School Safety Rules

[chongalolo]

I work in a primary school and the latest ruling from our County Council is that teachers must not put mats under PE equipment including wall bars and ropes. Apparently the thinking behind this is that children will not learn to use the equipment properly if there are mats underneath them. As H & S co-ordinator for the school I am horrified but we have to follow this rule or the school won't be insured.

What do parents think about this?

[Le Chat]

I think that is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard this year! The thing that makes me laugh is that in childrens parks, there must be a special spongy tarmac or wood chippings in case they fall - so one thing laughs at the other! The children anyway are not climbing ropes thinking "I wont have to climb properly because if I fall I'll be ok!" when there are mats. However, if there are no mats, it may put off children who are timid climbing at all! It makes a mockery of all the other H&S rules such as helmet wearing whilst cycling and seatbelt wearing in cars. You could in effect say that we shouldn't wear seatbelts as we will drive better and more carefully without them!

This is such rubbish, it makes me mad, it really does!

[Buenchico]

A couple of suggestions:

1. Send a copy of the ruling to your union and seek their response.

2. Send another copy to the PE Association and see what they have to say about it:
The Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom
Ling House,
Building 25,
London Road
Reading RG1 5AQ

Chris

PS: Just an example of some of the daft rules which LEAs can come up with:
Sheffield LEA sent out two notices, in the same envelope, to every school in the city. These notices were issued on the same date and both were signed by the chief education officer. The first one stated that, in order to conserve energy, in any classroom where curtains were fitted these must be left closed at the end of the school day. The other notice stated that, in order to quickly identify outbreaks of fire, all classroom curtains must be left open throughout the night!

[sholay]

I am so glad I got through school before all this political correctness set in.

Makes you wonder how this generation will turn out now they being taught to be afraid of their own shadow.

[sense4all]

Another stunner from the pen pushers! As a parent this falls in the category " Beggars Belief ". Do your local council have a public access web site re: parks and legal obligations for safety? Print and send with copy to buffon who issued counter regulations for schools. Absolute madness!

[Fat Boy]

I'm confused about one point here. I can understand some divvy in the LEA creating some daft rule about children not having enough incentive to hang on to the monkey bars if they have a soft landing. What I can't understand (and struggle to believe, to be honest with you) is that you can only get insured if the safety equipment is removed?

Shurely shome mishtake?

[sense4all]

Sadly Fat Boy, if you ignore OR contravene a diktat from your bosses in the LEA, you will find that you will have fallen foul of an operating clause that exists in most of these policies! Claiming ignorance is not an option either.

[chongalolo]

It seems that mats are now considered to be 'exit points' from gym equipment. They are not there for safety. Children are taught that jumping onto the mat ends an exercise. The purpose of removing mats from tall apparatus is solely to discourage them from thinking its safe to jump from a height.

I am finding it hard to get my head around this, and I am dreading that phonecall I will have to make to the parents of some poor child who slips onto a hard floor from a height. I can see a time when as a staff we will have to stop the children using the apparatus. How sad!