My 9yr daughter has just told me they were not allowed outside at break or lunch because it is to dangerous in the snow :ugh::ugh::ugh:
Crazy :mad: people it's ok for them to walk to school on ice covered pavements

In light of the "blame & sue for BIG compensation" culture that seems to be on the rise in the UK, it doesn´t seems entirely illogical to me.

At the elementary school where our kids went, there was a lad a few years over them who had lost the sight in one eye when he got hit in the face with an ice/snowball. The school subsequently banned the throwing of snowballs.
The kids still thoroughly enjoyed "king of the heap" which entailed pushing each other of the high snow heaps that the snow clearers made, one for each class. They also had a custom built and very fast toboggan track. Regular accidents still happen, but nowt more serious than a broken bone.

They also teach the little ones to wield an axe, to light a fire, and to sleep in self dug holes in the snow. Accidents happen there as well.
No parent has ever sued the school.

I think the pools of watery ice/icy water on the floor when the kids come back in has a lot to do with it.

Juud and vulcanised beat me to it. All the while people see pound signs attached to every little mishap and refuse to accept that sometimes, accidents will happen, then the rules will reflect that! Yet another example of how, as a country, we blame everyone else whilst refusing to accept that actually, we reap what we sow.

Crazy people it's ok for them to walk to school on ice covered pavements

Of course it's OK. At that point they are under the care of whoever is taking them to school and therefore the school know that for that time at least, they do not have to fear being sued if poor little Johnny slips over and bumps his knee. Unless they are on school grounds, of course..... :rolleyes:

vulcanised has put their finger on it!

It would help if someone, be it the council, staff or even the parents would help by clearing the playground. My girlfriend (who is a primary school headmistress) and me cleared paths, car park and playground of her school last winter. The council didn't want to know, didn't even clear one road into the village, and cancelled the busses because they said the roads were not fit. It was not practical for us with shovels to clear the village roads, but I feel that we did our best to do our bit to keep the show in the road. She lost I think 7 days to snow in January.

They also ban outdoor play here in Canada...

WHEN IT GOES BELOW -25C!!!!

Honest!

Does anyone else remember slides (pure delightful black ice) in playgrounds? Plus of course the endless comcomitant of bloody knees and cracked heads) This would warrant a whole elfin safety department these days plus equal opportunities investigations for seaparate boyz and girlz slides.

Remember steaming coats on the rail around the coke-fired heater that never ever got things dry?

Anyone posting from Spain might - if they are ancient enough - remember the charcoal braziers that used to be UNDER the table you sat at. With the aid of a heavy tablecloth it ensured your legs up to the waist were warm. Above that, you froz.

When I first came here there was a strong sense of denial: you'd hear people say "it never gets really cold here" which is why under smart business suits people were wearing several pullovers.

There days there are reverse cycle a/c units in every office.

Lots of Catalan schools here closed this week, by the way, massive snow falls inland and temps. are down in minus double figures. Snow chains obligatory on cars, even on 4x4's.

We were never allowed back in no matter how wet and cold it were until the whistle blew,four of the cosh if you were caught indoors.:uhoh:

Also, jxc, remember that you are talking about the country that gave the world the thudguard (http://www.thudguard.com/). :ugh:

;)

Mr D.
charater building,that's what it were,and good it was too,for too long we have spent,sucking up to the elf and the compesayshun brigade,they close scools now if the bloody teas cold.

Now I think if we could give them that old lady blue rinse color we could sell them to OAP's and make a killing I mean a fortune :E

Who knows what it will come to,all weapons must be stamped wiv CAUTION MIGHT MAKE LOUD NOISE WHEN FIRED,OR ON DETONATION:mad:

[quote=oldbaldeagle;6098252]Does anyone else remember slides (pure delightful black ice) in playgrounds? Plus of course the endless comcomitant of bloody knees and cracked heads) quote]

Remember them? I used to spend hours helping to make and use them during school playtime.

Except we then used to flick fresh snow over them so the teachers making their way to the next class at the end of break didn't know they were there :E :E :E

World's Gone Mad.

Used to walk 2 miles, with no adult or Road Patrol Crossing in sight, to Primary school - and play marbles in the roadside GUTTERS ( shock horror ) on the way home - which is why I've probably never caught anything but measles ( and the occasional cold ) from those days on i.e. totally immune to most things from an early age.

Learned to balance on those icy playground slides, too - still got a scar on one knee as a result, but it never held me back from progressing through Life.

And cycled 4 miles to school unhelmeted, and unchaperoned, rain, shine or snow, to my next school, making my own decision as to whether or not to be late by having to stop at a rail crossing ( with gates ) to let the 8.35 am train go first, or risk dodging through as they were closing, and arriving on time - such was my faith in the ability to adhere to my personal timetable each day. ( didn't have a watch, so had to assess my relative time scale along the route by observing regular clues, that man being further down the road towards the bus stop to catch the 8.15 bus etc, the human workforce being a creature of habit )

I know, I know, World's now populated by homicidal drivers, and paedophiles lurking behind every lampost, so children have to be driven to school in BMW 4 x 4's - see first statement.

I remember staff vs pupils snowball fights etc - the deputy head (Mr Starkey) would often be the target, not because he was unpopular (far from it) but because he would give as good as he got.

The school was only shut once due to snow and that was because the heating oil supply had runout + frozen pipes in the toilets.

Things are not all lost!

I spoke to grandaughter last night, she's up in Staffordshire where they have had quite a lot of snow, I asked what she had done at school and her highlight of the day was scoring a try at tag rugby while playing in the snow!


"Abigail passed to Zeb and Zeb passed to Mr. Charlie (the headmaster!), who passsed to me and I threw myself down and scored!"

Anything else ?

"Oh, yes, I came top in the Latin exam too".

I guess you get what you pay for...

VnV

In my school, the exact opposite is the case. We only close if: no kitchen or no physical access (obviously).

Didn't close last year- reward? No, a hit because my attendance fell (ave 40/200 on the bad days).

Children are actively taken outside- this is what snow is like- snowmen, snow angels, gentle snowballing etc. All in all a great time.

BUT, the critics need to bear this in mind- 100 of my kids come into school by bus. Picture the fun at 1:30pm, if the buses all jib out 'cos the snow's falling. It's no laughing matter then. That's why lots just shut up shop.

CG

No snow this year yet.

I did Grade 1 or 2 in a combined kindergarten through secondary school in the godforsaken windswept plains of Montana just below the Canadian border.

The snow between houses on our property was shovelled over my head. The school buses always ran.

The school was on the top of a hill (quite prominent at my age) and had quite the sled run on one side. The problem with starting off on a sled was not knowing how many buddies would pile on top for the ride. At the bottom the heap would come apart and bounce along until coming to rest in softer snow.

One friend and I decided to explore the hill to the North as there would only be one passenger. It was a bit steeper and we had a great run -- and likely put quite a fright into the driver as the sled scooted across the road in front of him:eek: We dug ourselves out of the snowbank that swallowed us and agreed that we got lucky that time around:\

F*cking Nanny State - I hate it!

Circa fiftyish I cycled two miles to school return trip home for lunch and back in the dark. Total eight miles a day. No hi vis jacket, no helmet, no mobile phone and a lamp powered by fading 'Ever Ready' batteries. When it snowed we made 'skids' in the playground. When we need a piss it was a trip to an outside loo without a lid. We went on a twelve mile sponsored walk UNSUPERVISED and limped home in the dark.

Now, my kids are locked in the school if there is snow on the ground. They have to do P4C - 'Philosophy for children, 'PHSE - 'Personal Health & Social Education, 'Roots of Empathy' and SEAL - 'Social & Emotional Aspects of Learning.

However, they are not taught to spell, don't practice times tables and have seen every single Disney video in School time.

The irony is they are not well behaved. Recently the behaviour on the school bus (Primary school would you believe) was so bad that the police started patrolling it.

I really hope the Coalition do something to sort the shambles out because funny it is not and I seriously worry about my kids future prospects.

Rant over.:(

Caractacus ....... repeat after me ........ Word's Gone Mad.

( but what are we doing about it, too ? )