banned with my bike from daughter's school

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feefee8
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by feefee8 »

LollyKat wrote:
When I was at primary school (over 50 years ago, ahem) we sometimes had problems with rats. The classroom had an alcove at the end with a sink in it where we could wash out our paintboxes. Every so often the teacher would say, "Now children - that blue saucer with white powder under the sink is rat poison. Don't touch it or you will be very sick and probably die." None of us touched it - nobody died. We were 8-year-olds and rat poison was a normal feature of our lives, at home as well as at school.



Can you imagine that nowadays?!
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by [XAP]Bob »

This morning, as usual, I pushed the trike into the schools grounds span it to it's "parked" position, then rode out. I have been asked not to ride across the office entrance - fair enough, but I don't go in that way any more (MiniBob is in the next year group and so uses a different gate)

The ride out is always the bit I'm nervous about, as it's the only time there is any "traffic" flow against me. Amazing how much good will a smile and a hello can provide...

It may well be the head acting on her own, and she may have not looked at the playground for over a year :? so this might be the first she's seen/heard of you parking in the school grounds. I still think a face to face meeting, asking what she is actually concerned about, would be a reasonable approach.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Yogactive
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by Yogactive »

thank you again for the further advices, I wasn't being sarcastic Sid- but I have found it quite strange that people are criticizing my mothering skills - regarding my daughter wearing a scarf on
the bike. best wishes to everyone here- hope you are all having a lovely evening.
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mjr
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by mjr »

[XAP]Bob wrote:I still think a face to face meeting, asking what she is actually concerned about, would be a reasonable approach.

Indeed. Failing that, stopping right at the gate while you unload, with a nice flag or sign saying "I am unloading here because my bike is banned from school grounds under Health and Safety - please complain to the headteacher not me" attached to the back seems like a second-best option.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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jezer
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by jezer »

feefee8 wrote:
LollyKat wrote:
When I was at primary school (over 50 years ago, ahem) we sometimes had problems with rats. The classroom had an alcove at the end with a sink in it where we could wash out our paintboxes. Every so often the teacher would say, "Now children - that blue saucer with white powder under the sink is rat poison. Don't touch it or you will be very sick and probably die." None of us touched it - nobody died. We were 8-year-olds and rat poison was a normal feature of our lives, at home as well as at school.



Can you imagine that nowadays?!

I was at primary school nearer 60 years ago. As well as milk and ink monitors we had coke monitors, and our job was to go outside each morning to fill skuttles with coke from a big heap in the playground. We then had to fill the stoves in the classrooms and keep them topped up during the day. The last task on a Friday afternoon was to polish the desks with Min cream, and we had to provide our own cloths to do it. This is true, but if you told the youngsters today.... :lol:
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jan19
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by jan19 »

I think you actually have quite a good opportunity to get some improved cycle provision at the school, but as others have said you need to work with the head, not against her.

Rightly or wrongly, the head thinks you're a hazard. Whether you (or we) agree with her isn't the point - its her school and she'll act in the way she thinks best for the children. I doubt she's given any consideration to what you'll do if you can't bring the bike into the playground. If you explain -as calmly and politely as you can - the lack of safe parking outside the gate (for you and the other children) and suggest that better provision inside the gates in the form of bike stands etc will mean you can leave your bike parked in a way that will suit both you and her. She's told you she supports cycling, but she may never have thought what she can, or needs to do to support that statement. I've got my employer to put in various things over the years to help me with my commute and mostly things they hadn't thought of or simply never been asked for.

You have some evidence that other parents would be interested in cycling, and although its anecdotal I think its worth saying to the head that if she improves cycle provision in the school and appears to be actively supporting it, others may well give it a try. You already know all the pluses, and you can point them out to her. If she doesn't respond positively, then you can try the Havering Cycle Officer or the governors but you may find a straightforward talk with the head is all you need.

Very best of luck

Jan
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ArMoRothair
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by ArMoRothair »

Yogactive wrote: regarding my daughter wearing a scarf on
the bike..


Oh dear I seem to have touched a nerve with the throwaway scarf observation, for which I apologise. I'm not questioning your mothering skills, I merely pointed out I have a personal horror of my daughter's scarf becoming trapped in my bike's wheel. I have a good friend who had a 90 mph motorbike crash for a similar reason. Okay, pedal cycles don't do those speeds but me, my bike, and my daughter are probably 100 kgs, that's quite a bit of kinetic energy for her neck to absorb if her scarf became entangled in the wheel.

Yes your girl is nicely wrapped up and her scarf is indeed knotted up safely and snugly in the photo but I did find my daughter's scarf trailing beside her bike seat a couple of times which caused me to decide to stop her wearing one on the bike. Just a personal observation; I don't mean to derail your thread.

Good luck with the negotiation, we are all behind you.
stork
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by stork »

I agree that the right approach just now is probably to try to work with the head. Instead of exchanging letters, ask for a meeting on site so that she can explain her precise concerns and you can demonstrate the (lack of) suitable alternatives.

If most of the other schools in the borough allow cycles to be brought on site, say so, as this could be quite persuasive.

I take my children to school on a tandem+trailerbike combination (and previously I used tandem+trailer). We all dismount outside the school gate but then I walk the bike in through the gate and I stand with it on the playground as I let the boys go off to their classrooms. I have a double kickstand, which may be more stable than a single, but I still don't leave the bike unattended at busy drop-off or pick-up times (although I sometimes do if I'm collecting from after-school clubs). If I do need to leave it unattended, I'll park it in the covered cycle racks, which are also inside the grounds.

I've never had problems, and there are several other parents who bring adult and child bikes into the school grounds. More hazardous in my view are the toddlers who whizz about on their scooters!

I have been known to park the bike on the road in the same manner as I would park a car, but this isn't something I'd recommend if you're unloading a child seat. Usually this happens when parents park on the double yellow lines across the dropped kerb.

Good luck, you might be able to open a dialogue about Bikeability and other cycling provision too.
Tonyf33
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by Tonyf33 »

If you get no joy just keep doing what you've been doing..parking the bike up, it would be very very interesting to see what they/she would do if you defied her self imposed rules... :twisted:
Ignore the posters whom can't see what's going on here, clearly some can't read for starters or haven't ever taken a kid on a bike to school or even taken a baby out of a buggy whilst holding shopping and making sure a toddler doesn't run away..it's what normal parents do, they juggle very succesfully lots of tasks at once.

gl and don't give in :D
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by [XAP]Bob »

ArMoRothair wrote:
Yogactive wrote: regarding my daughter wearing a scarf on
the bike..


Oh dear I seem to have touched a nerve with the throwaway scarf observation, for which I apologise. I'm not questioning your mothering skills, I merely pointed out I have a personal horror of my daughter's scarf becoming trapped in my bike's wheel. I have a good friend who had a 90 mph motorbike crash for a similar reason. Okay, pedal cycles don't do those speeds but me, my bike, and my daughter are probably 100 kgs, that's quite a bit of kinetic energy for her neck to absorb if her scarf became entangled in the wheel.

Yes your girl is nicely wrapped up and her scarf is indeed knotted up safely and snugly in the photo but I did find my daughter's scarf trailing beside her bike seat a couple of times which caused me to decide to stop her wearing one on the bike. Just a personal observation; I don't mean to derail your thread.

Good luck with the negotiation, we are all behind you.


An alternative might be a buff - same neck warming, no possibility of trailing...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Postboxer
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by Postboxer »

Argue that your health must also be taken into consideration, if there's nowhere safe outside of school to dismount then you'll have to start driving, which has no health benefit, the lost exercise equates to putting on around 4.5 lbs per year for every kilometre away from school you are, for the remaining 5/6 years, which adds up to over 2 stone, which is very bad for your health.

You could then argue that once your daughter is old enough, she'd be cycling too so it impacts her health too.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Don't make the mistake of thinking that H&S do anything about H...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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meic
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by meic »

Tonyf33 wrote:If you get no joy just keep doing what you've been doing..parking the bike up, it would be very very interesting to see what they/she would do if you defied her self imposed rules... :twisted:
Ignore the posters whom can't see what's going on here, clearly some can't read for starters or haven't ever taken a kid on a bike to school or even taken a baby out of a buggy whilst holding shopping and making sure a toddler doesn't run away..it's what normal parents do, they juggle very succesfully lots of tasks at once.

gl and don't give in :D


I have to say that worked for the motoring parents at my school. Their conduct in the car park (which is the only route into the school) is seriously dangerous as compared to the petty dangers of sharp pedals.
They were reversing large vans in the car park, leaving cars running unattended and normal bad parking and driving, so cars were banned from the car park at opening and closing times. One after the other they ignored the ban until, it was back to normal.
The difference is that they are the majority and the norm. On a petty irritating level many of them have driven such a short distance you could walk it quicker but I suppose they are journeying on with their cars.
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ArMoRothair
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by ArMoRothair »

meic wrote:I have to say that worked for the motoring parents at my school. Their conduct in the car park (which is the only route into the school) is seriously dangerous as compared to the petty dangers of sharp pedals.


Long before I became involved in the school run myself I had realised the most dangerous vehicle on the road isn't a HGV running late, isn't a boy-racer on a Saturday night, nothing on our roads is more dangerous than a school-run parent in a car, especially big cars.

Anything that can be done to reduce their number is to everyone's benefit.
Postboxer
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Re: banned with my bike from daughter's school

Post by Postboxer »

I almost think there should be a school run exclusion zone around schools, so that people have to get out and walk some of the way, hopefully this would spread out the traffic as people would have options rather than all trying to park next to one gate.
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