rant

Over 300 schools closed in Norfolk this morning. Why? This is madness! I
drove from Swaffham to Wymondham at 7am. The roads were either wet or
slushy, and the snow was turning to rain.

Here at 10:30am there must be some pretty embarrased head teachers
around. The snow is melting (fast) and the last two showers have been
moderate rain, so this is hardly "severe" weather.

I don't remember there always being this trigger-happy desire to
practically declare a state of emergency when something slightly out of
the ordinary happened. What the hell is happening to this country?

/rant

Slushy greetings from a wet (and decreasingly white) Norfolk.

--
Chris
www.ivy-house.net
Swaffham, Norfolk

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:42:19 +0000, Succorso
wrote:


I don't remember there always being this trigger-happy desire to
practically declare a state of emergency when something slightly out of
the ordinary happened. What the hell is happening to this country?

I would guess it's all because of this American-style 'compensation
culture' that has unfortunately become the norm in the UK - if one
child so much as slips on a pack of ice or sneezes in a cilly
classroom then his parents will no doubt sue the local council for
damages.

(phil) wrote here on 27 Feb 2004:

I would guess it's all because of this American-style
'compensation culture' that has unfortunately become the norm in
the UK - if one child so much as slips on a pack of ice or sneezes
in a cilly classroom then his parents will no doubt sue the local
council for damages.

Maybe also because in days of yore far fewer people had to/chose to
go to schools miles away from their homes that could only be reached
by car? Political answer, but this is a political topic in the first
place, but some people are now so obsessed by the league tables that
they'll drive their kids miles for the sake of them.

--
Above address *is* valid - but snip spamtrap to get me to *read*!

Support the world's oldest motorsport venue!
http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/future.html

Agree on all counts. My mum had a hospital appointment postponed in January
because of 5mm of snow which melted by 9.30 am - because the doctor couldn't
get in! She is 80 and she could get to the hospital!
Still, we'll all be travelling miles to the "best" hospitals soon when
foundation hospitals get going.
Dave
"David Buttery" wrote in message
...
(phil) wrote here on 27 Feb 2004:

I would guess it's all because of this American-style
'compensation culture' that has unfortunately become the norm in
the UK - if one child so much as slips on a pack of ice or sneezes
in a cilly classroom then his parents will no doubt sue the local
council for damages.

Maybe also because in days of yore far fewer people had to/chose to
go to schools miles away from their homes that could only be reached
by car? Political answer, but this is a political topic in the first
place, but some people are now so obsessed by the league tables that
they'll drive their kids miles for the sake of them.

--
Above address *is* valid - but snip spamtrap to get me to *read*!

Support the world's oldest motorsport venue!
http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/future.html

"Succorso" wrote rant

Over 300 schools closed in Norfolk this morning. Why? This is madness!

Add to that, consider all those parents who are now unable to go to work
because they have to stay at home to look after their children - that must
be quite a loss to the economy.

I had this problem some years ago with my children's primary school. I
tried to argue the Education Act must surely require that schools provide
education in the same way that parents have an obligation to send children
to school. In our particular case, we didn't lose out by missing work, but
other parents were sorely out of pocket because they had to stay at home.

Needless to say, I got nowhere with my arguments.

And today is the day when new rules come into force whereby parents are held
responsible to a greater extent if their child plays truant - on the spot
fines. How about on the spot fines for schools that close without good
reason?

Jack

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:42:19 +0000, Succorso
wrote:

rant

Over 300 schools closed in Norfolk this morning. Why? This is madness! I
drove from Swaffham to Wymondham at 7am. The roads were either wet or
slushy, and the snow was turning to rain.

Here at 10:30am there must be some pretty embarrased head teachers
around. The snow is melting (fast) and the last two showers have been
moderate rain, so this is hardly "severe" weather.

I don't remember there always being this trigger-happy desire to
practically declare a state of emergency when something slightly out of
the ordinary happened. What the hell is happening to this country?

/rant

Slushy greetings from a wet (and decreasingly white) Norfolk.


To add to the rant it appears that kids are not allowed onto the
playground if snow is lying because the poor darlings may slip and
fall, and possibly graze or bruise themselves, and the nasty
Elastoplast-chasing lawyers might take the school for a few hundred
quid "compo".

Kids can't have any fun in the snow anymore. Many kids of my age (57)
will remember that a good snowfall was an excuse for the creation of
long ice-slides in the playground and all sorts of other dangerous
sports, such as ice-cored snowballs, shoving snow into the girl's
knickers and trying to get teacher (preferably headmaster) with a
well-timed snowball.

JPG

I would guess it's all because of this American-style 'compensation
culture' that has unfortunately become the norm in the UK - if one
child so much as slips on a pack of ice or sneezes in a cilly
classroom then his parents will no doubt sue the local council for
damages.

Probably true. If we have a Nanny State it is because we have willed it.
Not all of us, obviously, but a sufficient number to have an effect, and it can
only be reversed by a clear-headed political or judicial will.

Tudor Hughes

"JPG" wrote Many kids of my age (57)
will remember that a good snowfall was an excuse for the creation of
long ice-slides in the playground and all sorts of other dangerous
sports, such as ice-cored snowballs, shoving snow into the girl's
knickers and trying to get teacher (preferably headmaster) with a
well-timed snowball.

As someone of almost the same vintage, I can relate to that. In the
1962/3 winter, we had a junior school teacher who joined in on a very long
slide we had made in the playground. Very good he was, too.

However, he was a smoker (different time, eh?) and the matches he kept in
his back pocket all spontaneously caught light as he went down the slide
for the nth time. The resulting scene was straight out of "Tom & Gerry",
as he tried to put his burning trousers out. He eventually threw himself,
seat first, into the nearest snowdrift!

- Tom.

To add to the rant it appears that kids are not allowed onto the
playground if snow is lying because the poor darlings may slip and
fall, and possibly graze or bruise themselves, and the nasty
Elastoplast-chasing lawyers might take the school for a few hundred
quid "compo".

Kids can't have any fun in the snow anymore. Many kids of my age (57)
will remember that a good snowfall was an excuse for the creation of
long ice-slides in the playground and all sorts of other dangerous
sports, such as ice-cored snowballs, shoving snow into the girl's
knickers and trying to get teacher (preferably headmaster) with a
well-timed snowball.

JPG


There was a news item about this on Look East last week. After the snow
we had a few weeks back many schools were closed, one school in
particular had to close beacuse 1 parent (yes, just one) phoned in and
said she that if she took her kids to school and she/they had an
accident the school would be liable. Oh and dont even think about
putting plasters on there scraped knees anymore, you cant in case your
accused of some kind of abuse. Infact this school wouldnt even
administer any medical help without the parents consent.

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:27:41 +0000, JPG wrote:

To add to the rant it appears that kids are not allowed onto the
playground if snow is lying because the poor darlings may slip and
fall, and possibly graze or bruise themselves,

At a school near here pupils were warned that they would be sent home
(ie suspended) if they were caught throwing snowballs in the
playground.

And some were!


--
Paul