Unauthorised Absence At School Due To Parents Illness

[maddymadge]

Hi

My child does miss school a lot due to chronic illness he s got. His dad is agoraphobic and cant leave the house and I just had an operation so I cant drive my son to school for two weeks. I don't live in the catchment area so the local authority wont help me. I don't know anybody to take him to school. The school said it will be unauthorised as it s my duty to take my child to school and I ll be probably fined. I find this unfair as I m not going on holiday, I had an operation. Is there a way of defending myself?
Thanks

Maddy

[joko]

what has it got to do with the head who travels in a car?

what insurance is he talking about?

heads have absolutely no say in how kids get to the school, so why should this be different?

it is surely up to the people who organise and decide.

[sherrardk]

When I taught I had to have special insurance to take pupils anywhere in my car. Don't think it cost any extra but ou had to tell our insurance company. Maybe it's similar to business car insurance?

[pixie373]

Business insurance is usually free. It's because it's a staff member, joko. They're worried about being sued.

[joko]

ah i see, but sued for what? by who?

[pixie373]

By maddy, if there's an accident. The staff member represents the school and i think employers are responsible for employees getting to work and back, as well as while they're there.

[factor-fiction]

I would not advise a member of staff to take a small child in his/her car unless there was another adult present. It's a shame but there is too much risk of a misunderstanding/allegation

[factor-fiction]

I'm not sure about that pixie- why would an employer be responsible for employees getting to work and back? But I can see why the school would not want its staff to transport a pupil.

[pixie373]

I may be wrong, factor. I believe it's something i read.

[woofgang]

kind of pixie. If the teacher is carrying a pupil as a part of their job, then they need what used to be called full class A insurance, which is use for social, domestic, pleasure, travel to and from work and the extra bit which is use as part of work. If they are carrying the child as part of their work and they have an accident then the insurance won't cover the child and the insurance company may refuse to pay out at all.
If the teacher is a friend of the parent and is doing a neighbourly favour then they don't need the "car use as part of work" extra to their insurance, but would need to be able to prove that it was a neighbourly favour, ie not done within working hours, not organised by the school and so on.

I have dealt with a similar thing when a NHS employee managed by me started doing errands and favours for a patient. She was, of course completely entitled to do as she wished with her spare time but we had to make clear to her that anything that she did was as a private individual and she, and the patient needed to understand that neither were covered by any kind of NHS insurance or responsibility.

[B00]

How long would this absence be for? How long has it already for?

Whilst I do sympathise with you maddy, and I genuinely can't think how your son could get to school, but I can't help but think that you and your husband should be trying every and all avenues and doing your damnest in getting him there.

From what I can gather, and apologies if this isnt the case, but I'm reading that your looking for ways in assisting in keeping him absent from school whilst you're poorly, instead of really really proactively trying to get him there.

Surely he must be missing his friends? The school environment? And the amount of work he's missing out on must be truly daunting for him.

Again, I don't wish to offend, hope I haven't, just typing what my thoughts are.

[pixie373]

Thanks woofgang. That makes more sense. We have business insurance which covers us for work, plus if we are driving clients around. I did believe, for some reason, that employers have responsibility for employees to and from the workplace too. But I'm not sure where i got that from.

[pixie373]

That's also what I'm gently trying to say, boo. We have the responsibility to get them to school, they have the right to education. There is always a chance a parent might be ill/car breaks down, so an alternative method of transport would be needed, just in case. But i understand it isn't easy.

[joko]

ah i was under the impression that this person was a family friend who also happened to work there, in which case surely its between the two of them?

[Kassee]

Why not educate him at home while you are ill, especially if you are a teacher anyway. You could throw the ball in their court then, tell them you want work sent home regularly via email, which you will return the same way, for marking. Tell them you are worried about him falling behind, and they need to ensure adequate class work is sent home regularly so he can keep up with his peers.

[maddymadge]

I do educate him at home whilst he s at home. We are doing the numeracy and literacy skills, he received the work from school for next week. He is certainly not on holiday and I think he prefers the more gentle way of school lol. To homeschool him I have to make a formal request which takes weeks to be put in place. The person who offered to take him is not so much a friend but someone I have talked too on a lot of occasions. Thanks for your advice. I am hoping I ll be able to drive by Monday but if I cant We ll have to catch the bus and walk 30 minutes in crutches, that ll strengthen my arms lol I will wait for the letter to see how much I have been fined. Thanks again for your replies.