SCHOOL COMMUNITY USE OF OUTDOOR FACILITIES AFTER SCHOOL

It appears that my request in the recent School Newsletter (Issue 5.01) to use only the school field after 3.15pm has caused some consternation among a number of our Foundation Stage parents and I thought it would be useful to write this open letter to clear up any misunderstandings about this matter.

Use of the lower playground, the surrounding play equipment and the grassy areas at the back of 1H, 2B, 2C, 3B and 3H after school and without authorised supervision has concerned several Infant School headteachers over the years. Many times in the past these headteachers have requested parents not to allow their children to use these facilities. In fact, I reiterated this in a past newsletter (Issue 6:05 04/07/08) but it has not been part of the Induction literature, nor has it been signposted in any way, and we will address this to make our expectations clearer.

There has been talk about ‘handing over’ authority to parents and carers after 3.15pm but I am afraid that is not an option. The Local Authority has made it very clear that the welfare and safety of all children and adults on the site, at all times, is the responsibility of the staff and, ultimately, my responsibility as Headteacher and I cannot pass this on. The idea of a ‘disclaimer’ would not stand in a court of law and nor would it be practicable. I am sure you are all aware of the demands of Health and Safety in our workplaces and schools are certainly no exception. We are required to carry out extensive risk assessments on use of facilities and resources in school, as well as every trip out of school, and procedures have to be watertight to ensure the welfare and safety of our children at all times.

Our school is an exception in that it encourages families to stay on after school for a while because we see that as an important part of being a community school and part of our ethos. We know of very few schools that do this. However, safety and welfare is still of paramount importance and being able to play on an open field, with easy visual access by the many parents and adults around, presents a suitable compromise between ensuring safety and giving families the chance to play together. Playing in other areas such as the steep slopes above the lower school classrooms, on playground equipment and in areas where trees are being climbed does not present a suitable compromise.

The issue is that we would need trained supervisors in place, with consistent expectations of what the children can do and cannot do. We just do not have the staff with the time nor do we have the budget to allow us to do this. In addition, we would need several members of staff to supervise all these areas appropriately. As parents, we all have very different ideas about what is safe or not, and what constitutes appropriate supervision. Several times in the fortnight before my newsletter message, I found toddlers at the top of those steep slopes with a concrete path and wall at the bottom, I found children climbing trees and playground equipment being used in dangerous ways – all situations that we would never allow during the school day. I cannot turn a blind eye to this because if there was a serious accident then it would be me who is responsible and, of even more importance, it would be on my conscience that I knew about it and did nothing to prevent it.

This action is not born out of any desire to keep the school community at arm’s length. In fact, one of our aims is to continually strengthen our community links at all levels and plans are in place to bring this about. It comes down to plain common sense and expectations that are placed upon schools to ensure that our children grow and develop in a safe environment.

I thank you once again for your support and help in this matter.

Mr J Croker