School Run

[Tangled Metal]

Half scouse! It's in my blood!

[belgiangoth]

What can you do to get schools you act with purpose? Fine them? They're probably already running on a deficit if they're primary schools.

They're all running at a deficit.
Our local primary runs prizes/raffle/praise for walking or cycling to school. They've got the cops in to close the section of the road outside the school and issue parking fines.
What gets me is secondary school dropoff, catchment is small enough that they could walk and their bus pass would be free otherwise. Why do parents need to drive their 14yos to school and why must they stop in the middle of the road immediately outside of the school?

[MOARspeed]

Stay at home mums have a "slight" disconnect with reality, day time TV sends them loopy. They will use their kids as an excuse for everything, bad driving? "i've got a child in the back", bad parking "i've got a child in the back".

[landsurfer]

I don't actually mind the way the road outside our local primary school gets clogged with school buses and cars each morning. There is an alternative way round, so anyone in a hurry can get past with a small detour, and the school run drivers seem careful and, as far as I can tell, safe. Traffic seems to cede priority to people on foot. And ten minutes later the road is clear again.

This is on a side road in a village, so perhaps it is that "community" thing where parents are looking out for other people's children as well as their own.

Totally agree, this is the situation at our local primary school as well.
For 30 minutes a day the local community comes together, socialises, plans trips and outings and provides an ear for problems and solutions.
And then its gone, over, roads cleared.

I'm probably one of the few on her that actually does a school run every day, one end or the other, and i can assure you that the group of friends and acquaintances an older couple like Jules and myself have met have added considerably to our lives ... and most certainly to the girls (9 & 8 ).
Our eldest does his own school run of 90 minutes each way on bus and train to college ... and very occasionally in my car ... very occasionally.

[millimole]

. If you feel the picking up area is too small (they often are) go and talk to the local authority that designed and constructed the school, not the teachers who had no say in how the place was laid out.
.

The school at the end of our cul-de-sac was rebuilt a few years ago - a huge drop off area & turning circle was included in the design.
The school refuses to let it be used. They think it's more dangerous than cars doing multi-point turns in the road.
So the teachers are happy to take on the job of architect & traffic planner, but not to police (small p) the driving outside their gates.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly using hovercraft full of eels.

[Tangled Metal]

Our son's primary school is on a rat run to avoid a left turn at a crossroads. Personally I've never experienced the school run on that side except when taking my son to the local swimming pool after school. That's always on foot and I don't feel the traffic is bad.

School run helps a lot living 5 minutes walk from the back of the school. They have a back gate accessible through school grounds. Then it's back roads and back alleys with either very little traffic (none other than three odd school rumners) or pedestrian/ parking access only. Most of the time the walk is spent chatting to another parent while the kids mess about.

That's the thing about a small community primary school, one of 3 in the small town, it's got its own community if kids and parents. Plus the real benefit of community is seeing the older kids totally happy to look out for and support younger kids. It's the little touches they don't realise they're doing like congratulating a reception or year 1 kid for something they did. Anything from winning a school performance award or just playing football well at break with the big kids.

It's part of the community our primary school, that imho gives a sense of responsibility to the parents to look out for others. Plus people are from the areas immediately surrounding the school so very few car runs and those misbehaving would soon get told by other parents. Peer pressure solves a lot even as adults.

[Bmblbzzz]

Near me it's quite horrendous. Not only for cyclists but also driving a car.

Apart from the pulling out without looking, opening doors without looking, walking out without looking, etc., etc. one school near me is on a fairly tight bend, 2 way road. Normally when driving the bend is no issue because 2 cars or car with oncoming lorry, etc. can pass without problems. But school run drivers park illegally on the bend making drivers from on direction pull out onto the opposite side of the road whilst vehicles coming the other way can't see any issues and it's really dangerous and really illegal.

I've e-mailed the school about this and got back a "we've tried to stop it but it didn't stop it" - which angered me as quite pathetic. My next e-mail pointed out e.g. get local Police Officer to visit at 15:00 and issue tickets to every illegally parked car (and after 3 days there would no longer be an issue) or send out a teacher with a smartphone and take photos of illegally parked cars and when a parent asks what they are doing say "they are being submitted to the Police as you are illegally parked" and work will soon get round and people will stop. I identified loads of things they could do .... but nothing done, problem continues and school seems unmotivated to even recognise the danger they are creating.

I had to drive out through a local one yesterday and parent standing in roadside door then pushing door fully open just as I was alongside (I was in a car) - but they did give me time to swerve (if you can call it swerve at 10'ish mph).

Ian

Teachers are paid to do teaching duties, not patrol the streets. If you feel so strongly about it, you patrol the street and take photos to submit to the police.

I thought teachers had a range of duties e.g. supervising playtime, making sure that kids arriving by bike are wearing helmets (in some rather silly schools), etc. The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids. So I believe it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Ian

Those are SMAs, not teachers.

[Psamathe]

Teachers are paid to do teaching duties, not patrol the streets. If you feel so strongly about it, you patrol the street and take photos to submit to the police.

I thought teachers had a range of duties e.g. supervising playtime, making sure that kids arriving by bike are wearing helmets (in some rather silly schools), etc. The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids. So I believe it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Ian

Those are SMAs, not teachers.

Every job I've ever done (working for government or private business) I (and everybody else) has always done whatever is necessary for the project/company to move forwards to best effect. Invariably this involves doing a wide range of things way outside "primary responsibility". I regard the "that's not my job" as back to the days of industrial work to rule. Employees should be acting in the best interest rather than rigidly sticking to "I'm a teacher and I do nothing but teach" or "I'm a programmer I only program", etc.

Ian

[pwa]

I thought teachers had a range of duties e.g. supervising playtime, making sure that kids arriving by bike are wearing helmets (in some rather silly schools), etc. The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids. So I believe it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Ian

Those are SMAs, not teachers.

Every job I've ever done (working for government or private business) I (and everybody else) has always done whatever is necessary for the project/company to move forwards to best effect. Invariably this involves doing a wide range of things way outside "primary responsibility". I regard the "that's not my job" as back to the days of industrial work to rule. Employees should be acting in the best interest rather than rigidly sticking to "I'm a teacher and I do nothing but teach" or "I'm a programmer I only program", etc.

Ian

There are professionals trained and paid to police traffic on the streets but for the life of me I can't remember what they are called now. Maybe it's their job.

A teacher who ventured beyond the school gate and started acting like a traffic warden would have no authority and might end up getting assaulted. It is not what they were trained to do or chose to do. It is a different profession, or a possible voluntary position for some interested community spirited party like yourself.

[pete75]

I thought teachers had a range of duties e.g. supervising playtime, making sure that kids arriving by bike are wearing helmets (in some rather silly schools), etc. The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids. So I believe it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Ian

Teachers do supervis eplatime , at least they did at my primary school. At secondary school we were older and didn't need supervision.

School budgets are stretched to the point where some some heads are buying text books with their own money etc etc. Why do you expect them to waste some of those limited budgets to provide car parks for parents?

[Psamathe]

I thought teachers had a range of duties e.g. supervising playtime, making sure that kids arriving by bike are wearing helmets (in some rather silly schools), etc. The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids. So I believe it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Ian

Teachers do supervis eplatime , at least they did at my primary school. At secondary school we were older and didn't need supervision.

School budgets are stretched to the point where some some heads are buying text books with their own money etc etc. Why do you expect them to waste some of those limited budgets to provide car parks for parents?

I don't expect them to necessarily spend money. Where there is a road safety issue caused by the school operation making they need make an effort to sort it out. In fact everything I suggested to my local problem school cost nothing, most onerous would have been 5 mins every couple of days.

Ian

[pete75]

I thought teachers had a range of duties e.g. supervising playtime, making sure that kids arriving by bike are wearing helmets (in some rather silly schools), etc. The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids. So I believe it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Ian

Teachers do supervis eplatime , at least they did at my primary school. At secondary school we were older and didn't need supervision.

School budgets are stretched to the point where some some heads are buying text books with their own money etc etc. Why do you expect them to waste some of those limited budgets to provide car parks for parents?

I don't expect them to necessarily spend money. Where there is a road safety issue caused by the school operation making they need make an effort to sort it out. In fact everything I suggested to my local problem school cost nothing, most onerous would have been 5 mins every couple of days.

Ian

Your suggestion they provide parking would cost money though.

[jgurney]

The school has a degree of responsibility for issues it causes. It has inadequate facilities for the number of people it has collecting kids.So ... it needs to address those issues or to provide adequate facilities (legal parking, off-road) such that it does not cause a public nuisance.

Many schools existed before mass car ownership. They naturally have no facilities for it, and could not build them without acquiring and demolishing neighbouring properties. It is not really the school which causes the nuisance: it is parents insistence on driving children to school when there are perfectly viable alternatives.

[Mike Sales]

I don't expect them to necessarily spend money. Where there is a road safety issue caused by the school operation making they need make an effort to sort it out. In fact everything I suggested to my local problem school cost nothing, most onerous would have been 5 mins every couple of days.

Ian

Tesco and Wickes are not expected to superintend the driving of customers leaving their car park.

[Psamathe]

Teachers do supervis eplatime , at least they did at my primary school. At secondary school we were older and didn't need supervision.

School budgets are stretched to the point where some some heads are buying text books with their own money etc etc. Why do you expect them to waste some of those limited budgets to provide car parks for parents?

I don't expect them to necessarily spend money. Where there is a road safety issue caused by the school operation making they need make an effort to sort it out. In fact everything I suggested to my local problem school cost nothing, most onerous would have been 5 mins every couple of days.

Ian

Your suggestion they provide parking would cost money.

I didn't suggest that to the school, though they could provide some for free given their situation (the church next door has a car park that is unused during school pick-up). Plus they can have safe legal parking along the roads - it's just laziness by drivers who wont walk less than a hundred yards so obstruct a dangerous bend. So in effect, at that problem school they already have safe legal parking, they just have to get the drivers to use it.

Ian