Remember kids... always wear a helmet. (The almighty bikeradar helmet thread)

Don't just write to the head. Make appointments to see them and discuss in person. If the appointment is less than satisfactory, make another. Then another. Head teachers don't have spare time to waste, you need to make this more difficult for them than implementing the change.

Ask to speak to the child's form tutor and make it their problem too, they will quickly also make it the head teacher's problem because no teacher wants to deal with this shit.

I wrote to the head about the school's lack of responsibility/liability for pupils' mode of journey

IMO it's good practice for a school to show it has considered the risk of different methods of getting to school and has given recommendations to students to limit that risk.

The schools I work with, for example, have suggested safer cycling and walking routes.

Ask the school where the decision has stemmed from, my guess would be the governors, and get in touch with the relevant person, probably the chair of the governors. If it was a governing body decision the minutes of the meeting where it was discussed should be available to you. If it wasn't the governors find out who at the school is responsible for safeguarding, it'll be a decision made, or at least ratified, by that person. It may or may not be the head.

Leaving aside the question of whether helmets are actually helpful, I can't see why the school need to do anything other than recommend students wear one.

Leaving aside the question of whether helmets are actually helpful, I can't see why the school need to do anything other than recommend students wear one.

Recommending helmet use is a massive hostage to fortune; I can't see why anybody in their right mind would do it, simply because doing so makes you the target for litigation when it turns out that 8oz of Styrofoam isn't all that effective when confronted with 2 tons of steel.

No one could possibly ever be sued for recommending wearing a helmet.

The Highway Code recommends wearing a helmet.

A helmet and white trainers:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82

Whatcha gonna do, sue the Highway Code? The fucking queen wrote that m8.

The fucking queen wrote that m8

Thanks to sovereign immunity, she's the one person who can get away with it.

Options for protective headgear, as recommended by HRH

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Ask to speak to the child's form tutor and make it their problem too, they will quickly also make it the head teacher's problem because no teacher wants to deal with this shit.

The head teacher is paid to take that shit, the form tutor isn't. No need to make life (more) unpleasant for someone who is probably up to their eyeballs with shit from the head teacher already...

There may also be something like a Parent's Forum where these things can be raised.

Your comments re head teacher are out of order.

Any one specifically?
I would say the first is fair, the second was flippant and would benefit from revision/discussion.
Or you're trolling/making a joke and I've missed it completely.

All are disrespectful.

As I’ve previously been a form tutor, I agree with you but at the same time I also know that the head teacher is more likely to listen to one of their teachers rather than a whiny parent.

I'm not trying to attack head teachers, I'm trying to say that form tutor's aren't a fair target for pressure from parents on this matter.
If someone's child is having problems in class, then by all means talk to the form tutor. That is their role and it wouldn't be appropriate to talk to the head teacher immediately. However, the head teacher is better paid than a form tutor specifically because they have to deal with parents disagreeing with policy they want to implement within the school. That's not disrespectful of the head teacher, that's being respectful of the form tutor.

RE the second sentence (which I think is the crux of your displeasure), you should take that in two parts.

No need to make life (more) unpleasant for someone who is probably up to their eyeballs with shit

is pretty reasonable and is unrelated to respect for the head teacher. Why make their life unpleasant when it's not their fault?

from the head teacher already...

is possibly disrespectful. I've agreed it is a flippant addition to my statement but it's not entirely wrong. Some head teachers do implement onerous policies that are not effective ("shit"). However, it does miss the fact that the head teacher will have been handed some rather unrealistic requirements/targets from the LEA/DfE that has led to the shit the form tutor has up to their eyeballs.

All in all, saying 'all are disrespectful' is missing the point of my statement and isn't very useful in either trying to enlighten me or anyone else who you feel is disrespectful towards head teachers.

the head teacher is more likely to listen to one of their teachers rather than a whiny parent.

Totally agree, I just don't think it's a tactic that's particularly fair on the form tutor.

Using the language and phrasing you initially chose is symptomatic of a growing lack of respect and support for staff in our children's schools.

@MetalMelly you ok hun?

Thanks Jez. Touch sensitive. Married to a head teacher of 10 years. I'm chilled. I forget sometimes that.... 1. This is lfgss and it's OK to say whatever you're thinking. 2. Other people have different experiences from me. And 3. I can be a bit arsey sometimes.

Hamrack, I withdraw your detention! 😀

Who would you say is best situated to deal with parents 'shit' in a school? I think that is the ultimate point here.

Well. I'm speaking about secondary schools now. First of all I think the baseline position should be that parents support school policy and resist challenging it. OFSTED and DFE are hot on schools education performance which leaves stuff like mobile phones, behavior in school, drugs, weapons, violence, toilets, eating, uniform, respect, health, sex, etc etc. It's a minefield and in.my opinion the responsibility of parents to make it possible for the school to effectively enforce published policy around these topics. In a school of 1700 students there are 1700 children. That leaves a school open to challenge when changing or creating new policy for whatever reason. After all its your child you're worried about and not the other 1699. But the headteacher has responsibility for all of them. The Head teacher is accountable for pupil's education as well as unreasonably in my view, the other stuff that pupils do as children. Eg fighting in Sainsbury's after school, drug dealing on the high street, bringing weapons into school, pressing other pupils to perform sexual acts in school premises, lobbing bottles off the school roof at visitors. Wearing a cycling helmet fades into the background when what I've described above is a daily occurrence involving meetings with police, parents, social services and subject matter experts. So, yes, the head teacher has a huge responsibility but so have school governors who appoint the head and must agree policy within the framework of national standards published by DFE. Every school has a published procedure for making contact, airing grievances, offering help, and the policy and the first point of contact for a parent varies with subject. The Head teacher will restate policy. Then you can go to governors if you're still not happy. On the wearing of Cycle helmets my dear wife says that the school has no jurisdiction off school premises and is only in loco parentis on school premises. The school.policy could state that the pupil, on entering the school premises with a bicycle, must have a cycle helmet.

I agree with all of that, however cycle helmet policy is a strange beast, and I think it falls into the category that any policies are made based on personal experience, anecdotal evidence, and media opinion.

This sort of policy should be met with the same derision as if the school decided to ban any student bringing GM food on site. It's personal choice.

I got a reply from the Assistant head. I will be meeting with her on Thursday. Any tips appreciated.

Many thanks for your e mail and feedback. Although we appreciate that
cycle helmets are not a guarantee of road safety, we feel that
anything we can do to reduce risk to our students is a valuable
measure. Our policy will also include road worthiness of bicycles and
road safety awareness, which will be detailed in the letter coming out
to parents shortly. We also have a number of programmes coming up to
educate our students on road safety to show them why we feel these
changes are so important. In the last half term alone we have had
three RTC’s involving our students and feel that the situation is
becoming a serious safeguarding concern. Our policy is falling in line
with other local secondary schools and has the support of our local
policing team. Our intention is purely to make sure our young people
are cycling sensibly and safely rather than as a punitive sanction.
Students who bring bikes to school without a helmet will be able to
take them home once they return to school with a helmet or, parents /
carers will be free to collect them after school if they prefer. We
will however not be allowing any child to cycle away from school
without a helmet on. I would be happy to talk this through with you
in more detail if you would like to come in for a chat.

Out of interest, why are you bothering arguing it?
Just because you believe helmets aren't beneficial? Is there harm in a kid wearing one though?

I believe it will discourage kids (including my son) from cycling to school.

Why not just fall into line and leave the school more time to get on with educating your son? When he grows up and gets a job he will face similar situations and sometimes the best answer is to comply and get on with other stuff. He'll have his day. Maybe one day become a teacher.

To me this just smacks of the school starting to erode their pupils' personal freedom of choice, which is unacceptable.