[Football] Snow v Schools.

vegster · Dec 11, 2017

Raleigh Chopper said:
Great big long icy slide the length of the playground every winter, everyone falling arse over tit, chucking snowballs around and then out playing Rugby, now they shut the school because it's a bit snowy.
Embarrassing nonsense, but time to shut down the ambulance chasing compo companies.

It's a bit of a chicken and egg, accidents happen and always will do but thanks to our blame culture, no-one is going to miss out if there is some cash to be made out of it. Schools budgets on all things are cut to the bone so they have to keep their insurance costs down..... as an aside, when things genuinely turned chilly for the first time this winter the head of Mrs. V's school refused to put the heating on across the whole school, In Mr's V's class they wore their coats for the day.

drew · Dec 11, 2017

Don't you just love these threads. Every year someone feels it worth starting and despite all the arguments, fails to accept the reality.

1. Schools are shut on health and safety issues, either in the premises or the surrounding area making it dangerous for kids.
2. Suspect many of those that are criticizing the decisions would also be the first to get in touch with Lawyers4U if their little Johnny slipped on untreated ice and hit his head on a kerb.
3. In the 'olden' days, pupils didn't have to travel that far to schools, they went to the nearest one. Now parents have choice making journey routes longer!
4. Not entirely sure but think insurance will come out of schools budgets meaning that the more claims, the higher the premiums and the less money to spend elsewhere. Educations budgets in this area are already being hit massively.
5 We're not brilliant at handling these situations because we don't have a surfeit of snow ploughs in mothballs for pretty much most of the year. I'm sure the OP would soon start complaining if in his council tax bill breakdown there were costs for storage of loads of snow ploughs and other equipment that is barely used. We always get compared to other countries that deal with it better but that is mainly because they have severe whether more often and for longer periods.

I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons. But it gets boring.

BNthree · Dec 11, 2017

To add to drew's list: school's often will be closed as teachers can't travel in. Unlike years gone by people seem to live further away from where they work. If the roads/trains are chaos how can the teachers get to and from the school?

Brian Parsons · Dec 11, 2017

Hillian1 said:
Was saying to the Wife this morning that in all my school days I can not recall a single time they were closed due to snow.

Nobody died either surprisingly, although once during a mass inter year snowball fight I managed to hit the School "hard-nut" straight on the side of his face, luckily the distance was enough that he couldn't possibly tell who had launched it.

that would probably have ended in a death.

Don't forget the slides in the playground by the end of the week in my day they were massive. Few boys took tumble' s couple of broken collar bones but still returned to school next day. Different standards today to the '50's.

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portlock seagull · Dec 11, 2017

I bet if offered X factor final tickets or the like they’d all miraculously make it to school. Pathetic mentality in this country. Lazy culture never mind compensation.

wellquickwoody · Dec 12, 2017

midnight_rendezvous said:
Ever think that it also has a lot to do with the fact that, living in a mountain region renound for snow, that the people and local government there are better prepared for snow than in this country

As a teacher in Birmingham we had about seven members of staff make it to work on Friday in a three form entry school. Other members of staff couldn’t make it in safely due to accidents and poor road conditions. About half the kids turned up (around 300 or so) and the others didn’t. The 300 that did were sent home in drips and drabs by midday because there weren’t enough staff to keep them safe (safeguarding ratios require there to be 1:3 for ks1 and 1:6 in ks2). It’s a lot more complicated than ‘oh staff can’t be bothered to go in’ and ‘health and safety gone mad, in my day we walked to and from school in 10 metres of snow, up-hill both ways’ etc.

No it is not a lot more complicated than it used to be, it is exactly the bloody same, a bit of snow, you know, white Flakey stuff that falls from the sky very rarely, in fact a lot less often than it used to in days gone by. What has changed, is the propensity to worry about every little inconvenience to the enth degree. What if it snows more? What if the roads get icy? What if the buses stop? What if the parents have to WALK to school? What if Johnny throws a snowball without having a risk assessment? What happens if a teacher gets hit by a snowball? Will the teacher sue the school? Will the teacher sue Johnny's parents? Will the parents sue the school? Easier just to give up than have a spine eh?

mikeyjh · Dec 12, 2017

Badger said:
Yes, the mentality is different in the UK but it's not that surprising. Given how little snow there is, it's just not worth spending the money on expensive snow clearing equipment. People aren't going to shell out for things like winter tyres either. Also, it's not cold enough. The snow melts during the day and freezes overnight, so you end up with ice everywhere.

And that's the answer - B&H investing in a fleet of snow ploughs that get used once every 5 years doesn't make an awful lot of sense does it.....

Norman Potting · Dec 12, 2017

midnight_rendezvous said:
Ever think that it also has a lot to do with the fact that, living in a mountain region renound for snow, that the people and local government there are better prepared for snow than in this country

As a teacher in Birmingham we had about seven members of staff make it to work on Friday in a three form entry school. Other members of staff couldn’t make it in safely due to accidents and poor road conditions. About half the kids turned up (around 300 or so) and the others didn’t. The 300 that did were sent home in drips and drabs by midday because there weren’t enough staff to keep them safe (safeguarding ratios require there to be 1:3 for ks1 and 1:6 in ks2). It’s a lot more complicated than ‘oh staff can’t be bothered to go in’ and ‘health and safety gone mad, in my day we walked to and from school in 10 metres of snow, up-hill both ways’ etc.

As hubbie of a long suffering teacher can I grant you a "this" ! Her school remained open, Potting offsprings shut at 1335 quite justifiably imho.

Iggle Piggle · Dec 12, 2017

"Kids today don't know they are born. Dave Smith in my class had his leg sawn off in a magic trick gone wrong but came to school the next day"

This is like one of those horrific Facebook pictures "Click share if you used to lick lead off the side of your cot and haven't contracted cancer"

Green Cross Code Man · Dec 12, 2017

portlock seagull said:
I bet if offered X factor final tickets or the like they’d all miraculously make it to school. Pathetic mentality in this country. Lazy culture never mind compensation.

Interesting you cite a show primarily aimed at children as an incentive. The children have no say on whether a school is open or not.

darkwolf666 · Dec 12, 2017

midnight_rendezvous said:
Ever think that it also has a lot to do with the fact that, living in a mountain region renound for snow, that the people and local government there are better prepared for snow than in this country

As a teacher in Birmingham we had about seven members of staff make it to work on Friday in a three form entry school. Other members of staff couldn’t make it in safely due to accidents and poor road conditions. About half the kids turned up (around 300 or so) and the others didn’t. The 300 that did were sent home in drips and drabs by midday because there weren’t enough staff to keep them safe (safeguarding ratios require there to be 1:3 for ks1 and 1:6 in ks2). It’s a lot more complicated than ‘oh staff can’t be bothered to go in’ and ‘health and safety gone mad, in my day we walked to and from school in 10 metres of snow, up-hill both ways’ etc.

Stop talking common sense and giving a counter view. D-

Gazwag · Dec 12, 2017

jevs said:
This. If any parent, kid, teacher or anyone who enters the school premises slips and hurts themselves, they'll have their arses sued off them.

Get rid of the compensation culture and we can all go back to living normal lives.

Quite, we are turning into a country of whingers as well, I wanted to punch the TV last night when these two people were moaning that they were stuck in a car park for hours because Eurostar wasn't running and how disgusting it was.

Fungus · Dec 12, 2017

Won't somebody think of the chilblains?

midnight_rendezvous · Dec 12, 2017

wellquickwoody said:
No it is not a lot more complicated than it used to be, it is exactly the bloody same, a bit of snow, you know, white Flakey stuff that falls from the sky very rarely, in fact a lot less often than it used to in days gone by. What has changed, is the propensity to worry about every little inconvenience to the enth degree. What if it snows more? What if the roads get icy? What if the buses stop? What if the parents have to WALK to school? What if Johnny throws a snowball without having a risk assessment? What happens if a teacher gets hit by a snowball? Will the teacher sue the school? Will the teacher sue Johnny's parents? Will the parents sue the school? Easier just to give up than have a spine eh?

Did I say it’s more complicated than it used to be?

I said it’s more complicated than the simplified view people like you are putting forward.

Let me, someone who actually works at a school and doesn’t just use it as a glorified daycare put forward a counter view, an event that ACTUALLY happened on Friday. Names will of course be different be safeguarding.

What if little Johnny lives on an estate that after snow is icy and dangerous? What if Johnny’s school doesn’t close? What if Johnny has a little brother who Mum usually pushed in the pushchair to school? What if on the way to school Mum decides to ditch the pushchair, carries the baby but can’t keep up with an excited Johnny? What if Johnny gets to the school drive and needs to cross the road? What if Johnny crosses the road but as he does a car comes sliding down the drive backwards, out of control, unable to stop because of the conditions and a TA, who is also walking to school, rushes into the road and pulls him to safety narrowly missing the car? Now the question that scares me, what if the TA wasn’t there?

Is the safety of children and adults alike really such an inconvenience to you or do you just like moaning about things you know nothing about?

McTavish · Dec 12, 2017

Brian Parsons said:
Don't forget the slides in the playground by the end of the week in my day they were massive. Few boys took tumble' s couple of broken collar bones but still returned to school next day. Different standards today to the '50's.

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Broken collar bones? Luxury! Our PE teacher - Chippy McPherson - used to clear the playground with a flamethrower that he had stolen at the end of the war. Sure a few boys were burnt to a crisp but that didn't stop them returning to school the next day.

Worried Man Blues · Dec 12, 2017

A couple of years ago wales closed the schools the day before because of forecasts of snow, it obviously didn't!

BigGully · Dec 12, 2017

midnight_rendezvous said:
Did I say it’s more complicated than it used to be? I said it’s more complicated than the simplified view people like you are putting forward.

Let me, someone who actually works at a school and doesn’t just use it as a glorified daycare put forward a counter view, an event that ACTUALLY happened on Friday. Names will of course be different be safeguarding.

What if little Johnny lives on an estate that after snow is icy and dangerous? What if Johnny’s school doesn’t close? What if Johnny has a little brother who Mum usually pushed in the pushchair to school? What if on the way to school Mum decides to ditch the pushchair, carries the baby but can’t keep up with an excited Johnny? What if Johnny gets to the school drive and needs to cross the road? What if Johnny crosses the road but as he does a car comes sliding down the drive backwards, out of control, unable to stop because of the conditions and a TA, who is also walking to school, rushes into the road and pulls him to safety narrowly missing the car? Now the question that scares me, what if the TA wasn’t there?

Is the safety of children and adults alike really such an inconvenience to you or do you just like moaning about things you know nothing about?

That's a lot of 'what ifs', you could quite reasonably lend the similar set of unlikely scenarios to a sunny day in May.

midnight_rendezvous · Dec 12, 2017

BigGully said:
That's a lot of 'what ifs', you could quite reasonably lend the similar set of unlikely scenarios to a sunny day in May.

Did you read my post?

I state quite clearly that the scenario actually happened at my school on Friday. The questions were in response to the person I was replying to who used hypothetical questions in their post to belittle the situation schools may be finding themselves in.

Also, we both know accidents are more likely to occur in adverse weather conditions.

Worried Man Blues · Dec 12, 2017

In my day if little Johnny doesn't go to school he will be luzzing lumps of ice at buses as they go through the estate

rocker959 · Dec 12, 2017

Pathetic . We had to walk to school every day in blizzard conditions in shorts for the big freeze winter of 1963.

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