham a few years ago, there were kids stopping at the homes of their friends family/carers etc - not really ideal for the safeguarding ok kids is it; even more so for those with Special Educational Needs, of which there are in the region of 4,000 in Birmingham alone.

 

As I say, if schools said that they were open and the weather got so bad late in the day, then parents/media etc would want to know why there kids were stuck in school or stuck in inclement weather and couldn't get home as per normal.

 

It just seems that they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

 

It's not alway's about schools closing because teachers can't get to school, it's about the pupils - they are the ones we care about surely?

 

Lot's of schools that are closed still expect teachers[adults] to come into school themselves, heads will use the day for staff training etc.

 

Barney, are you trying to say that it doesn't help to, in any given situation, direct our anger at government employees who are only trying to do their best?

 

That's not very patriotic of you. We're English, that's what we do.

[Guest Dark Sotonic Mills]

My wife's school is shut as the roads leading to it are impassable.

 

It was open yesterday but the head pranged his Porsche leaving, skidding on the ice and hitting a park car going down the hill so it's now shut.

 

She's chuffed.

 

Exactly how old is your wife?

[Mr Sparky]

I couldn't go to work today as I had to look after the kids. If I could have I would have driven to work in Bournemouth from Southampton. I know that not all teachers live next to the school, but the roads in Southampton are fine, the buses are running, the only dodgy roads are side roads and they're passable with sensible driving.

 

Put it this way Ron, how do other snow bound countries seem to keep their school systems running quite happily. I lived on the outskirts of Geneva for 2 years and in the winter it snowed regularly as the elevation was around 550m, the kids had 1 day off school in that entire time.

 

I guess you dont live on a up and down down and up up and downy type bit then. Flat roads are easy. Also having to circum-navigate abandoned vehicles is a laugh too.

[aintforever]

Lazy teachers, that's the problem, the roads round Southampton are fine.

[View From The Top]

Exactly how old is your wife?

 

Looking for someone new to groom?

[CB Saint]

My wife's school is shut as the roads leading to it are impassable.

 

It was open yesterday but the head pranged his Porsche leaving, skidding on the ice and hitting a park car going down the hill so it's now shut.

 

She's chuffed.

 

Driving a porsche in these conditions it not entirely sensible. Anyway I always thought that the teaching profession was poorly paid, where did he get the readies for a porsche?

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Driving a porsche in these conditions it not entirely sensible. Anyway I always thought that the teaching profession was poorly paid, where did he get the readies for a porsche?

 

Headteachers of secondary schools can easily earn up to 80k, and even more if they work in an academies.

 

20k starting salary though, so I won't be buying one anytime soon!

[CB Saint]

Headteachers of secondary schools can easily earn up to 80k, and even more if they work in an academies.

 

20k starting salary though, so I won't be buying one anytime soon!

 

Where do I sign up

[Chorlton]

Our kids school in Winch was open yesterday as the head arranged for a few teachers to spend the night at her house so that they would be able to get in to school easily. Then a load of paents complained as it was one of the only schools open and they wanted their kids to be off. Then it was shut today and all the local kids went up to the school to go sledging.

[mcjwills]

Headteachers of secondary schools can easily earn up to 80k, and even more if they work in an academies.

 

20k starting salary though, so I won't be buying one anytime soon!

 

This is why we have so many council wages over 50K.

[View From The Top]

Driving a porsche in these conditions it not entirely sensible. Anyway I always thought that the teaching profession was poorly paid, where did he get the readies for a porsche?

 

He's one of these Superheads so I reckon he's on around £80k + and Porsche is his "thing"?

[itchenmike]

Another problem to throw in is the wonderful Ofsted and league tables - if the school is open, student attendance is poor - it flags up with the Local Authority that you have an attendance problem - Genius! Which head wants that on their record??

 

My school is currently shut due to the roads surrounding the school being too dangerous for the large number of our students who come to school by bus! Unfortunately health and safety play a huge part in this - one child slips on the ice/snow and the school get blamed, so you can understand caution. (Bear in mind an incident a few years ago where a student was doing PE on the astroturf in the rain, did a sliding challenge and tore his ligaments - who gets blamed...).

 

And as mentioned before, if staff can't get in then it does create a real problem for staff to student ratios. We often find that because infant and primary schools shut first (as their kids need much closer supervision) the teachers who are parents are then forced to stay at home to look after their kids, making the problem worse!

 

Still, hey-ho!

[bridge too far]

This is why we have so many council wages over 50K.

 

Qualifications apart, I think you have to compare a 'super head' with a director of a company who is responsible for HR, H & S, finance, facilities management.

 

Not such a super wage after all.

[GenevaSaint]

Credit where credit is due (Thorpe et al), my kids school in Woolston is open today for pupils who can make it in. The others in Woolston are shut today though.

[View From The Top]

So far my department have the grand total of 0 students in.

 

It was -10 when I got in the car this morning and there is 6 inches of snow and ice on the ground and nothing has been gritted bar the main road so it's no surprise I guess.

[Johnny Bognor]

Qualifications apart, I think you have to compare a 'super head' with a director of a company who is responsible for HR, H & S, finance, facilities management.

 

Not such a super wage after all.

 

You can't compare the roles of a private sector director with a Head Teacher, who works in a protected environment with guaranteed income streams and doesn't have to deal with the pressures of running a commercial organisation (especially in a recession).

 

Your average HR Director is having to deal with reducing head counts and redundancies - maybe even trying to save his or her own job. How many teachers have been laid off recently?

 

Finance Directors are having to deal with incredibly difficult financing issues and severely stretched cash flows. The HT just gets given a wad of dosh to spend.

 

Come on BTF, don't trot out the Public Sector hard done by line again, as we all know it's not true:

 

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/public_sector/article6974029.ece

[hamster]

/\

Shouldn't you be working Johnny?

[Johnny Bognor]

/\

Shouldn't you be working Johnny?

 

I am at work, but not clearly working hard enough.

 

All staff have made it in all week, despite the weather, so in recognition of their efforts, we laid on a lunchtime buffet for everyone yesterday.

[JustMike]

At university we had one lecturer to 280 students.

 

at univeristy the "pupils" arent 5 - 16! (although they may act like it ;-) )

[JustMike]

Ah, ok....let's all turn into a "can't do" rather than a "can do" society.

 

This country is going down the pan.

 

no, lets turn it into commen sense

[hamster]

Seriously Johnny, do enjoy your job and do you ever wish that you'd taken the more cushy option of (say) local government etc?

[Whitey Grandad]

at univeristy the "pupils" arent 5 - 16! (although they may act like it ;-) )

You noticed! The point is that modern teaching methods are not as effective as whole class teaching. If you're talking to the class then it's the same for 20 or 40 pupils. Having dedicated classrooms for subjects is another problem. At the end of the lesson the whole class has to move whereas in my day it was just the teachers. We had our own desks where we stored the books so they didn't often leave the classroom and would last for 20 or 30 years. This modern free-for-all has a lot to answer for.

[Whitey Grandad]

no, lets turn it into commen sense

Common sense would be to open the schools. I've driven past Hamble Juniors this morning and it's still closed. They had a 'safety inspection' yesterday and decide to keep it closed. There's only a couple of inches of snow and all the rest of the world is carrying on as normal.

 

This is an unbelievable sh!thole of a country.

[Give it to Ron]

Another problem to throw in is the wonderful Ofsted and league tables - if the school is open, student attendance is poor - it flags up with the Local Authority that you have an attendance problem - Genius! Which head wants that on their record??

 

My school is currently shut due to the roads surrounding the school being too dangerous for the large number of our students who come to school by bus! Unfortunately health and safety play a huge part in this - one child slips on the ice/snow and the school get blamed, so you can understand caution. (Bear in mind an incident a few years ago where a student was doing PE on the astroturf in the rain, did a sliding challenge and tore his ligaments - who gets blamed...).

 

And as mentioned before, if staff can't get in then it does create a real problem for staff to student ratios. We often find that because infant and primary schools shut first (as their kids need much closer supervision) the teachers who are parents are then forced to stay at home to look after their kids, making the problem worse!

 

Still, hey-ho!

 

They were saying this on TV last night....one school opened but had hardly any pupils - the LEA stated that all those that didn't attend were truant which buggers up the schools stats and league tables and get them in trouble with the government etc.

Is it any wonder Headteachers are playing it safe!

[ecuk268]

I was at Barton Peveril Grammar in the 62-63 winter and we never lost a single day. It started snowing on Boxing Day '62 and continued on and off until the end of Feb. Me and my mates use to walk up the old canal at Romsey which had frozen.

 

I was amazed at the number of dead birds that had dropped from the trees frozen solid.

 

When the snow finally melted, we had a huge lake on our playing fields which was there till mid May.

[mdearlove]

Two out of the three schools my kids attend are open, the third (the infants) is shut due to frozen pipes.

Parents who have kids in both the infants and juniors are up in arms because the juniors is open when the infants is closed. Most live in walking distance of the school. I think a lot of parents can't be bothered to go out in the cold so have kept the juniors off. My wife is a teacher at the juniors and says its half empty but all the teachers are in - even those who live in rural areas

 

Oh and i remember our schools always being open - even in the after effects of the hurricane in 1987. Loads of trees down in Fareham so no buses - we all walked the 3 miles climbing over trees as we went

[View From The Top]

All my staff are in but the students have deemed it unsafe so haven't come in.

[Kadeem Hardison]

If health and safety issues are the reason for closure, where do they think the kids go when they're not in school. Out on the ice and snow or tucked up in doors reading and doing maths?

 

The difference of course being that they are not the school's liability when they are out in the snow at their own or their parents' behest. Of course, I'd imagine you knew this and weren't so retarded as to overlook it.