A mum was left seething after her daughter was left waiting outside her school on her own for an hour with no phone or money.
Her daughter, who is in year 6, ended up waiting by the side of the road all alone after her after school club had been cancelled. She usually walks from school and the mum picks her up from the small village "on her request" in order to "give her some independence" in preparation for secondary school.
Taking to Mumsnet's popular Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) thread, the mum sought opinions on whether she was right to be furious with the school who had only emailed her to tell her, despite knowing she has "zero" reception or internet at work. She titled her post: "AIBU to be furious with daughters school?"
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The post read: "Year 6 daughter. I came to pick her up yesterday from after school club to find that they had cancelled the club and my daughter had stood waiting for me for an hour, by the side of the road, all alone. She walks from school and I pick her up from the small village on her request, to give her some independence in preparation for secondary soon. I have a new job and have specifically given the school instructions to contact me on my work number because I have zero reception or internet at work. BUT the school hadn’t even attempted to contact the parents to say the after school club had been cancelled.
"They had only sent an email. When I later looked at the email it clearly says “Please can you reply to this email to confirm you have received it. and normally they phone to check if they don't hear back. But they hadn’t, they had told her I had been made aware and let her leave at usual time. AIBU to be furious with them?"
She added: "I know some of you may think that in year 6 she should be able to deal with this, but she had no phone and no money. In future, yeah I will make sure she has a phone with her to school."
Fellow Mumsnet users were keen to share their thoughts on the situation, with the majority siding with the mum and some with the school. One said: "That’s shocking. The parents should definitely have been phoned. Complain to the Head."
Another added: "That's terrible and seems like a possible safeguarding issue. Nobody looks at their emails minute by minute to see if they're updated. You should definitely complain! A third said: "I’d be so angry as well, they should have called you. Emails aren’t acceptable for last minute or urgent changes or details."
A fourth said: "Complain by email that’s a safeguarding issue." Some Mumsnet users didn't agree though, with some suggesting the issue "isn't the end of the world."
One user said: "It's not ideal, but we are in the last term of the school year and she is year 6. If she usually takes herself home perhaps the school would assume she would do just that (does she have a key?). Also it was a warm sunny day yesterday so an hour waiting outside (assuming she had a book?) isn't really the end of the world. So close to the end of year 6 I'd say it was becoming the DC's responsibility."
Another agreed and said: "I don't think you can blame the school if she has permission to leave the premises alone. Would you have answered the phone if you didn't see the email? Do you not get email notifications?"
One user added: "She's year 6 not year 1. She has the ability to use her legs and her mouth. She should know what to do, and if she doesn't then I actually think that's parental failure to teach her independence and responsibility.
"In less than 3 months time, what will she be doing to get to and from school? If all she knows is being picked up and dropped off, you are infantilising her. Its not in her interests to still be dependent to that degree. I get that might be the default transport due to your location, but she still needs to know know how to cope in a situation like this, and really you should be thinking about this now. What is your plan B?"
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